Mentors - God's Special Gift.

One of the things I love about reading Lynn Austin's books is how she brings the characters alive, and of course introduces characters that we don't hear mentioned a lot in the Bible, but still they play an important part in history.

Hezekiah had his right hand men - his Palace Administrators and Secratary. One, was a man of wisdom, but no sense. His name was Shebna, an Egyptian who had been hired by Hezekiah's father to tutor him. Then there was the man who trusted in God, also very wise - his name was Eliakim.

After making a treaty with Babylon and then Egypt, on the advice of Shebna, Hezekiah sat in his room feeling depressed. He realized he had made the wrong decision. He was full of pride and the words of that Eliakim had earlier spoke to him came to his mind:

"The Torah says, Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand in vain. We need to put our trust in God."

Hezekiah had been trusting in man, not God, and he had stopped listening to who he truly knew to be his trusted advisor. He had always listed to Eliakim before because he knew he spoke the truth. Eliakim was his MENTOR, God's special gift top Him. Someone he needed to help him stay on track - to follow the Lord's will in His life.


As I said in my first BLOG for 2011, my little box of promises was given to me by my mentor. She may not realize, that even now that I have moved away, this `special gift' is helping to me to follow the most important mentor of all - the Lord.

"The Lord Himself will lead you and he will guide you.
He will not fail you or abandon you, so not lose courage
and to not be afraid."Deuteronomy 3:8

I encourage you, if you haven't already, to find yourself a mentor. Pray about it, as Hezekiah did, and the Lord will lead you to someone you can trust. Most of all, someone who you know you can be honest with and will pray with you. It may be someone in your Home Group or someone in Church that God points out for you. This is how it was for me.

I prayed about it, because I felt I wasn't growing in my Christian life. I needed someone to take my hand and walk with me in what I didn't know then would be a difficult and challenging journey. The next Sunday I looked across the Church - and the Lord pointed her out to me. She wasn't a Church elder, or someone I knew very well; but God said - "I have chosen her as your Mentor". I asked her and she was willing.

We started meeting at McDonalds after work, once a week until that got too expensive. We would read the Bible together, pray; must most of all talk together. You need to be a good listener - both the mentor and the mentee.

Later I started meeting in her home. Pam and I met together for 3 years I believe before I moved away. I know she still prays for me, and she rings me up at least once a month. Most of all though, I my mentor as helped me learn to rely on the Lord and to grow in Him, so that one day I may be a mentor to someone else.

A mentor is God's special gift, someone you need to have, and when the time is right, someone you need to be. But never forget to rely and trust on the greatest mentor of all - our Lord Jesus Christ.