Over the past dozen years of our home school journey, God has given me several verses to cling to. As a young Christian, I didn't know how to truly hear the voice of God. I would ask Stan the same questions my kids are now asking me.
"How do you hear God speak to you?"
It is such a hard question to answer; but wow, it is such an amazing thing when it happens! When the living God speaks to you, and you know without a doubt that He did - there are no words! I can't really put it eloquently, I have not read very many books about "how" to hear God's voice, I just know that once He speaks you long to hear from Him over and over again. I find now that I am a little further along on my journey, that I hear from Him quite often, but the key is that I have to be listening. When I allow the the cacophony of too much on our to do list to drown Him out, I don't hear anything. He is a still, small voice, He does not feel the need to shout to be heard. He is always there, never wavering, steadfast. He is the Rock - yet, I am the one who moves away sometimes. I am the one who allows myself to be enticed by the world. My flesh wars constantly with what I want to be, and to my great shame, sometimes my flesh wins a temporary victory. Always, however, I can go back to the fact that because of the blood of Jesus, I am forgiven. I am not abandoned and not forsaken. The battle may be fierce, but the war is won!
I remember so clearly the first time that I recognized the voice of God. I'm sure He had spoken to me before and I had ignored it or not even realized it and surely He drew me unto Himself with His calm, patient voice. However, when He spoke to me about home schooling our children, if I did not know better, I would have told you He said it out loud. I'm not saying He did, I'm just saying that it was so clear and so bold in my heart that I literally looked behind me to see if someone was there. I guess that is why in this marathon that we call home education, even though I watch others fall by the wayside and people constantly ask me if we will continue this ALL the way - I can boldly and confidently say that "yes, we will continue this ALL the way." Not because it is always easy or because I always jump out of bed feeling great about it, but simply because God told me to do it. After all, what else can I do?
This brings me to the first couple of verses that God has used over the years, along with His voice, to guide us down this path. This path that is straight, yet very, very narrow; as the right path usually is.
"Samuel said, 'Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,And to heed than the fat of rams.'" 1 Samuel 15:22
"So then, if you know the good you ought to do and don't do it, you sin." James 4:17
Now that two of our children are getting older we are seeing the fruits of our labor, just as He promised we would. We have teenagers who are spiritually strong, emotionally stable, and committed to purity. Are they perfect? Of course not. Do they fall sometimes? Of course. But, they are steadfast, they are pure, and they know that they are soldiers in the King's army. They know that there is a battle to fight and that they play an important part. They know that they are useful. They know that they have been trained and honed as arrows in the hands of a warrior and they are almost ready to be shot, straight and true into a world that is desperately out of control.
God has used so many verses over the years to reiterate our calling. These verses are always spoken at exactly the right time, to confirm to us that He has indeed placed us here. Here are just a few:
"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." Galatians 6: 7-8
"Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth.
How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate." Psalm 127: 4-5
"He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse." Malachi 4:6
Now that we are bearing fruit, God is giving me verses of victory and reward. Now that we are both thoroughly convinced of our calling, now he gives us words of encouragement and words to give us boldness in our faith and our path. He gives us words that reassure me and words that keep me humble.
What my children are becoming is NOT about me. It is not because of me, it is not because I am good at what I do, or because I am always patient and long suffering. You can ask my children if I am always patient and long suffering! No, all I did was simply obey - and that was a shock in itself; but, like I said, it was LOUD and CLEAR. I really had no other choice.
What my young adult children are becoming is only from God. He gets all the glory and all the honor. He used me, a weak and frail vessel and He gave me the blessings. This journey of home schooling is not my cross to bear, as I foolishly believed it would be, it is my privilege, my reward. It is all about bringing the living God glory and honor and watching how He shapes and molds young lives that are given fully to Him. It is amazing and beautiful and more than anything I wish that everyone who reads this could experience what our family is experiencing.
Here are the verses He is currently using to encourage our family. This first one is my battle cry, it takes all the pressure off when I cling to it!
"And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children." Isaiah 54:13
"By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; And by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches." Proverbs 24: 3-4
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!" Psalm 133:1
I hope that you have been encouraged by reading this note. My prayer is that you would cling to God and not let go until He speaks to you - about whatever is on your heart.
In one of my favorite books, The God Who Is There , Francis A. Schaeffer says this, "The Bible, the historic Creeds, and orthodoxy are important because God is there, and finally, that is the only reason they have their importance." He also says, "Biblical truth and spirituality is not a relationship to the word god, or to the idea god. It is a relationship to the One who is there. This is an entirely different concept."
Friends, I would like to end with this. God is there. He is real and alive, and He wants to live in you and be manifested to a lost world through you. He will use your children in mighty ways and you will be blessed beyond measure if you allow Him to do just that.
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