Has God ever lead you to do something that you didn’t really want to do? It seemed scary and out of your comfort zone. Quite honestly, you didn’t think you could do it.
That is just where God wants you. Instead of relying on yourself, you find your strength through God.
About six years ago, COVID shut everything down. My kids were learning online, because they could not go to school. They were exhausted staring at the screen all day. Their eyes looked like cartoon zombies. As I looked at my 2nd grader and 4th grader, it was clear that this was not working.
The thought of homeschooling entered my mind. I thought no God, really? I mentioned it my husband. He said we should look into it. I sighed. I prayed and asked God if I could do this. I opened the bible to Daniel.
In the verses that I read, Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were thrown into a fiery furnace, for disobeying the King. The King was so furious, that he turned up the furnace 7x the heat, ordering the strongest men to tie them up and throw them in the furnace. Since the King ordered the temperature to be raised so high, his soldiers died as they threw in the three tied up men into the fiery flames of the furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t die as the soldiers died immediately. The three men were walking around with a 4th man, Jesus.
I realized that I was not alone. Jesus was going to lead me through the fiery flames of homeschooling. I just had to listen and follow what God asked me to do.
The Blazing Furnace
Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments. And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in. So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames.
But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied.
“Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!”
—Daniel 3:8-25 (NLT)
I wasn’t finished asking God about homeschooling. I earnestly asked God, do you really want me to homeschool my kids? I had to be sure about this homeschooling, before I turned our lives upside down. So, I opened the bible to John. Jesus said if you love me, take care of my sheep. So, I followed God’s will and homeschooled my kids for three years. We all learned so much. It was chaos. It was hard. It was also fun and entertaining. They learned so quickly. It was totally worth every minute!
After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”
“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.
A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.
—John 21:15-17 (NLT)
When God calls you to do something, go in faith, go out there and do it. You don’t need all the answers. I went into homeschooling not knowing a thing about it. I have to say I thought I was doing a bad job too, until I saw the yearly assessments and almost fell over seeing their measured improvements homeschooling, compared to their public school. I was more of the hot mess homeschool mom, than the homeschool mom of the year, but that didn’t matter, because God took care of it.
If you feel like God is calling you to do something, and you feel like you are not ready and unprepared, don’t brush away the calling. Pause instead and ask God, is this what you want me to do? Admit you are not ready for it. When we humble ourselves, we put ourselves in the perfect position for God to equip us.
Be humble, and seek God’s guidance.
