As we begin the month of March, it is still cold, and spring feels like it is months away here in West Michigan! We are seven weeks into our semester at Grace, and it won’t end for another eight weeks. This time of year can feel like the middle of Israel’s forty years in the wilderness. We’ve launched into a new year and a new season, but we feel so far away from the next one. We’re in the “land in-between.”

Pastor Jeff Manion authored a book entitled The Land Between in 2010 (Zondervan), and his subtitle was, “Finding God in Difficult Transitions.” In the book, he explains how the people of Israel were unable to go back and often felt challenged to keep moving forward and trust God fully in the present. They were promised a land of their own, flowing with milk and honey, but their present reality was manna and doves, with water being scarce and supplied miraculously. I find it easy to be hard on those people, and yet I realize I can be the same way when I find myself in the “middle of the desert” – in a season of the year or a stretch of work where the destination feels distant and the present feels dry.

Learning Dependence

In these challenging times, we realize how much we need to trust God fully. If all our days were full of abundance and meaning, we would never seek God and His person with intensity. It is the quiet seasons and the long journeys where God proves Himself faithful as we put one foot in front of the other and act on our faith, even when we don’t see immediate results. We learn deep truths in the land in-between that we could never learn at the start or in the land of plenty. There were many times when God allowed His servants in the Bible to be in the desert, a place of scarcity. It was there that they learned dependence on Him AND received the direction and faith needed to move forward.

Discipline Brings Strength

Everyone enjoys graduation. All of us love game time. But those are the culminating moments. None of this is possible without daily putting in the effort to accomplish tasks, do homework, run lines, lift weights, and practice. When I was training for long-distance races, it was the days full of cold weather, rain, and my own lethargy that motivated me to lace up the shoes, get out the door, and do the work, because those were the miles that built endurance for the finish line.

The goal may be two months or two years away, but spending time moving forward today and learning the lessons of discipline builds the strength needed to complete the journey. Our students have classes, chapels, and small groups each week. These practices are what prepare them to be capable adults in their work and ministry, possibly even more than the exams or speeches they might give or the degrees they earn.

Found Faithful

The Apostle Paul wrote, “It is required of servants, that they be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). He could have challenged ministers to be more outgoing or courageous, but it is “faithfulness” that is most required. Faithfulness is taking God at His word, day after day, becoming the kind of servant that others can rely upon. Grace Christian University seeks to form faithful servants of Christ through the discipline required to push through the long semesters, even when students are far from the end and too far to drop out now. It is hard work, and yet in the middle of it, there is learning and discipline, which God is teaching all of us.

We are not “wandering” in our journey, for God’s Word has given us a clear path of faith grounded in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Yet there are seasons of dryness, and we need to keep moving and trusting God to do His work as we are faithful. Thank you for your partnership with Grace Christian University. We need each other, and this is the only way we can fulfill our mission to:

“Graduate Courageous Ambassadors For Christ Who Make an Eternal Impact Wherever They Go”

Keep moving forward in faith wherever you are in your life’s journey today. God promises to be there with us (“The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save”, Zephaniah 3:17a). This is true even if we don’t necessarily feel it. He is faithful and true to His Word. Believe and continue serving Christ.

Ever Grateful for You,

Ken B. Kemper
President