When Nietzsche penned his famous Madman essay, he was asking Western Civilization if it was really ready for the philosophical ramifications of “killing God.” What many people did not anticipate was that if God was dead, so was the orderliness that He created; thus, leaving the world to bob up and down in a sea of unforgiving chaos. The one hundred and thirty year response to his essay has now been recorded by society, not in words of pen and ink but in the millions of anti-depressant prescriptions and in the thirty-plus genders now recognized by the state of New York. Even Dr. Seuss can no longer help us know which way is up or which way is down or is it sideways?
With the culture’s spiritual gravity lifted, people are flailing anxiously in moral relativism, seeking to find some kind of solid ground somewhere. Sadly, many Christians, being seduced by worldly spirits, have similarly departed from the firm foundations of a biblical worldview and are drifting aimlessly throughout life. There is no passion. There is little energy. There is little faith.
March’s focus on the character of God is a celebration of the comforting orderliness that His presence brings. Conversely, man’s current antithesis to God, evolution, brings nothing but hopelessness as it is based on an impersonal force that has neither rhyme nor reason, purpose nor design. No wonder people are so depressed!
The more orderly our lives become, the more we reflect the glory of God. In saying this, I am not talking about an anal-retentive approach to life where the crossing of every “t” and the dotting of every “i” must be accomplished in the spirit of obligation and legalism. Instead, orderliness is a loving and grace-filled form of worship that acknowledges the personality of God and His gifts of time, energy, and resources.
How does this take place in homeschooling households? Our daily schedules should reflect His priorities and our adherence to that schedule should reflect the self-control that His Spirit gives us (Gal. 5:23). The beauty and the orderliness of Solomon’s temple should be apparent in our physical temples as we exhibit proper thoughts in our minds as well as adequate hygiene in our physical appearance. The dedication we have to make sure our children have a well-rounded education is a further manifestation of the commitment to orderliness. Even the cleanliness of our homes mirrors God’s work in our lives.
It is, however, so tempting to fall back into the world’s ways of doing what we want instead of doing what we ought. While we may get by with it for a while, the chickens eventually come home to roost. This is why we are dedicating this month’s prayer and fasting day to ask for God’s grace in helping us walk in an orderly lifestyle.
Please pray with us – fasting if you are willing and able – on the second Tuesday in March as we pray for the following:
1. Pray that God will reveal to us the different areas in which we have abdicated from an orderly lifestyle, whether that be in the spiritual arena, the physical arena, the mental arena, the emotional/relational arena, the financial arena, the parental arena, etc.
- I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. – Jeremiah 17:10
- Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. – Philippians 3:15
2. Pray for us to understand that orderliness is a direct manifestation of the stewardship that God gives mankind over our smaller personal domains as well as over God’s larger creation, and we should therefore do it to the best of our abilities.
- Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. – 1 Corinthians 4:1,2
- And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. – Hebrews 4:13
3. Pray that we parents will have a genuine burden to teach our children to be orderly in their time, possessions, and being, not so much with our words but with our actions.
- In all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility. – Titus 2:7
- Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. – Philippians 3:17
4. Pray that we will see that orderliness is usually manifested in little things that are within our power to control.
- Do not despise this small beginning, for the eyes of the Lord rejoice to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. –Zechariah 4:10 (TLB)
- And he said to him, “Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.” – Luke 19:17
5. Pray that as we learn to be more orderly in our lifestyles, that we might see a correlating result in having more time and better results in all areas of life.
- But this I say: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. – 2 Corinthians 9:6
- And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. – 2 Corinthians 9:8
6. Pray that God will bring resources – people, videos, books, articles, ideas – that will help us become more orderly.
- Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. – Psalms 25:4
- Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes, and I shall keep it to the end. – Psalms 119:33
7. Pray for our homeschool experience to be orderly in regard to priorities, scheduling, discipline, freedom, vocational/educational preparedness, etc.
- “O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! – Psalms 39:4
- For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. – 2 Timothy 1:7
8. Pray for us to see orderliness as a gift from God to bless us rather than a burden to bear.
- And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” – Mark 7:37
- He who heeds the word wisely will find good, and whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he. – Proverbs 16:20
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