“He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.” Isaiah 40:29

Every year about this time I get a bit hesitant about sending the kids back to school. What awaits them this semester? What challenges will they face? What accomplishments will they be proud of? Will kids be kind or mean? Will they be kind or mean? Will they see the unseen? This year we have the added concern of a pandemic and the challenges it brings. Do you see my hesitation? Will what they have been given each morning be enough to sustain them for the school day? Will the truth of scripture, prayers prayed and encouragement sink deep long after the breakfast dishes have been cleared?

In the next few days, students will once again flood the classrooms. Teachers are preparing for their arrival. I wonder how they are feeling? Do they already feel defeated? How many know Jesus? If they know Him, are they dependent? Do they go to Him for the strength they need each and every morning before they step into the classroom? Are they relying on their own strength? Who will pay for this lack of dependence? It will be the ones sitting in those desks who will suffer. And these students, are they given truth each morning and being brought before the throne of grace? Teachers, staff and students will notice.

Times have changed and laws are in place that strip teachers and students of their source of truth and strength. However, as parents, grandparents, relatives, anyone who loves children, we can pray for them during the school day. We can send letters of encouragement, slip scripture and kind words in their lunchboxes of our kids and we can speak life whenever we are being given the privilege of an audience. Teachers and students need us to stand in the gap these days. Nobody can do these days we are living in by their own power and strength. Look around and you will see how that has worked for us. Let’s do all we can in these days ahead, much is on the line.