The Bible says in Hebrews 11: 1 that “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.“ and I believe there is so much truth to this which cannot be overemphasised.
The second semester of my freshman year started on a terrible note. The courses that were related to my major (Electrical Engineering) were suffering tremendously. Now, I attribute it partially to my complacency and also to my lack of a structured way of studying because I thought I had it under control.
I wasn’t familiar with the component of Calculus II we were being taught and in all our pop quizzes, I experienced what it was like to pick up 4/10’s and 2/10’s after work was graded. 😭 Basically, the future of academic work this semester didn’t look so bright.
Physics too came with its own truckload of trouble. I am of the opinion that I had assumed an easy pass since my SHS physics was good enough for me to sail through but I was lying to myself.
That was pretty much how January started.
February came with good news that made people start giving me pressure.
‘As for you dierr I trust you’ , ‘You don’t even have a problem’, ‘Left to you alone I’m not worried’, etc
I only smiled and let them say. Because I don’t even trust myself 😂; I trust God.
Yet anytime someone said to me, ‘you dierr you are too much’ I will respond with ‘I receive it’ Whatever blessing is thrown at me, I receive it in the name of Jesus regardless of my predicament.
After all, why should I declare failure for the enemy to take it and run with it?
At some point, I had to take a step back and then I performed an analysis. I had committed too much of my time to other courses which had nothing to do with my major at the expense of the ones without which I wouldn’t progress to sophomore year.
But by the time I realised, it seemed it was too late to do any repairs to the damage. After coming to this realisation, I had to spend 3 weeks out of school and even after my return, I had several invitations to speak at different places and all these activities required more movements out of school and more importantly, out of class and study time. How was I to catch up?
Ephesians 3:20 – Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
This semester taught me to trust God more than trusting I was prepared enough to write exams or quizzes and even for my presentations because I saw all the time I was out of school as worship.
Whenever I got the chance to, I wanted people to understand that all good things come from God (🎵All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above, so thank the Lord, oh! Thank the LORD for ALL his love🎵- Methodist Hymn) and not from how good you are. Surprisingly enough, whenever a colleague came up to me for assistance with course work, I always prayed before attempting to and I was able to offer the help to God’s glory ALONE.
I often do a lot of work behind my laptop and anytime people saw me, the assumption was that I’m killing some assignment or working my way through the course reading that everyone else had deserted. 😂
I didn’t think it was necessary to justify myself after sometime so I just smiled at the comments
Little did they know that I learnt what last minute work entailed this semester 😂
Because I had so much outside school to do
(And I AM NEVER GOING BACK TO IT because excuses are tools for the incompetent)
But I gained a clearer understanding of what people meant when they said they had time management issues, things were getting harder, grades weren’t looking so cheerful, etc.
Yet whenever I got little time, I prayed for direction and put my all into studying as much as I could gather.
God brought amazing and supportive friends my way this semester to make life much easier than it would have been without them. Pointer: There are beautiful people out there. Really. You don’t need to do much to get people who were sent by God to make strong friendships with. At the right time and place, they will show up and you will be so glad that they did.
April started to approach and exams were weeks away.
I was still being given new responsibilities.
“What have I done to give account of?”, I mused.
“Nobody cares that you were out of school. Several others have been and some achieved even more than you have. What other excuse do you have?”
I looked to God.
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 40:31
Things turned around at the ending of March and transcended to April and finally May. Now I am 100% certain that God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called. If He has called you, regardless of what you would RATHER do, serve Him in all faithfulness and never forget to give all the credit to Him regardless of the company you find yourself in and it will be well with you.
Give thanks when things are roughest and even more thanks when things are great.
I thought my grades were good last semester. God made them way better this semester and by His grace, I studied with those same good friends for my exams and they were blessings in disguise. It’s true that I had every reason to give excuses and decide not to pass but where God is, there is always a way and you just need to push to find it.
I don’t know what God has asked you to do. I don’t know what is happening in your life.
But have you committed it to God?
Do you TRUST Him enough to take you through it?
Are you praying and immersing yourself in His presence?
There is a transformational power of God that just shifts things with the snap of a finger
you don’t know what happens.
It just flips over and blossoms beautifully.
It is not brilliance or beauty that makes SOME people have GREAT grades or so much money or so much power.
How much do you believe God and how much are you willing to let go for His purpose and will?
I pray the favour and grace of God locates you today and transforms your situation so much that you will never understand.
I pray that the words of Matthew 6:33(Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need) will minister to you.
Things started out horrible and pathetic for me but it was the power of God that changed everything.
Glory to God! 🎊🎉🎊
Continue to exercise your faith and trust in God regardless of what is manifesting in the physical and trust me, you can never go wrong. Also, don’t be lazy. Don’t find excuses. Don’t throw your hands in despair. Don’t stop pushing and praying and persevering because God never fails, forsakes or forgets.
Love always,
Jessica Quaye.