Be Strong and Courageous and Do It

In these past few months, the Lord has been speaking to me gently and has led my heart to the decision to homeschool. When our family was training for missions, I had planned to homeschool, so this is not the first time I have considered and looked into homeschooling. But this time, it's for real. God has not only made it clear that this is the path He wants me to take, but Sophie is also really, for real starting school this year. She's just four, so school is still simple at this age. But I am choosing to take responsibility for her schooling, and that feels huge to me.

And it feels even more huge because I am only taking this path because it is what God has put on my heart. And if He is calling me to it, I must take it seriously. I must give it my all. 

So I had come to a place of feeling overwhelmed and unprepared and inadequate to homeschool. 

On top of all of it, Sophie's character and actions lately have brought me to a place of frustration and uncertainty. I don't think her actions are out-of-the-norm for a four year-old. But I feel responsibility for her soul, and I see her making choices that are unloving, unkind, disobedient, impatient, and selfish, and I realize that Ben and I are the ones God has entrusted with caring for her soul. And lately, I feel like sometimes I do a very poor job at that! So, all of these things together (along with life in general) have left me feeling overwhelmed and anxious. 

But the other day I was reading in 1 Chronicles, and God spoke to me through a story about Solomon. Isn't it so awesome that God can speak to us through stories from so long ago? That He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, so the way that He comforted those in the past still comforts us today... the way He remained faithful in the past is still the way He remains faithful today. I'm so thankful.

In the story, David is preparing his son, Solomon, to take over as King. God has chosen Solomon to be the one who will build the temple... the temple where God will reign among His people. David instructs his son, and he says, "Be careful now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it" (1 Chron. 28:10). Then a little later, he says to Solomon, "Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the LORD God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished" (1 Chron. 28:20).

David told Solomon that yes, he was being chosen to do a big job and he needed to be careful because God was entrusting him with this job. But God would be with him. He didn't need to be afraid or worried or overwhelmed or anxious because the Lord would not leave him until all the work was accomplished. The Lord was empowering him for this task, so he would sustain him through the task.

Solomon was entrusted to build a temple where the Lord would reign. Essentially, the Lord is entrusting me with the same thing. In 1 Corinthians 6, we read that as believers our bodies are temples because the Holy Spirit lives in us. So, the Lord is entrusting me with these little lives. While I cannot make soul-saving choices for them, I can and should teach and exemplify the truth. 

Yes, this is huge. Being responsible to teach truth and live as an example... to build these little temples where God can dwell... that is a big and scary task! But the Lord has entrusted me with these children, he has asked me to do this job, and he will not leave or forsake me until the job is finished.

Praise God for His unending faithfulness!