I have been listening to a great podcast by Jeff Goins called The Portfolio Life and was intrigued with an particular interview with Lewis Howes where he talks about having mentors.
Having a mentor has been one of the top 5 prayer requests for the past couple of years.
I would love to have someone to bounce ideas off – someone a bit further down the same track that I am on.
I want my mentor to inspire, guide and encourage me on the journey.
Lewis Howes said an interesting thing about how to gain a mentor. He said that you need to serve your mentor.
If you find ways to help and serve your potential mentor – they will more open to investing their time into serving you.
You know, I had such a selfish view of mentoring – all one sided – on my side of course.
Then I asked myself the question – who is the perfect mentor?
Someone who knows….
- me – my personality, strengths and weaknesses
- my family background – my current situation
- all the possible opportunities out there for me to shine
- the right time to act
- all the steps to successfully start and complete a project
- how to inspire and motivate me
Wow – where can I find such an amazing mentor? This person has to be all seeing and all knowing.
Then God hit me over the head – well whispered in my ear. What about my Spirit?
It dawned on me that I don’t really truly have a close mentoring type relationship with His Spirit.
The whole idea of His Spirit coming to live inside humans is to mentor them until the last day.
God’s Spirit knows ALL of the above list. Hands Down, right?
Why don’t we operate a mentoring relationship with God’s Spirit?
I have to ponder this question so more.
Maybe it’s because we don’t serve (a.k.a. worship) Him in our daily lives?
Maybe it’s because we don’t view the Spirit as a living dwelling mentor?
I know that I am definitely guilty of both reasons.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name , He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. John 14:26
Dear God
Sorry for not seeing your Spirit as my indwelling mentor.
Please help me today to see you working in my life as my mentor.
Please help me to serve and worship you in my thoughts, words and actions today
In the name of Jesus , Amen so be it.
I would love to hear how you discover God in your messy real everyday life too – please leave a comment
Hi Rachel,
My understanding of mentorship is a bit different from the one you describe. When I consider who might be a good mentor, it has nothing to do with me; rather it is someone who reflects Christ consistently and beautifully in his or her life; someone whose walk with the Lord is one I’d like to emulate.
I am in my sixties and have always desired this kind of relationship but the Lord has not provided it for me. I have desired a mentor during the more than 40 years while I served the Lord in His church, even while mentoring others. But the Lord did provide this for me.
Except for the Holy Spirit.
To your point, He, in His sovereignty withheld a human mentor from my life and has instead drawn me to Himself to receive all that I need from Him. What a blessing! Through having to depend on Him, He has taught me about Himself and His faithfulness. He has deepened my love for Him and sharpened my attention to His Voice. I am continually amazed at what He reveals about Himself as He continues to change me to be more like Him.
He knows best what my needs are; and in His sovereignty, He has chosen to work in my life in this way.
Be encouraged. He has you in a place where He is helping you experience that He is your all in all. Hallelujah!
Hey there Susan – thanks for your comment. I love your comment about a mentor being someone who reflects Christ – I totally agree with that. It sounds like we are both in the same boat in terms of not having a human mentor in our life but leaning on the Holy Spirit. Thanks for your insight and encouragement!