Stewardship

And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?–Luke 12:42 (NKJV)

In Luke 12:42, God not only shares the term of “steward” but also provides its definition as one who gives the proper amount of food at the proper time to those for whom they are responsible. Homeschoolers can definitely appreciate this! We know that teaching our children at home is not simply a matter of pouring all sorts of indiscriminate information into their young brains, but it is a matter of giving them what they need when they need it and when they can handle it.

We see God as the Ultimate Steward in Psalms 104:27 as He takes care of His creation: “These all wait for You, That You may give them their food in due season.” Of course, God is perfect in wisdom and timing in stewarding His flock. Us? Not so much on the perfection side of things. So how can we be more sensitive in stewarding our children?

We need to walk in the Spirit as He is in the Spirit, so we can be increasingly aware of what He is doing. This is done through faithfully reading the scriptures, spending time on our knees in prayer, praying as a couple, and meditating on His ways when we have time throughout the day. These spiritual disciplines take a lot of work. They may not seem to accomplish much on a daily basis but over time they accumulate to change our children’s eternal and temporal destinies.

When I was a sophomore, my college basketball team had a road trip to the West Coast. We had the opportunity to stop at Colorado Springs and practice at the Air Force Academy’s gym as well as stay at the Olympic Training Center located there. Young men, aged 13 to 16 years old, were practicing for the future Olympics. They were sacrificing years of their childhood in the name of discipline for a chance at a five-minute race that might help them stand upon a future podium and hear the Stars Spangled Banner played.

If they were that dedicated to win a perishable crown, how much more so should we seek to be in step with God as our spiritual legacy being on the line? If that doesn’t motivate us, I don’t know what would.

In addition to spending time with Jesus, homeschooling parents need to spend intentional time with their children. Most do a wonderful job of this, especially moms. They are transparent eyeballs constantly watching their children’s attitudes and actions on a daily basis as they interact with their siblings and life in general. They have an acute pulse on where their children are at and are good to share with their husbands who are often so preoccupied with financial provision that they miss some spiritual cues and warning signs.

This month, we want to pray that homeschooling parents will be sensitive to God’s timing in the following areas:

1. Pray that we will remain faithful when God seems to prolong a period according to His perfect will.

• Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house.–Numbers 12:7
• Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!–Psalms 27:14

2. Pray that we will not be guilty of the sins of anxiety or complaining in the waiting.

• Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.–Phil. 4:6
• Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?–Matt. 6:27

3. Pray that we would be able to see the glory of waiting and actually find rest in the waiting.

• Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.–Psalms 37:7
• In You, O Lord, I put my trust; Let me never be ashamed; Deliver me in Your righteousness.–Psalms 31:1

4. Pray that we would see the period of waiting as a God-ordained time to prepare our children and/or ourselves for the next level of obedience and blessing.

• Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear,–Psalms 10:17
• The ants are a people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in the summer; –Proverbs 30:25

5. Pray that we will have keen discernment in timing, direction, and energy when God says it is time to move forward.

• Whoever keeps a command will know no evil thing, and the wise heart will know the proper time and the just way.–Ecc. 8:5
• But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank.–Exodus 2:3
• Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out.–Exodus 40:36

6. Pray that our faith would increase in the waiting and not waver. Pray that we would guard what comes into our homes and our minds during this season as well.

• And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”–Luke 17:5
• but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.–2 Peter 3:18

7. Pray that we will not simply accept God’s ways and timing, but we will learn to embrace it as the best thing for our lives and our children’s lives, whether it is slower or faster than we think it should be.

• As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.–2 Samuel 22:31
• He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He–Deut. 32:4

8. Pray that we will avoid the temptation of taking the situation into our own hands and putting our pragmatic understanding on the hand and timing of God.

• I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts;–Is. 65:2
• So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.–Zech. 4:6

9. Pray that God will grace us not to be intimidated nor coerced by man’s fickle thoughts during a season of waiting, nor be held back when it is time to move.

• that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,–Eph. 4:14
• There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.–Proverbs 14:12

10. Pray that our children will not grow impatient in waiting for God’s timing for their future spouse and career, nor would they accept second best.

• In You, O Lord, I put my trust; Let me never be ashamed; Deliver me in Your righteousness.–Psalms 31:1