The Karate Kid: Not everything is as seem.

After days of doing "chores" for Mr. Miyagi, Daniel is furious when he sees Mr. Miyagi return home carrying his fishing pole and the fish he caught.

As Daniel follows Mr. Miyagi through the gate into the manicured backyard, he points out that they had a deal. Mr. Miyagi is supposed to teach Daniel karate, and Daniel is supposed to learn, but he has not learned a thing.

Mr. Miyagi replies that Daniel has learned plenty. Daniel angrily snaps, "I've learned to sand your decks, maybe. I've waxed your car. I paint your house, paint your fence. I learned plenty, right!"

Mr. Miyagi gently replies, Not everything is as seem."

Daniel is apoplectic and announces he is going home.

Exasperated, Mr. Miyagi calls for Daniel to come back. He then asks Daniel to perform the moves he used to sand the decks, wax the car, paint the fence, and paint the house.

Mr. Miyagi corrects Daniel's form for these moves. He then shocks Daniel by attacking him.

As Mr. Miyagi throws punch after punch and kick after kick, Daniel's chores have created muscle memory that allows him to block the attacks.

After an onslaught of punches and kicks, Mr. Miyagi simply states, "Come back tomorrow."

Not everything is as seem.

Learning The Wrong Way In Life

Many of us can relate to Daniel's frustration and feeling of being taken advantage of.

When I began my martial arts training in the late 1980s, I wanted to be like the "Karate Kid," yet I never expected to train like Daniel did.

I expected to pay my money, join a class, and learn like kids learn the Cobra Kai Dojo—just without the psycho instructor.

In life, we have become limited in our understanding of how lessons are to be taught.

We have a "government school" mentality. There is a classroom teacher in front of rows of desks with students sitting there, waiting to be taught.

We have lectures, books to read (including case studies), individual and team projects.

One question that is almost always asked is, "Will this be on the test?"

We are taught to pass tests, not necessarily to understand and apply the information we are given.

Learning Lessons God's Way

Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

God is love. God is relational.

God is God, and we are not.

When we want to grow, we have a human way we expect to grow and learn.

God may or may not teach us that way.

3 Ways God Teaches

#1 Through the Bible

#2 Through hardships

#3 Through your prayer life

Learning Through the Bible

We can learn by reading and memorizing Scripture, just like reading a textbook.

This can lead to head knowledge. We can learn a lot about God, but we may not necessarily grow closer to Him.

If we just read the Bible to gain knowledge about God and what He has done, we are missing the point; we become that kid who asks, "Will this be on the test?"

If we read Scripture as a love letter from God, we can grow closer to Him. If He has done the things recorded in Scripture for those people, we can believe that He will do something for us. It might not be the same, but God lovingly acts in every situation, even in situations where people experience pain or punishment.

Please, please, please, do not take verses out of context. People today love doing that. Sometimes, God will do the exact same thing, but more than likely, His response to you will not be the same. He will tailor His response based on what you need.

Learning Through Hardships

No one likes hardships. Well, the Apostle Paul seemed to find some comfort in them.

Paul boasts about his sufferings in 2 Corinthians 11:23b-33(ESV).

[I, Paul, have]far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.

What did Paul learn from these hardships? 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 says, "So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Learning Through Your Prayer Life

Try not to complicate prayer.

Prayer is simply a conversation you are having with God the Father.

I know, "simply a conversation," is not something that is simple. When we pray, we are having a conversation with the Creator of everything.

God knows everything we are going to ask, think, and do before we do.

So why pray?

Here is the one-word Sunday School answer, "Jesus."

Jesus, who was God in the flesh, prayed. If Jesus did it, we should as well.

When He prayed, He "reconnected" with God. God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have been a triune God forever and ever.

Before Jesus became human, He "was in the form of God, [but ]did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men."(Philippians 2:6-7)

Because of this, He prayed to have communion with God and to hear what the Father wanted Him to do.

Be Open To God's Teachings

As much as I do not like the phrase, "God moves in mysterious ways," it is often true.

I am reminded of Genesis 50:20 when Joseph is speaking to his brothers that sold him into slavery. He says to them, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today."

Joseph learned valuable lessons during his life because he kept his heart and mind focused on God and doing His will.

Be like Joseph.