Learning to Rely on God: College Entrance Exam Becomes So Easy
I Was Physically and Mentally Exhausted Preparing for the Exam “Class, exams are around the corner. Seize the time to review. …” The countdown to the exam had begun. All of my classmates buried their heads in their books preparing for the exam. I couldn’t help but feel nervous in this atmosphere. My grades hadn’t been very good, and the grade for this exam was directly related to whether I could enter a good university, and whether I could find a good job, so I was very stressed out and wanted to quickly review for the exam. However, as the vice-president of the student council, I was in charge of many events. After I finished everything in school, it would already be 6 p.m., and I still had to look after my grandmother after that. I would only reach home around 10 p.m. In order to have more time to review, I stayed up until 2 to 3 a.m. and I still had to wake up at 6 a.m. for school. Because of overworking, I couldn’t focus during class and would often doze off. But I didn’t really have any other choice, since no pain, no gain. The only way for me to get good grades was to do all that I could to review for the exam. Time flew, the exam was getting closer and closer, I also picked up my pace. Because of the pressure from the exam, and burning the midnight oil, I wasn’t able to have meals regularly and sleep well, thus my eyelids swelled, I also started to experience headache, dizziness, absent-mindedness. I dozed off in class, I became hot-tempered, and I was very exhausted. I was also very irritated because I felt that preparing for exam was really so tiring and unbearable. Sometimes I really wanted to just give up and not sit for the exam. But I wasn’t resigned, so I had to grit my teeth and bear it. Gradually, I didn’t attend gatherings regularly. For the one-hour gathering on Saturday, I would go offline early. I also sent a message to the sister that I had to review for the exam and couldn’t guarantee that I could attend every gathering. After the sister learned about my situation, she replied, “Gathering is the path to maintain a normal relationship with God. Only after we have a normal relationship with God, can we gain God’s care and protection, can we be led by God in our studies and life. We have to know that God controls everything, rules and arranges everything in our life. When we encounter difficulties, we should come before God and pray; seek the truth we have to practice. Only in this way can we gain God’s blessings.” She also sent me some God’s words, but I didn’t read them because I was too busy. Afterward, my mother called me, she also reminded me that I should pray and draw close to God facing difficulties, and that I should have faith in God. Thinking of the sister’s and my mom’s exhortations, I was willing to entrust the exam to God. However, when I realized that my classmates had almost finished reviewing, but I still had a lot to review, my heart was in a turmoil, and I was flustered. I thought, “My classmates have already finished reviewing, but I still have so much to work on. What should I do? If I can’t finish reviewing, I surely won’t get good grades. No, I can’t let that happen! I must memorize the materials. Only in this way can I feel secure during the exam.” Then, I began again to live the life of burning the midnight oil. When I Relied on God, Everything Became So Easy One day, I felt like I was going to collapse, so I called my mom, “Mom, my exams are coming up, but I still have a lot more to review. History is the subject that I’m most afraid of, and it is also the toughest one. I have to stay up late every night to review for it, and I will have headache the next day. I’m so depressed….” After hearing what I said, my mom, in sorrow, asked me if I had prayed to God. At that moment, I felt guilty because I forgot to pray to God under the exam pressure. Then, she sent me a passage of God’s words, “Since the creation of the world I have begun to predestine and select this group of people, namely, you today. Your temperament, caliber, appearance, stature, family in which you were born, your job and your marriage, the entirety of you, even the color of your hair and your skin, and the time of your birth were all arranged by My hands. Even the things you do and the people you meet every single day are arranged by My hands, not to mention the fact that bringing you into My presence today is actually My arrangement. Do not throw yourself into disorder; you should proceed calmly.” She fellowshiped, “From God’s words we can see that since the day we arrive in this world, God has already arranged our fates. God has the final say on how our future will be and what kind of work we will do. God is the Creator, the arrangement God has made for us is the most suitable for us. We should believe in God’s sovereignty, learn to rely on God and submit to God. All we need is to do the things we should do, and that’s enough. If we practice in this way, our heart will also be at ease and very calm.” After reading God’s words and hearing my mom’s fellowship, I realized that although I believe in God, I had no true knowledge of God’s sovereignty. I had always believed that a good diploma would get me a good job and a good future. So I relied on my own efforts and seized every minute…