Joshua

“The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.” (Proverbs 21:31)

This was the verse that was sent to me the night before my first VCE exam in Year 12. It’s stuck ever since. Essentially, you can be as prepared as you’d like, armed with your chariots, weaponry, tactical know-how and an alarming dose of hype—at the end of the day, none of those things guarantee you safety in battle. God alone does. Likewise you might’ve completed 50 practice exams and memorised 50 essays. None of them will secure you the grade you’re aiming for. Obviously, this isn’t to shun you from working hard. But it is to encourage you to cast your eyes in the right direction. What direction is that?

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

Constant, vital connection with Christ. Remember, your duty as student isn’t to secure a particular grade. It’s to love God with your efforts and abilities. Those two aren’t necessarily the same thing. Although there can be overlap! You might be the godliest student whose highest grade in a particular subject this semester is a C. You might also be a practical atheist whose highest grade is an A. Hopefully we’re each living for so much more than academic grades. Hopefully you’re making an attempt to be a “spiritual” person whose unaffected, biblical attitude sticks out amongst the vast majority of competitors *ahem* people in the non-spiritual rat race that is “exams”. Make this exam season your chance to prove to yourself your dependence upon God.

I pray you learn to trust God so much so that you start, continue, and end it saying “I’ve honoured God with my studies, so I’ve no regrets whatsoever (except for maybe that silly mistake on the maths exam). The grade is up to Him! Why should I worry?”