Thankfully, at this point the decision is only directly applicable in several California counties, and recent enough that it isn’t yet being widely cited as precedent in other jurisdictions. As Michael Smith, the President of the Home School Legal Defense Association wrote to its members in the state, "Nothing has changed in California regarding your homeschool. HSLDA maintains that the advice we give homeschool families is accurate and that filing a private school affidavit, or enrollment in a private school independent study program (I.S.P) is a valid option under the law in California."

Yet clearly this is a crisis. And many have suggested the outcome of this situation will have ramifications for homeschooling throughout the rest of the United States, and possibly internationally. So we face questions of how to respond.

Many are reacting to this news in fear and/or hostility. The call to pressure the courts and legislature is logical. After praying about it I, myself, have signed HSLDA’s petition to the California Supreme Court to "depublish" the decision, thus hindering it from becoming precedent in other cases. God directs us to appeal to, and pray for those in authority "that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence" (1 Tim. 2:1-2). Let’s pray the Lord uses the legal proceedings of those involved to bring about His purposes.

But I believe God has called me to sound a warning to His church in this situation. Is it possible that God is in this trial in ways we don’t see clearly? What is HIS intention in this?

This morning I was awakened at about 2:00 AM and was not able to get back to sleep. (This may have something to do with my jet-lag from the recent travel.) As I used this wakefulness to pray over the current situation, the thought repeatedly presented itself that God may be arranging this trial to fulfill His purposes.

For quite some time many of us have been concerned about the direction of the homeschool movement. Some of us who have been homeschooling for many years recall the Christ-centeredness and idealistic zeal of "the early days" in the 1980's. Before homeschooling became accepted, and then popular, determining to homeschool required conviction and courage. We didn’t yet know the test results would vindicate us in the eyes of the world. All we knew was that God was showing us we could no longer delegate our children’s discipleship to surrogates, and particularly in institutional settings.

Homeschooling wasn’t as easy in those days. Publishers (even Christian publishers now making large profits from homeschoolers) refused to sell curriculum materials to us. We were careful not to let our school-aged children be seen during school hours. We were challenged and riciculed at virtually every turn. Homeschooling, in those days, required willingness to stand against the strong cultural tides of societal norms. The homeschool community was made up largely of eccentrics (who me?) willing to seem odd to most others.

Please bear with a bit more sentimental nostalgia. In those days, when homeschool parents met for the first time, an ice-breaking topic of conversation was, "So where are you planning to flee?" We felt like David against a huge Goliath. We knew we were weak. We knew we weren’t smart enough to accomplish what we had been called to do. We were scared! All this prompted us to cry out to God for protection and direction.

Thankfully there are still many homeschoolers who are idealistic, zealous, and have hearts for God. But as homeschooling has become easier, we don’t have as many external pressures prodding us to recognize our frailty and plead for God’s miraculous help.

As homeschooling has matured, it has become commercialized, naturally. This isn’t all bad (I am persuaded God calls us to entrepreneurial enterprises), but the initial vision has often been compromised. Even those who want to put the Lord Jesus first in everything they do, have often been pulled along by the throngs of homeschoolers who are choosing this for the wrong reasons. And increasingly voices have drawn sincere homeschoolers to distractions from a single-minded focus on the Lord and His call in their lives.

In my article "Top 10 Mistakes of Homeschoolers" I share many of my concerns about the recent direction of the homeschool movement. But frankly, while concerned about the recent court decision, today I am rejoicing that possibly the Lord Himself is intervening to purify the work He has begun among us. It seems to me likely that He intends to use this crisis to get our attention and call us to repentance. I am persuaded that at the very least, God’s intent is for us to look to Him to be our Shield and Deliverer.

As the homeschool community is currently buzzing with conversations about the potential impact of this court decision, and the potential outcome of further proceedings, I would urge all of us to remind one another to step back and "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (Col. 3:2). Certainly be faithful to whatever actions the Holy Spirit leads you to, but don’t let your outward activism be the priority. Our first priority is to look to Jesus with adoration, find our rest in Him, and let Him use the circumstances of our lives to purify us for His pleasure.

With this in mind, I want to urge us all to listen for the Lord’s prompting regarding not only individual and corporate prayer, but fasting, and intentional searching of our hearts for anything the Holy Spirit might expose that needs repentance. It seems consistent with His ways that He will not deliver us from this trial until we have embraced all He wants to work in us through it. Let’s encourage one another to look to the Lord first, and yield to His purposes, even if it means trials and suffering, if it will bring Him more glory in the end.

Click here to read Part Two of this Article.

Click here to listen to Jonathan Lindvall's message,
"A Word to the Homeschoolers of America."