Back to School

Note: This piece was originally written for UAF course ENG213X, “Academic Writing on the Social and Natural Sciences,” in December of 2001. It is posted here as part of an assignment for AIO course SS100, “Strategies for Online Learning.”

I’m trading my sorrow,
I’m trading my shame,
I’m laying them down
for the joy of the Lord.
I’m trading my sickness,
I’m trading my pain,
I’m laying them down
for the joy of the Lord.
–Darrell Evans, Trading My Sorrow

Though our sorrow may last through the night, there is joy that comes with the morning. Give everything to God; with Him, you always get the better end of the deal. Submit your life to His will and plan for you, and He will bless you beyond the furthest extent of your imagination.

The joy of the Lord does not necessarily mean that those who have this joy are continually bubbly and annoyingly enthusiastic, but rather that they know there truly is no reason to despair, for the things of this earth are not lasting, and our true citizenship is not here. For some, it is heaven, the rest hell, but it is eternal either way, and it is not on earth that we will spend that eternity. Knowing that you are going to heaven eventually, there is no reason to worry about things here. My citizenship is in heaven. I am an alien here. I am not of this earth.

It is a constant struggle not to grab the reigns of my life back from God. Actually, the more difficult struggle may be to give Him the reigns: I cannot decide which it is. I can rarely see where He is steering my life, and often want to take matters into my own hands. However, when I take from Him the reigns and start making decisions on my own and guiding my own life without consulting God, praying to Him for guidance and direction, I certainly will crash.

How dreary life would seem if I did not have God in mine! I cannot now imagine what my friends who are obviously not walking with Him must feel when they are downtrodden by the world. I live with the Blessed Hope of seeing Jesus Christ, face to face, seated at the right hand of God the Father and spending eternity with Him. I know that is my ultimate destiny. How, though, some of the people I know can maintain a smile on their faces without knowing God is beyond my comprehension. My guess is that it is a cover. What I see and have observed is not a true representation of their feelings. After all, most of adult human life is a cover of what is truly thought and felt.

A few nights ago, some friends visited who have a five-month-old baby. I had the pleasure of holding Ethan, the baby, while he was at the house. Sitting on the couch with Ethan cradled comfortably in my arms, I marveled at how completely he trusted me. I also realized that he was completely helpless to live without the help of his parents; he simply would not be able to survive on his own without their constant love, support, and provision. He has never questioned whether he will have another meal, has never worried about a car payment, heating bill, life insurance, or student loans, and has never bothered to think that he might not have adequate clothes or shelter. He depends entirely on his parents for everything, and he most likely does not even realize that he does depend solely on them for his survival.

How much less complicated life would be if everyone had childlike faith in God! He is our eternal, heavenly Father, and He provides for us in more ways than we know or realize. He delights in holding us in His arms and caring for us, just as we would a precious child. According to Jeremiah 29:11, God has a plan for our lives, for each of us individually: “For I know what I have planned for you, says the LORD. I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope.” He has a marvelous and wonderful plan for our lives, and if we allow Him to guide our steps and be Lord of our lives, He will show us what that plan is. We have no power against Him, either, and we can do nothing outside of what He allows. Everything that occurs He has known would happen since before He created the earth. If God allows something we consider “bad” to happen to us, He has only a good outcome planned from it. It could be simply to cause us to look to Him again for guidance, direction, support, comfort, or affirmation. We depend on Him entirely, and we do not even realize that we do. If we are faithful and obedient to God, He will provide for our needs. This is not to say that we should not work and depend on Him for everything, but rather we should do everything “as unto the Lord” and give it our best effort. This includes work, school, relationships, and every other facet of our human lives.

Everything that we know as good and right comes from God. He plans for our happiness and enjoyment of life. I know that I will be happiest if I am in His will for my life, so that is where I want to be. The better I know His word, the better I will be able to see His will for my life and my future and destiny. I want nothing more than to be a pleasing sight to God’s eyes and for Him to smile upon me in all that I do. I want to surrender my life to Him and allow Him to work in and through me, His eternal bond-servant. I want to live in the joy of the Lord.