Honor God and He’ll Honor you

By Eric

Last semester was extremely trying. Having just received Christ, I was making adjustments to my lifestyle to incorporate things such as daily quiet time and church on Saturdays and Sundays. Moreover, quite a few things happened in the family - passing away of my grandparents, the implications in the extended family after that – hence, I never really got into stride in my studies.

There was this particular module that I was not confident in from start to end – forensic psychology. That module was full of abstract concepts due the nature of the field. It did average for the mid-term test and other assignments, thus, I was depending on my final exam to pull the grade up. However, I was so badly behind time, no thanks to some degree of procrastination, I only managed to revise about 65% of what was required for the finals.

Exam day. 8 questions answer 4. I could only manage 3. We were given 10 mins of perusal time, so I used some time to pray. I asked Him to give me peace and calmness to face this little challenge; it was just but an exam. I also asked Him to reward me accordingly to my efforts – if it’s a Pass, so be it. God answers prayers, in ways you don’t expect. Instead of 3, I could answer only 2 questions; I’ve misread the last one. Nonetheless, I completed the exam.

This Wednesday, I received an e-mail from Dr. Stephen Motson, the subject co-ordination in forensic psychology in Australia. Initially, I thought I failed the exam. After reading through the e-mail, I was in total shock and awe. Dr. Motson had written to me personally to congratulate on the excellent performance in the exam. According to him, I did extremely well for all four essays and he actually gave me the highest scores he has ever given to anyone in this module.

I am very certain it was God. As I reflected upon this incident, it occurred to me that God did answer my prayer. He rewarded me accordingly to my efforts - it was not how much I studied but my devotion to Him during the exam break. I made a commitment to do daily QT during that week even though I was behind time. In fact, I think God made it such. Whenever it reaches about 8pm, if I do not start my QT, I would feel a little uncomfortable, hence, unable to concentrate. But after QT, He gave me peace and tranquility that allowed me to concentrate fully.

Even as most of us approach the hectic exams period, remember, do not rely on your own strength to work. I would like to encourage everyone to continue to be devoted to God. If your daily QT is 30mins, continue to do 30mins, if you do QT twice daily, continue to do so and do it with faithfulness. Because you know, He will give you the peace of mind even though it seems like you’ll never finish what needs to be done. Above all, He will not discount you for what you’ve done for Him. He may not reward you like He did for me, but surely, He’ll record down your devotion and you never know when He’ll return you manifolds of it.