“Not by might nor by power, but by my
Spirit,” says the Lord. (Zech. 4:6)
The
righteous cry out and the Lord hears them… (Psalm 34:17)
.
…and
he has filled them with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge…
(Exodus 35:31)
The Courage to Cry
Courage simply defined is the inner strength necessary to
do a difficult or dangerous job. Being a
public school teacher is not often a dangerous job but it quite often can be a
difficult one. One of the greatest
difficulties we face is the task of being given the responsibility to teach
specific objectives to students who seemingly do not have the prerequisite
knowledge, motivation, or behavioral skills necessary to meet those objectives.
Every year God seems to send us Goliath students or Goliath class periods of
students that we can’t seem to motivate or move in the right direction no
matter what old or new strategies or programs we try. Sometimes God may even place an unmoving
Goliath administrator, co-worker, or parent in the middle our professional
field. What Goliath or Goliaths has God placed in the middle of your academic
field this year?
God places these Goliaths in our professional lives
because He wants to be in partnership with us. He wants us to realize we can’t
do this job by ourselves, that we need His presence and leadership. He gives us
tasks and challenges that we can face and overcome only with his Spirit and
guidance. As we look at the Goliaths we
face this year we can hear the Lord telling us, “It’s not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit.” Specifically, for us as educators, He is
saying, “It’s not by more knowledge and programs, but by my Spirit. Place your trust and faith in me, not
yourself, not others, not other things, and watch what I will do. Seek me
first. Come to me in prayer where you work. Agree with others in prayer where
you work and watch what I will do. Cry out to me.”
Do you remember the story of David and Goliath? Saul tries to put his armor on David. Had
David worn and used those weapons and armor, he would have been defeated. David did not trust in weapons or armor. He trusted in the Lord. The Lord gave him the courage and the
specific skills needed to accomplish the objective set before him. We need
knowledge, skills, and programs just like David needed his sling and stones,
but our trust and faith must be in God, not the skills, programs, and knowledge
we utilize.
Mrs. Long, a third grade elementary teacher faced one of
these Goliaths. Her Goliath was a class
of twenty-three students with over half
of them being mainstreamed special needs children. Two had severe behavior disorders,
half of them were ADD or ADHD, and the students’ reading levels varied from
primer to the fourth grade levels. She
was given 55 minutes each day to teach reading.
She was being held accountable to accelerate their reading. The district had given her no appropriate program
or training to meet the challenge, but God did.
She cried out to him in prayer and He divinely gave her an original
multi-level phonics, vocabulary, and fluency program that worked, that
challenged every student in the room. Mrs. Long even began marketing the
program. God made a way where there was
no way. He showed Mrs. Long, in the stream bed of prayer, where to find her
smooth stones. He truly was the way, the truth, and the light in Mrs. Long’s
classroom that year.
Mrs. Long recently met with a group of Christian high
school teachers to pray with them at their school. As the Holy Spirit led them in prayer, one of
the instructors, a department chairperson, began to weep for students she was
serving who were giving 100% effort to meet the scholastic objectives but were
falling far short. She began to cry out
to God for help on their behalf. She
then picked up the Bible and prayed a passage from Exodus. She prayed, “…and he has filled him [them] with the
Spirit of God, with skill, ability and intelligence…”. (Exodus 35:31) She knew that by her own power and the power
of the students, the task was impossible, but this teacher worked for God first
and she knew that, “Everything is
possible for him who believes.” (Mark 9:23)
She knew the power of faith, the power of God’s word when it is prayed,
and the power of agreement in prayer with other believing teachers.
Take courage. Take your eyes off your academic Goliath(s)
and turn them upon Jesus. Cry out to him.
Go to the stream bed of prayer. Do what he tells you. Watch what he will
do through you. Give him all the glory!
.
Prayer: Lord, fill
every student we serve with your Holy Spirit and with skill, ability and
intelligence.
Application: Cry out to God
for answers to the professional challenges you face. Ask God for help. Listen
to him and take his advice. Regularly agree and meet with other believers in
prayer at your school.
Sharing: What was the
biggest Goliath you have ever faced in your professional career and how did you
handle it? How did God see you through
it? How did it strengthen you?
CLASSROOM
LIGHTHOUSE SERIES: TEACHER! TAKE COURAGE!
(For inquiries contact ceaihouston@sbcglobal.net.) #6
Prayerfully dependent,
K
PS. Don’t forget to spread the word about the 1:16PM Prayer Movement.
• Follow us on Twitter for the prayer prompts @one16pray
May God bless you with success His way this 2013-2014 school year.
Christian Educators Association International is the only professional association in the United States specifically for Christian educators in public schools. CEAI protects our members first in prayer, next with excellent professional liability insurance and other benefits while helping them live out their high calling as a Christian in the public school.
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