Five months have passed since that June weekend when we drove toward Nashville with hopeful hearts and prayerful spirits, which I wrote about in the post “A Father’s Journey: Following God’s Call to Nashville.” The Vocal Arts Intensive Camp gave my daughter, Jarah, more than a glimpse of possibility. It confirmed what we had been sensing for years. She returned home not with starry-eyed dreams, but with a quiet, settled conviction that this was indeed the path God was calling her to walk.
On November 20th, God provided His unmistakable confirmation.
The acceptance letter from Belmont University arrived with news that filled our home with gratitude and wonder. Dr. Chris Gage, Vice President for Enrollment Services, welcomed Jarah into the Fall 2026 freshman class, noting that her “dedication, hard work and outstanding accomplishments have not gone unnoticed.” But it was his next words that felt like God’s own affirmation of our faithful investment: Jarah had been awarded the Belmont Achievement Scholarship, $9,000 annually, selected from “a very talented and competitive group of applicants.”
This moment represents more than an acceptance to a university. It’s a testimony to what happens when we align ourselves with the profound truth of James 4:15: “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” These words have taken on profound meaning for me this week, as two very different journeys converged on the same eternal principle: the acceptance of God’s will.
On November 20th, I celebrated Jarah’s acceptance to Belmont. The very next day, November 21st, I stood before family and friends to celebrate the life of a dear friend, a warrior of Christ who taught me what true surrender looks like. For 104 days, I sent him daily prayers as he battled cancer with unwavering faith. Even when his CT scans brought devastating news, his response revealed the heart of a man who had fully surrendered to God’s plan: “I don’t understand God’s plan. But I have to believe he has greater plans for me.”
My friend’s journey ended on November 13th when God carried him home. Jarah’s journey is just beginning as doors open wide before her. One story speaks of a life completed in faith; the other of a life launching into calling. Yet both rest on the same foundation: hearing God’s voice, obeying His leading, submitting to His will, and adapting our plans to His purposes.
Surrendering to God’s Will
When we prayed over my friend’s healing, we surrendered to God’s will with these words: “If it is your will to heal him from this cancer, then let him be healed. Restore his body and renew his strength. But if it is your will to bring him home to you, then let it be so.” This wasn’t resignation. It was trust in God’s greater wisdom.
Similarly, when we invested in Jarah’s gift eleven years ago, we released our plans to God’s purposes. We didn’t know if this path would lead to Nashville, to another direction entirely, or somewhere we couldn’t yet imagine. We simply committed to steward what God had given us and trust Him with the outcome.
This is the essence of walking in faith: we present our requests, we take action on what God reveals, but we hold our outcomes with open hands. God’s “yes” to Jarah’s Belmont acceptance is a beautiful answer to prayer. God’s “come home” to my friend was an equally sacred answer, different from what we hoped for, but no less loving, no less purposeful.
Both journeys required the same faithful response: hear, obey, submit, decide, and adapt.
Jarah had to work with dedication, develop her gift with discipline, and step out in faith to apply. We had to invest resources, provide opportunities, and trust God through years of uncertainty. When the acceptance came, we recognized it as God’s confirmation of the path we’d been walking.
My friend had to fight with courage, pursue treatment with determination, and trust God through every dark night. He showed up to every battle, never complained, yet always held his healing with open hands. When God’s answer was “come home,” he was ready because he’d already surrendered the outcome.
This is the wisdom James 4:15 teaches us: our plans, our dreams, our very lives exist within the framework of “if the Lord wills.” We don’t sit passively waiting for God to move. We act in faith, we invest, we pursue, we fight. But we do so with the humble acknowledgment that He sees what we cannot, knows what we don’t, and loves us far more than we can comprehend.
As I hold Jarah’s acceptance letter in my hands, I’m reminded of standing before my friend’s family just one day later, sharing the testimony of his steady peace in the face of uncertainty. The timing was no accident. These twenty-four hours held both a celebration of beginnings and a celebration of completion, and both taught me that God’s will isn’t just about the destination; it’s about who we become in the journey.
My friend’s 104-day battle transformed him, drawing him closer to God with “renewed faith and direction.” When he felt physically able to return to church for the first time in over a year, he declared, “God is good,” not because God gave him the outcome he wanted, but because God gave him His presence through the storm.
Jarah’s eleven-year journey has shaped her character, deepened her faith, and prepared her for the challenges ahead. The scholarship and acceptance are blessings, yes, but they’re also responsibilities, opportunities to use her gifts for God’s glory, whatever that may look like in the years to come.
Grace for the Journey Ahead
The road to Nashville that stretched before us in June is now becoming the path Jarah will walk as a New Freshman Bruin. But we walk this road the same way my friend walked his final path, with faith in God’s goodness, trust in His wisdom, and complete surrender to His will.
We celebrate this acceptance with grateful hearts, knowing that God has confirmed this step. But we also hold it with open hands, understanding that God’s plans often unfold in unexpected ways. Whether this leads to a career in commercial music, a different calling entirely, or purposes we can’t yet imagine, our prayer remains the same: “If it is the Lord’s will.”
My friend showed us that accepting God’s will doesn’t mean giving up hope. It means anchoring our hope in the right place. Not in outcomes we can control, but in a God we can trust. Not in circumstances that shift, but in a Father whose love never fails.
As Jarah prepares to begin her journey at Belmont, I’m reminded of my friend’s words to me: “God could’ve just let me go then… but He has greater plans for me.” His greater plan was to finish his race with courage and point others to Christ through his testimony. Jarah’s greater plan is still unfolding, one faithful step at a time.
Both journeys teach us the same truth: God always blesses the vision He gives His people, though His blessings may look different than we expect. He doesn’t just call us. He walks with us, provides for us, and shapes us into the people He created us to be.
The journey continues, surrendered to His will, one faithful step at a time.“Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.'” – James 4:15
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