“Educating for Eternity,” is the banner that hangs on the sign posts where my daughter used to attend school. It is the mission of the school to not only supply the students with successful SAT and ACT achievement and college entrance preparation, but to also do their part as an educational institution in instructing the students to have their ultimate goal be one that will last well past this life and into an eternal one.
The scripture promises that we can have the Lord’s guidance and instruction in our lives. Psalm 32:8 says “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with my eye.” I have seen this be evident in my own educational process, as well as that of sons and daughters. In every season, and in every turn, the Lord is present to teach and to guide. If we will seek His will, He will give us instruction. If we will be willing to follow, He will be faithful to guide.
Here are three ways in which we can follow God’s guidance in our educational pursuits:
1 — Be Patient. God has a plan. When we wait on the Lord, he will strengthen us and we will have the opportunity to know we are going in the right direction. I remember when our son Grant wasn’t sure if he would take the ROTC route through college, or not. We asked questions from the college recruiters, searched the options online, prayed, fasted, talked about it, and waited on God, so that we could hear His voice speaking to our hearts what His direction would be. After a long period of waiting on the Lord, he did give us direction and it was to go with another plan for Grant, one that would take him into international business and a study-abroad opportunity that has been God’s perfect plan for him.
2 — Be Bold. God is able. The scripture says that without faith, it is impossible to please God. On many occasions we have boldly stepped out in faith, knowing that the God of heaven would back us up if He had spoken to our hearts to move in a particular direction. This is not the same as presuming that we will plan our own way and expect God to follow it and bless it. Quite the opposite—instead, we seek His will, and we seek to know what is in His nature and what would please the Lord, we ask what His will is, we desire to understand it and we determine that we will follow it. I remember when the Lord specifically impressed so heavily on our hearts to home school our children, and at the time I thought it would be impossible for us to find all the necessary resources. But God made it possible and gave us scriptural confirmation that we were following His will for our family for that season, and He provided resources of knowledge, connections, favor, curriculum, enrichment programs, amazing opportunities and beautiful memories. God will provide when we are bold enough to trust Him.
3 — Be Motivated by Love. Here and Now! Everything about learning is geared toward loving God, the world He has created and all that is within it. This includes loving other people. When we share our lives with others, we share what we know, what we’ve learned and what we want to know even still. When we apply our hearts to love God fully and love others equally well, then we have goals that align with His goals, and aspirations that are properly fitted for us. It’s like God knows our exact DNA—which He does!! When my daughter’s Beta Club Senior Girls took the picture you see here, they only had one thing in mind—a love for life—the life God has richly given to them—and a love to serve His purposes for the lives that He has granted!
So, be inspired to pursue all that God has planned and purposed for your life and all the academic achievement that He will bring!
