Today's reading from the One Year Chronological reading plan is Deuteronomy 29:2-31:29.
Scripture
Deuteronomy 31:6 & 8
6"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
8"The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
Observation
Don't worry about tomorrow, God is already there.
Application
Did you ever have a time when God just knows exactly what you needed to hear? Well, these two verses reached out and grabbed me. As I mentioned in my testimony, I am a brand new teacher and working at a fantastic Christian school and I honestly feel like it is a dream job. I love my students, my colleagues, the administration, the families, my classroom...everything! One of the things about a private school, well, actually any school, is that the number of staff is dependent on the number of students. Even in September, I realized that the number of students and classes for this year would not be the same next year (I can count-I do teach grade 1!!) and so I knew that I would likely not have a job at that school next year. The enrollment is going down and with 2 classes graduating this year and only 1 coming in, there is just no classroom for me. In February, I got official confirmation of this fact from the principal and it hit me hard. I began to ride these huge waves of emotions and this was a terrible low. Then enrollment for kindergarten next year started encouraging me because the class filled up by the end of February and has 23 students, the "magic" number is 30 and then they might have 2 classes (this might let me stay). I was lifted up...for awhile. On Thursday, we had our monthly staff meeting and I was sent crashing down again. The plans are already underway for the coming year and much of the meeting centered around the calendar for next year, what events will be a part of the year, and classroom projections. There it was... in black and white... on the agenda...12 classrooms and their numbers...1 less classroom than this year. Then it hit me again, this time even harder than the last time. Right now, at this moment...I will not be at this school next year. I won't be working with these amazing people, I won't be watching my wonderful Grade One students grow up, I won't be going to that conference in November, I won't see the new windows in the library, and it doesn't really matter if I don't be use the student handbooks of the Christian Ed curriculum because we are going to order them anyway because I won't be here next year. It made my heart sad to think of leaving this school. It was another low and I was discouraged. Then I think of the financial end of it and I have student loan payments and kid's programs and camp and I know that good full-time teaching jobs are not easy to find and I was even more discouraged. These verses jumped out and slapped me in the face. I was reminded to not worry about the future, where I will be working, how we will paying for student loans because God already knows.
Prayer
Dear Lord, Thank you for this reminder that You will never leave or forsake us. Thank you for Tammy and her desire to start and continue this blog. I have let the pressures of life interfere with my daily readings and have fallen behind but I am thankful for the accountability of being responsible for a few studies. You used my turn to speak clearly to me and I am so thankful for that. You are an awesome God. I pray for all of the people who are reading along with this blog. Let them be encouraged through their readings and draw them closer to You. Amen.
Tomorrow's Readings are Deuteronomy 31:30-32:52 and Psalm 90
3 comments:
Thank you for sharing Pam. I know what a struggle this is for you right now. It's so hard for us to trust, to not fear, to not get discouraged - especially since God only promises a lamp for our feet when we'd really like a floodlight!
And thank you for your prayer. I sometimes get discouraged and second guess whether any one other than me is gaining anything from this blog, especially since it does take a lot of time for me to post so often. I know that there are always many more people that read, than that comment, but it sometimes is discouraging when there are no comments on posts that take awhile to write. Thank you for encouraging me.
"Don't worry about tomorrow, God is already there."
I LOVE that, Pam! It's SO hard to remember sometimes, but so comforting when we're reminded!!
Tammy, I fully understand your discouragement, but keep at it. Your dedication is inspiring and even if no one else is getting anything out of it (which we KNOW isn't the case, but let's just say...), YOU are growing in knowledge, wisdom, understanding, and discernment. You glorify God with your dedication to any job you that brings you closer to Him, whether it gets noticed and/or praised by others. THAT'S what's important!
I take comfort from those verses as well, Pam. My job situation is also up in the air right now, as the job I had before I went on mat leave no longer exists. The company has to offer me a job when I return, but there are no guarantees that it will be something suitable for me and my family's situation. And if it's not, then what?
Tammy, don't be discouraged, please. I'm here every day. Sometimes I don't comment because I feel silly writing "Great post/thoughts, etc" every day and sometimes I have nothing more than that to say, but I'm here and I'm appreciating this journey and your efforts A LOT. Same goes to everyone else who posts.
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