Have you ever heard the phrase “syllabus shock?”
I remember the first time someone used that phrase to describe what I was experiencing. Just days into a new semester, I was overwhelmed by everything we were told we would be learning. Each of my teachers had spent the first class period carefully outlining our learning for the semester. We saw all that our education would require of us: group projects, reading, tests, quizzes, etc. Some even told us that our tests would be “celebrations” of our learning! How could all of that happen in one semester?!
Maybe some of you reading “syllabus shock” can relate because you’ve just returned to school. Or perhaps your children are back to school, and you can see it in their demeanor.
We commonly have seasons where we look at the syllabus of our lives and feel overwhelmed. Our calendars are filling up. We glimpse how God might lead us to change or challenge us, and it feels like it could never happen. When we look ahead, we can quickly borrow tomorrow’s troubles by bringing them into today.
Maybe you find yourself doing like I’ve done recently and pushing back against God’s syllabus for your life. You know what you need to do or what thoughts you need to challenge with the Scripture, and you struggle. How could this all happen? How can this all work out? It just seems too much.
When you are overwhelmed, I encourage you to return to Matthew 6:25-34, paying particular attention to vv 33-34:
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
We know that our good God wants us to live lives of fruitful obedience, turning from sin and turning to Him in faith. This is what seeking the kingdom of God looks like.
God tells us in another place, “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)
Whatever path God has you on today, embrace your challenges with courage, knowing God cares for you! Seek Him first. Turn from sin, walk by faith, and remain steadfast in hope in Christ.
Pastor Jonas