My spiritual father has a practise that he has taught us over the years; it is the practise of learning from anyone and everyone. He would say, “If you have one and I have half, but you despise me for having half, I would learn from you, take your one and add to my half. I would end up having one and half.”

“A wise man will hear, and will increase learning…” (Proverbs 1:5). One of the marks of wisdom is being predisposed to learning. What reveals your wisdom is not that you know, but that you want to know. Actually, the more you know God, the more you realize that you do not really know Him, and the more you want to know Him (Philippians 3:10).

Until knowledge reveals your ignorance, you have not started to learn. What some people call creative thinking is just a romance with ignorance. Any thinking that does not open you up to new levels of knowledge is not creative thinking; it is destructive thinking. Take time to process the right information. Generate new ideas. Strengthen your knowledge base.

Learning is not a status matter, it is a wisdom matter. It takes humility to learn. You can be a General in destiny but you would need a Sargent Major to train you. Jesus never minded his status when he stooped low to be baptized by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:13-15). Moses learnt critical skill for ministry and leadership from his father-in-law (Exodus 18:13-24). Jesus learnt from the Pharisees and Doctors of the law (Luke 2:46).

“I went by the field of the slothful…Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction” (Proverbs 24:30-32). You can learn wisdom from a fool. Abigail learnt wisdom from the folly of her husband, Nabal (1 Samuel 25:2-26). You can learn how not to be a bad wife from a wicked aunty. You can learn how not to do Church, run business or lead a team from a supposed incompetent leader. Samuel learnt how to hear God from a backsliding Eli (1 Samuel 3:7-10).

Learning requires a skill. You need to learn how to learn. Don’t just be receiving information without inside-formation. You can learn a lot from a side story than the meat of the discussion. You can learn from someone’s body language. Sometimes, silence can pass more message to you than multitudes of words. Be sensitive to learning moments around you, and never be ashamed to be called a learner. You will succeed!

© ‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria