I raised two sons and, years ago, taught second grade. I remember clearly the excitement, stress, and potential the phrase “back-to-school” used to mean. 

This is a big week for a lot of people, but it is just another week for a lot of people as well. For some, “back-to-school” means huge changes to the weeks and months ahead. 

For people like me, it just means I should pay attention to those blinking school-zone lights while I’m driving.

An eight-month-old teacher

I had the joy of watching my grandkids recently. One morning, I sat with a cup of coffee and really watched them. My youngest grandson, Wells, is eight months old, and God spoke through his young life to remind me of something I tend to forget. 

No matter what I put in front of Wells, he reached for it, touched it, chewed on it, and shook it around. He didn’t want to miss anything. If something was out of reach, he strained for it and didn’t stop trying to get his hands around it. 

For Wells, every day is full of new experiences, and he works hard to learn about everything. “Back-to-school” is every moment of his life. 

God created us for growth

I was watching Wells stretch to reach everything around him when I “heard” my thoughts become these verses: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22–23). 

I thought about the fact that God created us to learn, grow, and strain to know him. Watching my grandson reminded me that one of the great joys of life is that every morning is a new opportunity.  

But, why don’t we always see the newness amidst the sameness? 

Those two verses of Lamentations offered a lesson about God’s greatness that all of us should strain to learn. 

Only God is both unchanging and new

• God’s love is steadfast, unceasing. The only thing in our lives that stays the same is God’s love. Everything else changes. Why?
• God’s mercies never come to an end. God could have made every person, every day, and everyone’s experiences the same. Instead, God created a complex, ever-changing world. Why?
• God’s mercies are new every morning. God wanted us to wake up every day with the knowledge that we can do and learn something new with our daily moments. Why?
• Great is God’s faithfulness. God created an always-changing world so we would understand that he is uniquely steadfast. The only thing in life that is unceasing is the powerful love of God. And his mercies are new every day.

“Back-to-school” is for everyone

Proverbs 18:15 says, “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” 

In other words, is there ever a day that wisdom allows us to stop learning? 

God literally created change so we would know his uniqueness in our lives.

God is the only unchanging, steadfast “rock.” The Lord has something new to teach us about himself today. 

We should be straining to fully experience that lesson.

Remember to chew on truth

Wells is sprouting new teeth these days. I had to keep an eye on everything he touched because, if he could get his hands on it, he was going to chew on it.  

Just another of my lessons from an eight-month-old. God doesn’t want me to just hear, read, or realize his truths. I ought to chew on them as well. We need to fully experience God, and, to do that, we need to think about, ponder on, and strain to fully learn his steadfast, unchanging, but always-new mercies.  

Do you need to go back to school today? 

Open God’s word, pray your way through the day, and you will experience God’s new mercies. And the same will be true for tomorrow.   

God spoke to me through my eight-month-old grandson. Let his voice surprise you today. 

It’s a new day—and God is faithful.