Back to School Can Include Worship

Feelings range from excited to nervous and everything in between. One of the reasons we mistakenly think certain classes are difficult is because our prior ideas get the best of us. While we know the beginning of the school year is coming, it gets the best of us instead of a more appropriate response. I think there are several reasons why this happens, but there are also several answers from God’s Word to address each one.

The Bible is living! It applies to and is foundational for everything.

The Bible is living! It applies to and is foundational for everything—even going back to school and certainly how we view the subjects (e.g., science glorifies God; math shows his precision; language shows how God created us as relational in his image; history shows how the fall has affected mankind and the earth, etc.). With a biblical foundation, we can find a reason to worship the Lord through it (students, parents, teachers, and professors alike). Sadly, we often find reasons instead to be discouraged. But there’s a better way.

Reason #1: I’m No Good at Science

Many are familiar with the saying “jack of all trades, master of none.” One understanding of this saying gives the impression that we’re not good at hard things and never will be.1 But one variation of this saying sheds a different light on how we approach hard things: “Jack of all trades, master of one.”

Whoever came up with this variation is proposing that we should work hard at everything and be really good at just one hard thing. No one is good at everything—only God. When we decide that we’re not good at some hard class, we must remind ourselves of the truth that God created everything and pronounced it very good (Genesis 1:1, 31)—including the topics of this “hard” class.

God’s Word is truth and has not been found to be in error—man’s worldview contains errors.

Many forget this truth and become overwhelmed—it’s easy for any of us to have these feelings. Sadly, many struggle thinking that science is hard because it’s taught from an anti-biblical worldview (though any subject taught from an anti-biblical worldview does the same thing). It is important to discern the difference between biblical facts and man’s biased worldview (John 8:32). Recognize that God’s Word is truth and has not been found to be in error—man’s worldview contains errors. We need to find biblical facts and focus on them (Psalm 111:2; Philippians 4:8).

Reason #2: The Teacher Doesn’t Like Me

Over the years, I’ve run into many students who had a bad experience with a teacher. That teacher may have been overly difficult or graded unfairly. Unfortunately, that happens many times, and it is hard for students.

One way that I am learning to deal with difficult people is to respond in prayer.

One way that I am learning to deal with difficult people is to find out more about that person and respond in prayer. How can I have a negative reaction to someone that I’m praying for? In the end, I can possibly gain an open door for sharing the gospel. And probably the most difficult part then becomes waiting on the Lord to answer and work in response to my prayer. Often, the Lord does a work in me rather than the other person, and I grow closer to the Lord.

When I was going to college, I took an English writing class, and the instructor was a secular Jew. She was up-front about her beliefs and assigned us reading to reinforce her worldview. Rather than get discouraged, I embraced learning about the information and prayerfully submitted a paper that was a compassionate evangelical Christian response to the Holocaust.3 I used my freedom of speech to share the gospel with my Jewish instructor. Instead of becoming harsher, she saw the way I approached the topic, and we established a better relationship. While she never professed to accepting Jesus personally, I did my part before God of sharing the gospel and left the results up to him.

Reason #3: I’m New

Being the new kid isn’t easy. Whether heading off to college or moving to a new school, it’s hard to find friends and learn how things are done differently. Anyone can easily look at the newness and get overwhelmed thinking that things will never get better or how much better things used to be.

Living in the past or wishing away the future is no way to rest in the Lord.

Living in the past or wishing away the future is no way to rest in the Lord. If he brought you this far, he will finish the work (Philippians 1:6). When I find myself in a new situation or one in which I feel overwhelmed and anxious, I remind myself that it’s all his. It is too easy to focus on circumstances rather than on the Lord who made everything. I step back and regain my focus. The best way I know how to do this is something that no one can take away from us: worship.

Rather than being overwhelmed with circumstances, I have found that being overwhelmed with who God is and reveals himself to be puts circumstances in perspective. One of the ways Jesus encouraged us to do this is by considering things in nature (like the lilies in Matthew 6:28 and Luke 12:27). In looking to nature, we find ourselves responding much like David did in Psalm 8 and ask, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him?”

Our Response: Worthship

The word worship originally comes from the word worthship.2 The idea is to find worth and ascribe it to someone else. It is hard to react negatively to a difficult subject, teacher, or new surroundings when our eyes of faith are looking for ways to praise God. No human being can take away the right to engage in personal prayer or Bible reading. And there is no formula for worship, outside of having a good heart attitude (1 Corinthians 10:31)—it is simply a matter of our willingness to engage in worship even during trying or difficult times.

Our primary purpose on earth is to glorify God and share the gospel with those around us.

In the end, I am reminded of a phrase that the famous preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon used: “By perseverance the snail reached the ark.”4 Everyone has a favorite topic or subject, but we find ourselves more well-rounded when we know a little about everything—it opens doors to more gospel conversations.

Our primary purpose on earth is to glorify God and share the gospel with those around us (Jeremiah 9:24; Matthew 28:19–20; Mark 12:29–31). Instead of approaching life worrying about what’s coming around the corner, we can rest knowing that God is in control and worship him over everything (John 4:23; Colossians 3:2). He is worthy!