This devotion was written by a good friend of mine. Thought I would share! :)
Be Strong and Courageous!
by Heather Davis
www.heatherhazard.blogspot.com
“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 2:8, 9
Some days, home schooling just doesn’t make any sense to me. Some days the preschoolers are whiny and demanding, my school-aged child is stubborn and argumentative, the house is a mess, the dinner is unplanned, the groceries need getting, and my head pounds. On days like this, I imagine what it would be like if I sent my son to public school. I have quaint, rosy visions of taking the girls outside for a morning stroll before heading off to the grocery store, a quick lunch, and then tucking them in for a nap while I fold laundry and clean a couple of bathrooms. The peace! The time! Perhaps I could even sit down and read a book! There are times public school has its appeal.
Then I think of Nathan’s day in school. Perhaps a bully would intimidate him into surrendering his lunch money. Certainly, he would hear cursing in the hallways. Maybe even offered drugs at this tender age, something an aunt who formerly taught public school told me happens all the time. And learning! Learning that the world came from a great explosion and all of us can trace our family lines back to certain bacteria. That God is part of a "creation myth” that most people groups hold onto in various forms in order to explain the universe. That there is one way to think and that way is sterile, pre-packaged, and in convenient, single-serving sizes. No thinking outside the box, please, and absolutely no discussion of morality. We don’t need creative, virtuous minds; we need intellectual eunuchs who would not dream about changing the world, much less saving it. Ugh! No thank you. My rosy little dream is suddenly a nightmare.
I know God has called me to home school my children, but sometimes the task seems overwhelming! However, our Lord tells us, “Be strong and courageous!” He knows the difficulty, and He promises to be with us the whole way. We may not have to battle a bunch of pagan men to gain a patch of land on which to raise our crops, but we do have to battle a spiritual war against our enemy who desperately wants us to fail (see Ephesians 6:12). A battle like that for a mere mommy sounds impossible! But God promises us that with Him, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). So be strong and courageous, sister! When life feels like a battleground, remember Who is fighting at your side!
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