HOMESCHOOLED
In the Classroom with God
July 5th, 2023
See, I’ve been in the classroom lately. With God. And while the lessons have been extremely difficult, excruciatingly painful, exhaustingly real, they also are the purpose of a patient Teacher’s Lesson Plan—extravagantly designed for my good and ultimately His use. And He is (home)schooling me so I may know that He has my best interests strategically in sync with the beat of the His heart.
TODAY’S LESSON: Life Isn’t What You Make It
I am certain, everyone has said, at one time or another—or at least heard—the statement, “It is what it is!” But, why does it have to be that way? Doesn’t that sentiment alone speak loud and clearly: the well of hope has run dry; we are at the end of the road; the sky has fallen, Chicken Little; why try?! However, I think our basis of belief in those words limits a Mighty God, a good Father, Jehovah Jireh, the God Who Provides, Who comes through, the God of the Universe, Jesus, my Defender, the Lifter of my head.
I feel like I have just been sent back to school, and I have entered the classroom known as Back to the Basics 101, or Life for Dummies. I am immersed in courses and studies I swear I have done in the past. That I completed, and even aced before, but for some reason, it’s like I am here, again, and for the first time. I need to take a step back, along with a deep breath, and reposition myself, even if it means going to the back of the class, no longer the head of the class, and settling in for a lengthy study, preparing for a brutal final. Ahead are long nights of cramming, running on lots of caffeine and little sleep, studying to pass a test for a position I already decided long ago I don’t want to be when I grow up. But here am I.
I wonder if you might be here too. Everything is falling apart. I watch the news, aghast at what is taking place in our sad world. I am undone with some personal experiences my family is going through, the lessons too raw to even talk about just yet, if ever. We work with people all day, every day, who are hurting and addicted, incarcerated and hopeless, desperately trying to pull themselves up by a thread, and for why? but to crash and crumble all over again. It is almost too much, too little, too late, overwhelmed, unhinged, and consumed with a concept of tragedy and helplessness.
But, in the midst of my own epidemic, a Holy God comes close, crashing through all the devastation and despondence I have been feeling. And you too. The One Who normally whispers and is gentlemanly, Who often softly beckons and quietly is patient, comes in now with fervor, insistent on my attention. I confess, it is time to go back to the drawing board, back to the classroom, that I don’t know it all, after all, and it is emphatic I pay attention and heed His instruction.
Students, He is wanting our attention. He has patiently waited for our intentions to change, but we have not, and we are running out of time. He is here now, and He has Lessons that are vital for us to learn, for us to value, to apply. Life no longer is what we make it; no longer is it what it is. We are almost out of time to make a dent in the assignments God has given us, His children, to complete.
I realize it starts with me. The struggle I have wrestled with recently is selfishly about me and my resistance. But if I don’t change, how will anyone else want to. If the ways I have always done things haven’t worked, isn’t it time for me to try something different? Because I fear I may almost be out of time. People and relationships are not expendable. Soon, there may be no more chances left at all. There are neighbors we have, friends I rub shoulders and my heart with, colleagues, acquaintances, family members, who do not know the great love of God for them. They have no idea of their overwhelming need for Jesus because I don’t make Jesus appealing or fragrant or evident enough in my life for them to want what I have. So, why would anyone else want to try Him out when my face is morose and I am sad and unsmiling too; like the rest of the world, I appear so miserable? It is up to me to start someplace, to begin here, to love the lost enough for them to be found, no matter what it takes. No matter what it takes, so that those I love, whom I care for, aren’t left behind.
It’s not enough that I get there. I want you to get there too. And to know His favor in this life is so much more than living for self and for the temporary and passing and fleeting things of this life…well, simply, that isn’t enough. He is urgently prompting us that there is more, and time is short.
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT:
Today, who can you share Jesus with? ______________________________________________________
Today, how can you make Jesus more appealing to others by changes you make within yourself?
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‘I hear the Lord saying, “I will stay close to you, instructing you and guiding you along the pathway for your life. I will advise you along the way and lead you forth with My eyes as your guide. So, don’t make it difficult; don’t be stubborn when I take you where you’ve not been before. Don’t make Me tug you and pull you along. Just come with Me!”’ (Psalm 32:8-9, TPT)
