Preparing Your Heart

Teachers, like individuals in other people-focused professions, bring an attentiveness to those with whom we interact. Our ability to attend to our students will be affected by our own inner well-being. The more we are distracted by “inner noise,” the less apt we are to listen well which, in turn, affects our classroom discipline. I find that I am less likely to be processing and responding to a student’s needs accurately or compassionately when I am feeling out of sorts myself. Thus, the condition of our own hearts can enhance our classroom discipline, or it can impede it. If the goal is to help students form habits and shape their actions in God-honoring ways, then we, too, need to have habits that shape our actions in God-honoring ways. Let’s look at three ways to prepare our own hearts.

First, we must go to the source of Living Water. We can draw from many wells that are around us, but only God can give what we need most of all. John 4:14 says, “but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”[1] The deep spiritual renewal we need daily comes only from Him. It quenches the thirst of our hearts as He abides in us and fills us up. By strengthening ourselves with the water that Jesus offers, we can walk into our classrooms deeply satisfied in our innermost being which in turn speaks to our students of a life that is welling up with the hope of life in Him.

Second, we can trust that God will meet our every need. Philippians 4:19 (ESV) says, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”[2] Our needs are great and varied. We all carry with us the full weight of what we are experiencing, even what takes place in the classroom. There is a place we can go with this weight. We can take it to an almighty and all-powerful God who wants to meet each need through Christ in you. We don’t go it alone. We can lay our burdens down and rest in what God gives through the riches of our relationship with Him. By allowing the Lord to hold us and hold our burdens, we can step toward teaching with confidence that all matters are secure in His hands. Then we are free to love fully and shape our students’ habits and actions as we attend to each of their needs.

Third, we can enter our classrooms with joy because of the strength we have in Him. Nehemiah 8:10 says, “Nehemiah said, ‘Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.’” If you are like me, you have memorized “the joy of the LORD is your strength” because you heard it on numerous occasions or even sang the song. Yet, we may forget the story behind this encouraging statement. Nehemiah had finally led the Israelites in finishing building the wall around Jerusalem, notwithstanding many trials and resistance from their enemies. When the exiles returned to their towns, the people came together and Nehemiah read from the Law of Moses. The people wept as they listened. Nehemiah then encouraged them to celebrate, for God had done the work and saved them. Verse twelve says, “Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions, and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.” When they realized and understood that this was a holy celebration of all that God had done, they were filled with great joy and could go forth with this incredible joy. Verse seventeen even says, “And their joy was very great.” When we, too, realize all that God has done and is doing in our lives, we can go out with great joy. We can see His strength at work in and around us.

We will have days when we feel distracted or flustered. This is normal for all of us. Isn’t it wonderful that we can return to the Source of our peace through His promises? We can pause for a moment in our classroom and pray to the Lord for His guidance as we engage with our students. He can bring calm into our hearts so that we can focus on what is needed in our class. We are resting in Him, even when the outer circumstances are challenging. Our attentiveness to each student and response to the discipline needed in the classroom becomes an overflow of the inner peace we have. As you enter your classroom with a prepared heart, may the Living Water sustain you, the supply of God meet your needs in Christ, and the joy of the Lord be your strength.

Susan McCrary
Susan serves as the Europe Member Care Coordinator for TeachBeyond. She and her husband, Larry, who leads The Upstream Collective organization, live in Madrid, Spain, where they have served for the past 23 years. Susan loves being with people, being in nature, running, and enjoying a good cup of coffee.