Some in our own Christian Pilgrims Schools, International (CPSI) Independent Study Program (ISP) have specifically wondered about the decision’s impact on our ministry. As noted in Part One of this article, this decision currently only applies in the counties under the jurisdiction of California’s 2^nd District Court of Appeal. Thus it doesn’t directly impact us at this moment. But the precedent it sets is predictable in its wide-ranging application, even outside the state of California.

Our temptation is to try to fight this threat using the arm of the flesh. There is no doubt the Lord uses physical things to accomplish His purposes, and we need to be faithful to carry out any strategies the Holy Spirit prompts us to. However, we must cultivate clarity in focusing our hope on Jesus, rather than on our own cleverness or hard work.

As expressed in Part One of this article, God will be faithful to deliver us from the current threat only when He has used it to expose and purge us of our own ways.

In scripture we see repeated examples of correct and incorrect responses to threatening situations. There was a righteous king of Judah named Asa who, early in his reign when he was weak, "sought the LORD" and learned that God was his Deliverer. When the Ethiopians attacked with a force nearly twice as strong as his, Asa cried out to the Lord, and saw Him act powerfully as Judah’s Defender (2 Chron. 14:8-15).

Later, when Asa was more confident in his own abilities, and he was faced with an imminent attack from the wicked king Baasha of the Northern ten tribes of Israel, sought help from the heathen king of Syria. He sent this pagan king "all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the LORD." Ultimately Asa took what belonged to the Lord and gave it to Ben-Hadad in order to get him to help fight against Baasha (1 Kings 15:17-22).

Asa’s strategy was successful, but God was displeased. He sent Hanani the prophet to rebuke him for relying on human help rather than on God. Hanani reminded him, "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him" (2 Chron. 16:7-9) This is no less true today!

Asa’s self-reliance set a precedent of trusting in human ingenuity rather than on God. At the end of his life, in the face of illness, "in his disease he did not seek the LORD" (2 Chron. 16:12). More grievous was the precedent set for his son Jehoshaphat who, though one of Judah’s righteous kings who saw great victories wrought by the Lord, repeatedly fell into the trap of making ungodly alliances. This became something of a pattern for later kings of Judah as well.

I wonder if we, as homeschoolers, are so impressed by the world that we try to impress them with how intelligent, skilled, and powerful we are. Not long ago, we saw ourselves as weak, needy people, simply casting ourselves on God, and trusting Him for the results. Now we have come to the point where we can compete in the world’s arena. We are confident we can beat them at their game. But are we supposed to be playing their game? And when we are threatened, do we instinctively look to the world’s remedies, or do we look to God and await His direction? And what is the model we are setting for our children?

The story of Judah’s kings continues with another righteous king, Joash. The story of this king is a favorite for many of our children, as he began to reign at the age of seven years. His early life illustrates God’s miraculous protection, and he reigned righteously, even restoring God’s house. Yet following in Asa’s footsteps, when threatened by attacks from the wicked, Joash gave "all the sacred things... and all the gold found in the treasuries of the house of the LORD... and sent them to Hazael king of Syria." Again, this strategy worked, but left Judah trusting in man rather than in God (2 Kings 12:17-18).

This pattern was perpetuated among God’s people. For example, when Rezin, the king of Syria threatened King Ahaz (2 Kings 16:7-18), he "took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD" and sent it to Tiglath Pilezer, king of Assyria, who conquered Rezin for him. Then, to show how impressed he was, Ahaz went to meet the Assyrian king in Damascus, and imitated the design of his heathen altar, and defiled the temple of God with "the great new altar," and other improvements contrary to the pattern God had set for His house.

Thankfully, God eventually allowed an attack that Judah had no way of protecting itself from. Ahaz’s son Hezekiah was now king (2 Kings 18-19), and Judah’s former allies, the Assyrians, now decided to conquer Jerusalem. Hezekiah tried to appease the Assyrian King Senacherib. He "gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD" and even "stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD" and sent it to him. But apparently the Lord had stirred Senacherib to attack Judah, no matter what concessions Hezekiah made.

Hezekiah realized there was no possible way out of this predicament, and finally cried out to God, recognizing, "You are God, You alone" (2 Kings 19:15-19). God sent Isaiah, the prophet with the word, "Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard." Without Hezekiah doing anything further, in one night God killed 185,000 of the Assyrians, and Senacherib returned to Ninevah without actually attacking Jerusalem.

There is no doubt God expected Hezekiah and the others to be diligent in their preparations. Yet they were not to trust in those preparations. It had to do with where their hearts were.

Thankfully today we have homeschool leaders who, though seeking to be faithful in doing what their hands find to do in preparation for the battles ahead, are calling the homeschool community to pray. I believe we need even more such calls. We are under attack. And this is not a physical battle we can win in our own strength. It is a spiritual battle that must ultimately be fought with spiritual weapons.

One time when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, the Ammonites came up against the armies of Judah (2 Chron. 20). The Ammonites were numerous, and Jehoshaphat prayed, "we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You." He "proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah." The scripture describes how "all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the LORD." And the Lord intervened. As the people waited before the Lord, His Spirit spoke through Jehaziel, "Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's."

As homeschoolers, we are facing a daunting challenge with this California court decision. There is a spiritual enemy (not the people making the decisions) who wants to hinder God’s plan for our children. But our God is more powerful than the enemy, and I am convinced He is in this, somehow. I encourage us all to exhort one another to turn our eyes to Jesus and see this from His perspective. What does HE want to accomplish in us through this trial?

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

(The original article concluded with the following two paragraphs.) 

I am no great spokesman for homeschooling, and am not in a position to mobilize masses of God’s people to devote a particular day to fasting and prayer. Yet it seems God uses weak people to work His purposes through. I believe God has directed me to call those who sense a confirmation in the Spirit to join together, wherever you are, in a day of humbling ourselves before the Lord, fasting & prayer, and repentance, on Sunday, March 23, 2008.