Debra’s First day at school.
Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth….I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert…to give drink to my people, My chosen. Is. 43:19-20 (KJV). Driving through the Cascade mountains for the first time, I heard the Lord speak this verse to me, saying, “I am making a way.” And I needed Him to! My life was an ash heap of disappointment, grief, and confusion, and what lay ahead was a road of unknowns, with a glimmer of hope that God had something more for me.
My friend was driving out with me from Nebraska; she and her husband are alumni of Seattle Bible College (SBC). Our lives had intersected in the two years I had landed in the small town of Friend, Nebraska, after leaving the mission field unexpectedly in 2015. Little did I know that what I called unexpected change was God divinely ordering my steps. During my time involved in the church there, these alumni of SBC were the pastors who counseled and mentored me in my transition off the mission field. I was personally impacted by them and saw the effectiveness of their ministry–truly loving God and people, led by His Word and Spirit. As soon as I realized that SBC was the same place they had gone, I knew I had to go.
My desire to go to Bible college started when I was a teenager, but the Lord said “No” at that time, so I studied to be a teacher. A decade later, I came to SBC. The depth of the study of the Word, the evidential power of the Spirit, and the prayers of the staff and fellow students far exceeded my expectations. Everything I was seeking, I found!
One particular day at SBC, I felt God stirring my heart from the moment I stepped into the door that morning. In the prayer time, on the breaks, and throughout the class the presence of God was on me. In the class lecture, it became clear what the Lord wanted to do for me. When Pastor Scott Smith talked about the fear of man, I felt a punch to my heart. Yes, the Word of God is a sword! After class, I asked a staff member if they could pray for me to be free of fear. After they prayed, I started praying in the Spirit and did not stop as I drove home. While driving on the freeway, I was delivered from a spirit of fear, and by the time I reached my exit, the electric fire of the Holy Spirit came all over my body, from the top of my head to my knees. I guess the Lord knew I needed to still use my feet to drive! That moment I was baptized in the Father’s love and received a fresh infilling of His Spirit. It was Valentine’s Day 2018–how perfect!
As 2018 to 2019 unfolded, I began to see how God had ordered my steps all along. That August, I went up north to help lead the children’s ministry for the first Sonrise church plant in Skagit Valley. By July 2019, after completing my Bachelor of Biblical Studies, I was hired at SBC where I would learn the ins and outs of running a Bible college by working in admissions, registration, publications, and educational development as the dean’s assistant. Soon after, I was given opportunities to teach at SBC as well. In 2021, when I taught Great Women of Scripture, God revealed His hand in my life story. It was what you would call a “full circle moment.” You see, in August 2017, when I arrived in Washington, my friend who had served in India with me was visiting her children here. After I greeted her, she went quickly to grab a stack of books to give me. They were books she had written over a period of 40 years on the women of the Bible! On the back of the first book was her biography where it was written, “attended Seattle Bible Training School.” I couldn’t believe my eyes! She told me that she had attended the college many years back, and that the man who had started the school I worked in for four years in India had attended SBC as well. Unbeknownst to me, I served in a mission that had roots in SBC! Though my life had taken unexpected turns, God was directing my path all along.
If the Lord is stirring your heart to join SBC, follow His leading. SBC is not only a place but a position. When you come to SBC, you position yourself for more of God, for greater surrender, and to seek and to find Him. He has and will make a way for you!
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