His Encouragement #73
Christian Romance · Thursday Encouragement

His Encouragement #73

Nicole Santana

CollageMaker_20190220_172828914.jpg

Good morning, and welcome to His Encouragement Thursday! I don’t know about you, but Thursdays are my struggle day of the week. By Thursday, I have already been working hard at school and at home, and I just wish it would hurry up and be Friday already. LOL! I definitely need a little extra Jesus time on Thursdays.

Trisha, my blogger friend at Joy of Reading, and I decided on calling this post “His Encouragement” because our real source of peace, strength, and security can only come from Jesus Christ. He, and He alone, is our constant! We pray and hope that these Thursday posts become a real encouragement to you and help you end your week strong in God’s love and purpose for you. God bless!

Today’s Thursday Encouragement comes from:

Psalm 42:11 (ESV)

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my Salvation and my God.

1553707428589_1280x1280.jpg

I have been an English teacher for 14 years. For the last 12 of those 14 years I have taught AP English Literature and Composition. It is essentially a college course taught on a high school campus. There is an exam in May, and if a student passes the exam he/she can receive college-level credits. It’s a fantastic program; one I support wholeheartedly. I feel it is my mission, especially in today’s society, to teach kids how to think, read, and write critically. When they leave high school as an “adult,” I want them to be as equipped as possible to not be fooled by this world.

The AP Lit exam that is held every May consists of two parts. The first part is a 60-minute multiple choice exam, followed by a two-hour essay portion where students write three, 40-minute essays. Yesterday, we did a practice 40-minute timed essay in my class and it was a dismal failure. My AP students wrote like they had never written an essay before. To put it into better perspective, yesterday’s essay was the 13th essay of the year in my class. But my students acted like they had never heard of a thesis statement before. Body paragraphs?! What are those? Evidence to support my claim?! Never heard of it.

I chose Psalm 42:11 today because I need some serious encouragement. My soul is weary and in turmoil. I walked away from school yesterday feeling like a COMPLETE failure. I get that school is only a small part of a person’s life. I get that on a large scale, the onus falls on the child to be responsible for the work they need to get done in school. But, I am still disappointed. I use my entire summer to plan and attend professional development. I haven’t had a “free” summer in 12 years. I also use my Thanksgiving, Winter, and Spring breaks throughout the year to tweak current plans or make new ones. Just because school is over at 2:37 pm everyday, and June 7th is the last day of this school’s year, I never stop being in teacher-mode. I am always thinking about my kids and bending over backwards trying so desperately to reach them in meaningful and lasting ways.

I appreciate Psalm 42:11 for the final part of the verse — “Hope in God; for I shall praise Him, my Salvation and my God.” While I can so very much relate to David feeling in a place of frustration and disappointment, and I totally get what he means when he recognizes that his soul is cast down, it is the direction in the final part of the verse that I really needed to hear today. No matter what is going on in our lives, no matter the disappointments, frustrations, or traumas, we need to HOPE in God. Why? Because God is our SALVATION. God will be our Savior NO MATTER WHAT. And because of this fact, our souls don’t need to be depressed.

So, yes, I am really frustrated and disappointed with my students. I’m nervous that 17 and 18 year old humans are NOT ready for this world. BUT, it’s OK. God’s got them just like He has me. God SAVES no matter what!

NOW, IT’S YOUR TURN!

WHAT BIBLICAL VERSE IS ENCOURAGING YOU TODAY?

Check out more Thursday Encouragement from my fellow blogger friends:

Trisha @ Joy of Reading

Jacquelyn @ A Heavenly Home

Jessica @ A Baker’s Perspective

Becca @ The Becca Files

Gina @ Stories by Gina

Rebecca @ Rev. Rebecca Writes

If you would like to join us: please contact Trisha or Nicole

Published by Nicole Santana

I love Jesus, my husband, and my daughter. I love reading and reviewing Christian and Clean fiction. And, I am a high school English teacher trying to get kids to fall in love with reading every day!

16 thoughts on “His Encouragement #73”

  1. Sending you ((hugs))! I’m sure you have taught them these things. Sometimes kids just don’t listen. They need to hear it many times, over and over. Hmmm… sometimes we are like that too! You have a big heart and you are an excellent teacher!

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Having taught for 34 years, I feel your pain! You work hard and the students…not so much! On the plus side, whether they pass the AP test or not is not on you…it is their ultimate responsibility to take the skills that you have given them and use them to pass the test. Let go and let God! Hugs!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Thank you for your hard work! My daughter is in her freshman year of high school. She’s always been a great student, but this year has been extra challenging. I think sometimes their brains just get overwhelmed and “I have no idea how to do this” is the default.

    I’m a 6th grade language arts teacher and we do all of the above (body paragraphs, evidence to support claim…the works.) It’s exhausting and exhilarating at the same time!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you for your hard work!!
      But that’s where I get frustrated the most. I know students are getting this information many times over. Why isn’t it sticking? My students are in their 13th year of school. In 4 months they’ll be done. It’s a mystery for sure!

      Like

  5. “No matter what is going on in our lives, no matter the disappointments, frustrations, or traumas, we need to HOPE in God. Why? Because God is our SALVATION. God will be our Savior NO MATTER WHAT.”– LOVE IT! Sorry you’ve been discouraged this week but hope that you can be encouraged by the Word and God’s promises for you ❤

    Liked by 1 person

  6. My family has been dealing with some difficult times over the last two years. Three of us pray together every day and this has almost become a theme verse. “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
    ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3:14-21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Isn’t it amazing how God gives us friends we’ve never met that encourage and support us through prayers and sharing scripture. Thank you for being faithful to post your weekly verses of encouragement.

        Liked by 1 person

  7. Wow! I think it’s great that you teach AP English. Your students are lucky to have you. You are not a failure but I understand that it can be hard sometimes. Saying a special prayer for you today 🙂 thank you for encouraging me also!

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.