Virtual, homeschool, roadmap to in-person, private school. If you have a school-aged child, you know those words well. You may have researched every one of those options. Some parents had crystal clear paths and moved forward confidently. But some had to make big decisions without all the information. Now that school has started, how can you be sure you made the right choice?
First, let’s take a look backward. Remember those ‘Hindsight is 20/20’ events and moments? Can you see how God has used (and is still using) those painful or confusing times to create something more beautiful than you could imagine? This entire year will probably turn out to be one of those moments for most of us.
But if God is only good for grace that has already happened - grace we’ve experienced in the past - what’s the point of faith? In Future Grace, John Piper writes, “God is not the God of some grace - like bygone grace. He is the God of ‘all grace’ - including the infinite, inexhaustible stores of future grace. Faith in that grace is the key to enduring on the narrow and hard way that leads to life.” (page 68)
We haven’t used up God’s grace. The well isn’t running dry, not even close. We can be thankful for what God has done in the past, but unless we trust him for future grace, our faith is a dusty history book. Real faith is trusting God for what he is going to do and using our gratitude for past grace to lead us to trust in future grace.
“As precious as the bygone blessings of God may be, if he leaves me only with the memory of those, and not with the promise of more, I will be undone. My hope for future goodness and future glory is future grace.”(From John Piper’s Future Grace, p. 63)
Making choices when you don’t have all the information isn’t anyone’s favorite thing. Anxiety and uncertainty attack our faith. Anxiety and uncertainty want us to believe that we are a victim to our circumstances. But in reality, our circumstances provide us with opportunities to experience the goodness of God. Our hope was never meant to be in certainty or sure choices. Our hope is in the mighty God who can work any and all of our experiences together for our good and his glory. “Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space.” (Maya Angelou)
Psalm 56:3 says, ‘When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.’ It doesn’t say you won’t ever be afraid or worried. But it says that when you are, you have a way out of those worries. The same idea is in 1 Peter 5:7, ‘Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.’ The promise isn’t for a life without anxiety or worry - the promise is that God will care for you.
“We fight anxieties by fighting against unbelief and fighting for faith in future grace.”
(From John Piper’s Future Grace, p. 54) Do you see evidence of God’s grace in the past? Do you have any reason to believe that he won’t keep giving grace for your today and tomorrow? So the question is not simply, “Did I make the right school choice?” but rather “Did I make the right school choice, and am I trusting God and looking for his goodness?” Whether your education choices are working out or not, you can trust God for grace in the future.
*We are a church located in Greenville, South Carolina. Our vision is to see God transform us into a community of grace passionately pursuing life and mission with Jesus.*
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