This past semester was hard. It was the hardest academic semester I’ve ever faced. It was probably the hardest semester emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually yet…or at least a close second. But through it all I’ve seen God’s faithfulness over and over.
There are lots of ways I could approach a post like this. I’m choosing to present what I’ve learned this semester through the lens of four key words that keep coming up over and over: control, trust, fear, and grace.
Control: God is sovereign and God is in control. This is has been the theme over and over in my studies this semester. I took part two of an intense Old Testament class in school. We studied the second half of the prophets, along with the wiritngs (including Psalms, Proverbs, Job, etc.). The sovereignty of God kept returning to my mind as we read the book. He knew what was happening to Israel and why, and he knows all the answers and has a plan in my life too.
“…for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘what have you done?'” (Daniel 4:34-35)
The other part of this word is that I need to stop trying to control my own life. I need to leave it in God’s hands and let him take it where he wants it to go. This leads to the second word…
Trust: While the first word came mostly from my studies, this one comes from personal experience. From homework to work to changing plans to an outreach trip to relationships, this semester has been all about learning to trust God.
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in Yahweh forever, for Yahweh God is an everlasting rock.” (Isaiah 26:3-4)
Fear: I need to fear God and not fear man or fear circumstances. I almost burnt out this semester because I committed to so much and tried to please so many people. It was a very practical reminder, as I got more and more exhausted, that I need to fear God first and foremost. Pleasing and fearing him should be my number one priority. It is so hard to do because I get instand feedback from people, but not always from God. I have to remember to work for the opinion that really matters (God’s) not the fleeting opinions of man.
“The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in Yahweh is safe.” (Proverbs 29:25)
Grace: This has been a semester that in my discussions with my mentor and my own personal devotional time has focused on grace. I’ve been reading “New Morning Mercies” by Paul Tripp, and it is amazing. Every day is exactly what I need to hear and looks at grace from a different angle, exploring how it applies to my life in daily situations. Learning about and experiencing the grace of God is exactly what I need to counter the fear of man I struggle with.
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
This has been a challenging semester, but it has been a fruitful one. I am grateful for God’s sustaining power that brought me through it. And I look forward to what he has for me this summer, as I wait to see what comes next in life.