“Dear God – my problem is so great that…” You fill in the rest.
The prophet Elijah faced such a problem. After witnessing the Lord’s power on Mount Carmel, and as the people’s cry – “The Lord – he is God!” (1 Kings 18:39) – rung in his ears, he may have assumed that his problems with idolatry had ended.
Then came Jezebel’s words: “May the gods deal with me…if…I do not make your life like that of one of [my dead prophets]” (19:2). Elijah fled. To him, his problem was bigger than God. He saw escape as the only solution.
It is here that the Lord provided Elijah with a valuable lesson. God sent powerful displays – wind, earthquake, and fire. But he was not in them.
Finally, Elijah heard a whisper: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (19:13). God was in that whisper. After Elijah explained himself, the Lord explained his plan. Elijah still had work to do. He would anoint two kings and he would also anoint his successor. Energized by the word of the Lord, Elijah carried out the plan. He learned that even his greatest problem was under the Lord’s control.
We have been like Elijah many times. When we face seemingly impossible situations, we often despair and search for solutions anywhere else but with God.
At times like these, we need the Lord’s assurance. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you…. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned” (Isaiah 43:2). And again, “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
God repeatedly assures us that he manages even our greatest problems.
Instead of praying, “Dear God – my problem is so great that…,” we may confidently pray, “Dear problem – my God is so great that….” You fill in the rest!
Jim Grasby is principal of Lakeside Lutheran.
Reach him at 920.648.2321 or jgrasby@llhs.org
Jeremy Nehls, class of 2018, was Lakeside’s first participant in the Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship (YA) program. YA is designed for high school students who want hands-on learning at a worksite along with classroom instruction. Nehls worked at the Robert Schwandt Jr. and S.E. Schwandt Sr. Farms near Juneau. YA is part of a statewide School-to-Work initiative done under the supervision of the state’s Department of Workforce Development and serves a wide variety of career programs.
We broke the 1,000th-Warrior mark for visitors to the Lighthouse Youth Center of Milwaukee. This is the 12th year of a partnership that provides sophomore Warriors in Pastor Clark Schultz’s Word of God classes the opportunity to make new friends and enjoy new experiences. Pastor Jim Buske, LL class of ’93 and director at Lighthouse, visits his alma mater each year to present Warrior teens this opportunity to live their faith. On May 1, 2018, Lighthouse reported that Jacob Horta, class of 2020, was the 1,000th Lakeside Lutheran Warrior to step through the doors of under this program. 
On June 11, more than 500 Warrior family and friends packed the stands for the second year in a row to hear our A Cappella choir members sing the National Anthem to kick off a Brewers game, this year vs. the Chicago Cubs. Though the Brew Crew lost the battle that night, they proceeded to capture the NL Central title with a 96-67 season win-loss record (winning the tiebreaker game over the Cubs [95-68] in October).
Our “Nifty Fifties” script provider, Pioneer Drama Service, ran a contest for best photo submitted on its Facebook page in spring, as voted by its Facebook page visitors. Student photographer Taylor Wolfram, class of ‘19, snapped a great action pic of a dancing Donald (Isaiah Coleman, class of 2018). Our photo took 1st place (with 450 votes) and the LLHS drama department received a $200 gift certificate good for play materials, royalties, or books!
Four new full-time faculty members were installed at the start of the 2018-19 school year, the largest number at once since the 2000-01 school year. Mr. Justin Vanderhoof (second from left) teaches English and Geography and coaches football and track. Mrs. Hannah Uher teaches Science and coaches soccer and cross country. Mr. Nate Sievert teaches in the Math and Phy Ed departments and coaches basketball and track. Pictured at right, Pastor Michael Helwig teaches Word of God classes and directs Operation Go mission trips. We also welcomed back Word of God adjunct instructor Pastor Christopher Koschnitzke (leftmost in photo) for another year. 
The 2018-19 school year marked the inaugural year of our STEM Academy, a special program for students interested in taking engineering or biomedical sciences in their post-secondary education. STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, and the Academy is designed to add classes yearly as this first-year cohort ages through the school. The program is using Project Lead the Way (PLTW) curricula administered through Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). The first class includes 19 students enrolled in “Introduction to Engineering Design” (IED), facilitated by Academy Director Andrew Willems. Next fall, the second course in the series, “Principles of Engineering,” will be available. Successful performance in the high school courses earns students college credit at participating PLTW universities.
Our Capitol North Conference champs had the longest run in football program history through the WIAA playoffs this season, reaching the fourth round of the playoffs. They defeated Beloit Turner, River Valley, and Edgerton in consecutive Friday night playoffs before losing to eventual state champion Racine St. Catherine’s in the state semifinal on November 9. 
Some sweet icing was added when Head Coach Paul also received accolades from the Wisconsin State Journal: 
(That’s more than a quarter of our students.) The results are in and, according to math team advisor Todd Hackbarth, “God once again blessed Lakeside with incredible success!” Varsity Team #1 took first overall. Juniors Gil Haw took 1st and Trevor Geerdts placed 5th individually. JV Team #1 took first & JV Team #2 took third in Capitol North. Individually, sophomores Lydia Buxa placed 3rd and Ashley Grundman & Ella Butzine tied for 4th.
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