I've Been This Way Before

T

he first day of class is always a challenging time for both the student and the instructor.  The students have no idea what to expect from the course, from the teacher, or from themselves.  They all file in, take their seats, look over the competition, chat with friends they’ve met in other courses, compare notes about the instructor, and wait very nervously for the class to begin.  When the instructor arrives, tensions mount, especially when the course syllabus is distributed and the students see what is required of them for the upcoming semester.

For his part, the instructor is equally nervous.  He has no idea who these people are, where they’ve come from, what their background is, how to pronounce their names, or how they will react to him.  Trying to put faces with names is a constant headache as students’ names and faces begin to mix with the faces and names of other students in other classes either past or present.  The instructor must find a way to break the ice and earn the trust of his class.  All of this must be done within the first few minutes or all will be lost for the remainder of the semester.

Every semester, I go through this gut-wrenching process.  I want my students to relax and enjoy the learning process.  However, they are convinced that my one objective is to make sure they don’t succeed, that they work extra hard just to get a C, and that I am their enemy.  Now none of those things is true, but until I can convince them of that reality, I am fighting an uphill battle.  Until they trust me, the classroom more closely resembles trench warfare (me against them) than it does an all out joint effort (all of us on the same team).

So, each semester I tell all of my classes the same thing.  The French language can be mastered.  I want them to know that I fully understand their fear and anxiety because I experienced it myself when I began taking French.  I have been studying French for 37 years and I still make mistakes.  What I want them to understand is that they can learn from my mistakes and profit from them.  I have walked this road ahead of them and I walked it before some of them were even born!!!  When I tell a student I understand his or her questions or concerns, I really mean that because I’ve been there and I know just how frustrating it can be. 

Walking with the Lord is the same way.  He knows how difficult the path can be.  He understands when temptations assail us from every side, he fully understands how weary we become along life’s pathway, he is no stranger to disappointment and rejection, and he completely understands us when we grieve.  Jesus knows what it is like to have friends abandon him; he knows what it is like to be mocked, betrayed, misunderstood, and hated.  He does not shy away from us when we bring these concerns before him because he has been this way before.

In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Paul writes the following words of encouragement for us, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”  Here, Paul explains that our trials and conflicts allow us to help others who are in the same situations we have experienced.  God allows difficulties to come into our lives so that we can help others.

H

owever, there is also another dimension implied by this passage.  God comforts us because he, himself, understands all our difficulties.  Jesus experienced everything we experience and he offers us his peace and his comfort in all the challenges of life.  He loves you today and he understands everything you are facing.  When he enters the classroom of life, Jesus tells us plainly that he will help us face all our trials and that he will help us through all of life’s difficulties.  He can say this because he has been this way before!  So, put your trust in him!