I've found myself in a season where I am dumbfounded... by myself.

Like a sunburn that comes quickly and without notice until it's too late, I've seen moments come and go where my mouth wants to blurt out, "Oh yeah, I know."

Let me explain.

I'm in the middle of a time where I am surrounded by people who don't know my past, really at all. They don't know my experiences or my accomplishments. And because of this, I have encountered the "I know" frustration.

The "I know" frustration looks like people trying to teach me how to do something, trying to explain how to be better in an area, or encourage certain areas that come about when I already know.

In these moments, I come to a crossroads of stopping their teaching and inserting my knowledge, or remaining a student and choosing to learn again.

What I have found is that it is more natural to say, "I know" than to stay silent and teachable.

And that is what the Holy Spirit has been pointing out in me.

Is it okay to be a student when I don't want to learn? Is it okay to be humble and not express my own abilities?

Humility hurts. It hasn't been easy for me to silence myself and allow people to speak about things that I already claim to know.

But humility, teachability, and silence can be where God moves the most.

I think it's hard for us not to acknowledge our abilities when others express theirs. We want to be equals. We want to show off what we know and be seen as competent people.

But God is wanting and desiring to be the One who speaks out about us, to tell the world about who we are.

God is so adamant about being the One who speaks for us... and He reminds us of this all throughout scripture.

"Let someone else honor you for your accomplishments,
for self-praise is never appropriate."

Proverbs 27:2

"Don’t boast in the presence of a king
or promote yourself by taking a seat at the head table
    and pretend that you’re someone important.
For it is better for the king to say to you,
    “Come, you should sit at the head table,”
    than for him to say in front of everyone,
    “Please get up and move—
    you’re sitting in the place of the prince.”

Proverbs 25:6-7

God has a plan within us that is greater expressed when we allow Him to honor us rather than seek our own.

Thinking about what glorifies God the most, I find that humility, although difficult, allows God to be the one who strengthens us.

In those immediate moments where I say, "I know", God's power isn't shining in me.

Why? Because 2 Corinthians 12:9 tells us that Christ's power is made perfect in my weakness.

His power occurs when we are slow to show our own strengths and stand in our weaknesses.

Our weaknesses here aren't sin, but things we want to do with God but struggle to do on our own.

When we humble ourselves, quiet our mouths and stay learners, God's power is at work within us, allowing us to do what we can't do on our own.

Humility can be the gap between where we are, and where we want to be!

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."

James 4:10

Through His Spirit, He can give us the boldness to be who He has called us to be without our need to acknowledge ourselves.

Trust in His ability and desire to advocate for us, then you will find miraculous things, things far above what we could conjure up with our own strength.