The Ultimate Scholarship: Jehovah-Jireh

Attending seminary is understandably tough for most students. It always seems as though there is too much month at the end of a check. To put it another way, “we just ain’t got the money!” So what do you do? How do you pay for all of those books and seminary courses that you know God wants you to take? It sure does not seem as though the scholarship program for seminary X is throwing money at you. What, then, are you to do?

In short, trust God. Now, I understand that that is much easier said than done, but I can honestly speak from experience over the last year (and I am sure the next 3 or 4 as I finish my M.Div.) that He will remain faithful. If God has called you to seminary, then God will provide you the means to pay for your seminary. We all know that the two-letter word “if” has huge implications, but it must be understood in order to proceed on faith.

I know many students who are called to seminary but have had to drop out for various reasons. This does not immediately mean that they are not called to seminary. It does mean that they are not called right now. One thing I have learned is that God will provide for His children in His time. He certainly is in no hurry; after all, He has all of eternity, right?

I know of one minister who is a quadrapalegic who does not have any health insurance at all. Whenever he is asked by doctor’s and hospitals who his insurance provider is, he replies, “I am insured by Jehovah Jireh.” You want to know something amazing about his “insurance provider”? This man lives completely debt free. Talk about faith.

I could easily go on and on about how we should trust in God for all things and that should include your seminary fees and such, but I do not want to do that. I want to encourage you to first of all make certain that you are called to be in seminary. If that answer is in the affirmative, then I believe you have the right to pray to God to provide the money for you to do so. He did create the universe out of nothing, what is a couple grand a year for seminary?

What I am not saying is do not stop looking for scholarships. By all means, if God will bless through that avenue, then be blessed. However, if the scholarships do not come and you are not able to readily pay for seminary, then prayerfully ask God if He wants you in seminary. If He says yes, then trust in Him to provide. He is a faithful God and will always show you a better way.