August 18, 2025 Devo

Some years ago, I had a staff person who was struggling with a situation. I heard about it second-hand through one of my other staff members. I knew I could help them with it, but instead of going to them and offering advice, I waited. For the next few days, I watched them struggle. They were anxious and fearful. They were stressed. I even overheard them complaining about it to a couple of our support staff. Internally, I hurt for them. My codependency was screaming to rescue them. But I held back. I knew that until they were ready to receive what I had to say, my interference wouldn’t help.
Finally, they stopped by my office and asked if I had a few minutes. They poured out their heart, told me they were at their wits’ end and wanted to know what more they could do. For the next several minutes, I walked them through an approach to the situation that was completely off their radar. They would never have dreamed of coming at it from that perspective. A few days later, they stopped me. “It worked!” they said excitedly. They were grinning from ear to ear. “Thank you so much!” they said. I smiled and nodded. “You’re welcome.” You might be asking yourself why I waited so long to offer help. Simple. The teacher can’t “teach” until the student is ready. Until then, it’s just white noise.
I thought of that when I read today’s verse. Notice the phrase “in distress.” It’s key. God ALWAYS answers. But sometimes He may take His time. Not because He wants to see us struggle. Nor because He wants our situation to get worse. But there are times He can’t answer because we’re not ready to hear. Like my staff member, we sometimes have to come to a place of “distress.” That’s when our hearts are humble. That’s when our minds are open. That’s when our pride is broken and our spirits are teachable. That’s when God can bring clarity and wisdom to our requests and help us see what needs to be done.
The greatest wisdom in the world is no good to the ears that won’t hear. The most insightful understanding is of no use to the mind that is already made up. Even the voice of God bounces right off the heart that is hardened. The Teacher can’t teach until the student is ready. You can choose to be humble and open, or you can wait until distress takes you there. You must decide if your pride is worth the pain. God’s not codependent, but He would love to help you. But He can’t help until you’re ready to receive. That’s God’s Word for you today.