I received this email today from a friend of a friend. After reading it, I was amazed at how great our God is. We may be different people and miles apart, but we are all still one in Christ. We have the same Holy Spirit living in us and teaching us.
I couldn't have written it better myself and I'm sharing this email as an encouragement to us Christians that we are all going through this together; we are not alone. =)
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Hey guys!
C here btw. =) To those who don’t really get like, emails from me often. Hi!!!! Lol.
Anyway. It’s about twenty minutes until midnight on the eve of my first paper, and some of you may have went for your first papers already but I got reminded on a little word I received once as I was in a conversation earlier and I felt like this needs to be heard!
The conversation was about a portfolio, where creative students showcase their material, their life’s work in order to impress their prospective Unis and employees so that they get jobs in the future, and how stressful it may be as one may feel like their material is inadequate, their arrangement messy, or their work last minute.
Everyone of us gets those in pre-exam jitters too! You feel inadequate, you feel like you’re ill prepared and you rather trudge into the exam hall rather than walk into it.
But let’s put this into God’s perspective.
Gifts, talents are all God given. He’s placed them into us before we were even born, and He’s weaved intricate manners and ways we are to refine these talents into skills we apply in life. Skilled hands (for you doctors/dentists), creative minds (for you artists), math heads (you nerds who do engineering. Lol) practical problem-solvers (COME ON COMMERCE STUDENTS GIVE ME A HIGH FIVE), writers and presenters (law students woot!), wisdom, memory power and will power, let me go on naming we can go all night.
Think the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30).
And in Biblical perspective we are given these gifts for God’s glory. Not our own. Not to get us a job. Not to get us a grade. Forget that. Committing your God given talents to diligent, good and practical use will not only get us the jobs, not just the grades but the ability to excel in them, to rack up testimony after testimony about how God’s worked miracles in your education and future career. It’s our outlet to shine!
And back to the portfolio, it’s a compilation of works, applications of our God-given talents which have been refined for so many years on end, through the teachers who’ve taught us, the leaders who led us and the family and friends who’ve guided us. I said that this portfolio shouldn’t be seen from OUR perspective, an opportunity to impress someone with OUR work...
But rather it’s an opportunity to impress someone with GOD’S WORK IN US, a chance to show the world that I am a testimony in the making, see my works, see what He has abundantly blessed me with, and we are NOT going to be shy about them. Not for pride’s sake, but because it gives HIM glory.
Same like our exams. We, through these end-of-semester days should not see these as an opportunity to get grades, HDs, but as ANOTHER chance for us to give our God-given wisdom and knowledge our BEST shot, THE VERY BEST that He deserves, the VERY BEST that He will acknowledge and reward!
And it’s this effort which God sees, not the preparedness. Not the neatness of your notes. Not the books you read. But it’s the belief that whatever I have, I will sow, whatever God’s placed in me, I will apply. Whatever those God-positioned lecturers told me which I remember, I will write, and whatever I may forget, wherever I may feel inadequate, wherever I feel week, HIS STRENGTH IS MADE PERFECT in me.
And it’s this belief where we can truly excel. It’s this belief which makes us not trudge the winter-y cold, but rather stand tall and shout out that I am here, another opportunity to shine for God. Another testimony is on the way. No wasted effort. Nothing’s forgotten, its mere human perspective. God is mighty. God is able to guide me to and through this paper and the next, and the next, and the next. Although you may humanly feel tired, humanly inadequate.
If you feel tired, if you feel human, remember these verses:
In His kindness God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation.
(1 Peter 5:10)
He gives power to the weak, and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find NEW strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
(Isaiah 40:29-31)
Guys. Our exams are NOT just for grades. We’re placed where we are to shine for His glory. We are walking testimonies. We stand out from the crowd because we have an awesome God on our backs. We’re the salt and the light. Let’s be influential. Let’s be confident that He will pull us through.
Let’s also commit our exams to prayer. Let’s remember to pray for one another and be open even to pray for our friends who may not have share the same faith. Who knows, we may be able to share so much more and bring them to know this awesome God we know.
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He’s done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:6-8)
Amen?
I hope this encouraged. Happy exam-ing. Happy shining for God this season!
Thanking Him for the testimonies to come.
CT
~G3
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