Who You Want to Be Mentored By

Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

Did you know that people pay good money to be mentored or coached? They do! Many times when people want to experience higher levels of achievement and success, they hire personal trainers, coaches, or mentors that observe their thinking and behavior so they can make suggestions and create accountability for improvement. One definition for mentored is “to be instructed by a wise and trusted counselor or teacher.” A definition for coach is, “a person responsible for training or managing a person or team.” Did you know that the greatest mentor and coach of all time wants to coach and mentor you for free?

1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NIV) says, “May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through…” Did you catch the words “May God Himself… sanctify you…” The word sanctify means to be set apart. What does God want to set us apart from? He want us do be set apart from the world in regards to thinking and acting differently. The world creates its own boundaries and priorities (or lack of them) which are far from what God’s are. God wants us set apart in our perspective of how we approach life, in how we think through life, and in how we speak, act, and walk out our day-to-day life. He wants to mentor and coach us in that!

We just read that God Himself will help us accomplish that. It begins with holding Him in our heart with reverence as Almighty God. He is all-knowing and we are not! He knows what is good and just and right and we do not. He knows how He made us, what fuels our passion, and how He wants to use us in this earth. At the same time, He wants to be a Father to us. That is His heart behind the words, “May God Himself…” It’s pretty amazing that the God of the universe Himself wants to be a Father to us. In being a Father, He desires to mentor and coach us. I don’t know if you are aware of how many professional athletes have children who then also become athletes. Why does that happen? Because their dad mentored and coached them!

Over the years, I’ve had many people ask me if I would be a mentor to them. I do not have the resource of time available to mentor people one-on-one. I’ve told them if they want to be mentored by me, they will simply have to be a part of what I am doing and become a part of my leadership team. My leadership is more exposed to my thinking and doing than most and they can learn from listening and observing. (And of course they can read Fresh Manna!) I am just a man and just one man. I can only accomplish so much. That’s the very reason we want to be mentored by God. He is not limited. He is really the only one that is absolutely capable of steering each and every individual into right thinking and the plan for their life. Knowing this then—knowing that the God of the universe loves you so much that He wants to set you apart and mentor you personally, is truly a mind-boggling statement of just how awesome and loving the Lord is. The way He will mentor you is through His Holy Spirit whom lives within every person who has accepted Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will take the Word of God and bring understanding to your heart, so that you can understand God’s ways. This is a very special and supernatural thing. It is what allows you to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the God of the universe.

Now as today’s Fresh Manna verse continues, it says, “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through…” What does that mean, “…through and through?”

God wants to teach you how to think through each decision in your life from His perspective. How do we do that? That could lead to volumes of writing. The simplest way to hear from God’s Holy Spirit in a practical ongoing way is for you to ask yourself, What would Jesus think and do? When you put that question over and over before the Lord, and you practice reading His word daily, you’ll see God speak to your heart and bring you those answers. He’ll teach you, not condemn you when you don’t get it right. He’ll coach you to try again and again until it’s become a part of you—through and through. As you put it to work in your life, God will remind you that the motivation and love is what makes all your efforts work. Galatians 5:6 (NIV) “…faith expressing itself through love.” You have to have faith that God is mentoring you and HE WILL help you think through every situation. But, you also have to make sure your heart is guided by the spirit of God’s love. God’s love is filled with forgiveness, mercy, and grace toward you, and that must be how you think it through toward others. This is the rudder to good decisions and to being mentored through and through by God Himself.

Psalm 143:10 (NLT) “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.”