Education

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13, NKJV).

When I got the news that I was moving to Ohio, I was so mad at God. It was so unfair that I had to move again. I felt like I was just getting used to living in Tennessee, but now I had to pack everything up. It was so hard for me to let go of all the friends I had met.

Moving to Ohio was hard at first, but then things got easier. I started to realize that God sent me here for a purpose. If I had only trusted Him from the start, then things would’ve been a lot easier.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1, NKJV).

“Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you’” (Gen. 41:39, NIV).

I like Genesis 41:39 because it shows God’s power and what He can do, especially in this abbreviated version on the story of Joseph:

Joseph lived with his father, Jacob, and 11 brothers in Canaan. Jacob made Joseph a coat of many colors, and God gave Joseph two dreams. One day, Jacob asked Joseph to take food to his brothers who were taking care of the sheep. When Joseph arrived, his brothers, except for Reuben—the oldest, and who wasn’t present—sold Joseph into slavery. Later, Joseph’s slave master took him to Egypt and sold him again.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7, NKJV).

As I prepared for a final exam during my senior year of college, I became overwhelmed with worry about how I would do. My degree would be in Early Childhood Education, so I sought my grandmother Helen’s guidance, since she was a retired teacher. She comforted me with this Bible verse and spoke of the many times she turned to it in times of fear. It’s been more than 20 years since this conversation, and I still hide these words in my heart.

Referencing this verse, the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (SDABC) says, “Genuine Christianity doesn’t produce cowards” (vol. 7, p. 329).