… Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you — Joshua 1:5 (ESV)
Talk about pressure. Moses had died, and Joshua was his God-appointed successor. He was called to do the one thing his mentor had been unable to do … take the people into Canaan Land. From the words in Joshua 1, he obviously felt overwhelmed. God then gave a comforting promise, “As I was with Moses so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.”
All throughout this first chapter, we see God taking responsibility for the process at hand.
- (vs. 2) … into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.
- (vs. 3) … Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you
- (vs. 5) … I will not leave you or forsake you
- (vs. 9) … for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
This is a constant theme throughout all the scriptures as we see God taking responsibility to see things through to the end.
- And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. –Gen. 12:2
- On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, –Gen. 15:18
The reason so many new and old homeschoolers struggle in the day to day is that we think the responsibility to disciple our children and teach them how to read, write, and do math rests solely on our own shoulders. While we are called to make the effort—it is called homeschooling not no-schooling—we must understand it is God who illuminates our children’s eyes to new concepts. It is neither our great inspirational teaching style nor that perfection curriculum that guarantees understanding. God takes that responsibility.
ICHE’s vision is to continue to call people back to Christ in their homeschooling journey because we have a propensity to try and figure it all out ourselves. That’s what Adam and Eve did when they ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. How did that turn out? Their self-effort brought brokenness to the entire human race.
Obviously, we are called to put the time and energy in. But we must always be looking to Christ as our ultimate source. Just as “… salvation is of the Lord,” (Psalms 37:39), so is our children’s education and preparation for life.
After three decades of homeschooling, I have witnessed numerous people act as if they had homeschooling all figured out after the first year or two. Although they start out with much flair, they often send their children back to the public school. Even as I type these words, I see faces of many who started out strong but ended up sending their kids back to the public school. It is usually those individuals who, like Joshua, feel compelled to always confess their utter inability to lead their children that are the ones who see things through to the end. They genuinely realize without God they can do nothing (John 15:5), and therein is their success.
When you feel overwhelmed, go to the rock that is higher than you. (Psalms 61:2) It is then you too will see the footprints in the sand, and you will understand His shoes are so much bigger than your own.
Suggestion: You may take a night out and have a special dinner and talk to your children about the new school year. You may, as a family or as parents, confess your own inability and ask for God’s presence and guidance for the new school year. We see the power of confession in the life of Daniel as he prayed for Jerusalem’s restoration. Tell God your ultimate desire is to see Him glorified in your family and in this year’s homeschool experience. What might God do in your home as you look to Him as the First Cause of all things?
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