He Will Do It

Last night I was at a support group meeting for homeschooling mothers. It was our kick off meeting for the year and was a time of sharing praises, prayer requests, and just praying for each other. Each of us was asked to share a verse that had been an encouragement to us in our homeschooling. Isn't it hard to pick ONE verse out of all of scripture that God has used to bring encouragement? I think so too, so I picked two.

The first one is the verse Nikki shared with me several weeks ago as I was starting a new school year. I was wondering how in the world I was going to do what needed to be done this year. Each year seems to present new challenges and opportunities for being s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d by God. Last year it was coming home with a baby from China followed by a season of sickness and dealing with getting it all done as she gave up a morning nap, etc. This year has its own challenges that can leave me fearful if I fail to remember His faithfulness. This verse is 1 Thessalonians 5:24 and it says, The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. Yes, this is definitely an encourageing verse. I am sure God wants us to homeschool at this time, so it's good to know that He is faithful and that He will do it...because I am simply unable to on my own. By the way, I think a lot of what He will be faithful to do is to change me...not make my kids little geniuses.

The other verse is one that Jason and I memorized together a few weeks ago. I love to go to Psalms before I pray in the morning and then do my regular Bible reading. Sometimes (but not often enough), I get up early, read a few Psalms, then go for a walk and pray for each of my children and my husband, then I come back and read the Bible and pray some more. Those are the best mornings. One morning, and after a really hard day when I was completely overwhelmed, I ended up in Psalm 68 before my walk. Psalm 68:19 says Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Oh yeah, that was the encouragement I needed. I have meditated on this verse many times since that day. I do tend to try and carry the burdens myself sometimes. It doesn't take long to find that I just can't. It's just too much and my own sins makes them even heavier. What a loving God to carry them for me.

I am so thankful for God's word and the way it can bring us just the encouragement we need.