Recently, I’ve found myself in a dark and agonizing place—a pit. I have been haunted by a question: Will Seventh-day Adventist education survive in the U.K.?
The situation is dire. With the newly elected Labour government imposing a 20% VAT on independent schools, along with other compulsory charges, Adventist education is under siege. Parents are being priced out. Dedicated Adventist teachers are leaving, worn down by inadequate denominational pay and increasing demands.
As director of education for the British Union Conference, I have wrestled with God, asking, “Lord, help! I’m in a pit!” In that despair, my thoughts have turned to others in Scripture who were pit-dwellers—Job, Joseph, Daniel, and Jeremiah. I’ve read verses that echo my cries: “I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like one without strength” (Psalm 88:4); “He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock…” (Psalm 40:2).
Are you, too, in a pit? Perhaps you were thrown in by circumstances beyond your control. Or maybe, if we’re honest, we dug the pit ourselves through missteps and poor choices. Scripture acknowledges both: unjust suffering and the consequences of personal sin. Regardless of how we ended up here, the pit is a familiar place for many of us in ministry and education. It’s a mental and spiritual state where hope fades, vision blurs, and purpose feels lost.
Sometimes, I find myself framing my situation to appear the victim. But the truth remains: the pit is real. The good news is that we can get out. The challenge? We can’t climb out alone. The miry clay holds us fast. Self-sufficiency won’t cut it here. Deliverance requires help—and not just any help.
Others can offer a hand and perhaps pull us partway out. But they can’t heal us. They can’t keep us outside the pit. Standing on someone else’s shoulders only leads to more falls when their strength fails. The emotional and spiritual pits we face in education—declining enrollment, exhausted teachers, financial uncertainty, and more—are too deep for human solutions alone. We need the “Ultimate Pit Puller.”
Only God sees clearly into the pits we hide from others. Only He can discern our true condition. His Word pierces the layers of self-deception and silence. Yet still, He longs to be gracious to us (Isaiah 30:18). His love endures forever. He doesn’t just rescue; He restores.
As an educator, I need that kind of Deliverer—one with a strong arm and a long reach. Philippians 1:6 reminds me that “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.” God doesn’t abandon His call. Even in this crisis, He is faithful. The work of Adventist education in the U.K. was never ours alone. It’s His mission, and He will sustain it.
Paul affirms this in 2 Corinthians 1:10: “He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us…” Past. Present. Future. We cling to a promise of deliverance that isn’t short term or superficial. We need a lifetime warranty, and God gives it freely.
As Corrie Ten Boom once said, “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.” I’m holding onto that. If you’re in a pit too—weary, disheartened, questioning your place in this work—remember: God not only hears your cry, He climbs into the pit with you and He lifts.
He will continue to deliver us.
(**SOURCE : https://www.adventisteducators.org/
