Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God, it is he who made us and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pastures. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good, and his love endures forever, his faithfulness continues through all generations.

The past few weeks have been a really eventful one for me. I experienced God's love and grace through many ways, mainly the bible. As most people know, I'm living by my own with no television, computer and other distracting stuff. So. the only thing I can do is eat, sleep, study, and occasionally jog. The good thing is that without all these distractions, I can focus on my studies and also my quiet time.

These weeks have taught me to trust in God and his unfailing love, he has shown me many things, and I would like to share it.

During the September one-week break, on Thursday night, at about 8pm, I stepped out of the bathroom and started thinking; what if God's plan for me is to get a not so good grade, what if God's way for me is not what I want, or even close to that. I started to panic and really freaked out. I ran downstairs to 7-11 and bought 2 bottles of coke. I spent the rest of the night revising and practicing additional math, and downing coke. (16 is underage for alcohol)

At about 2am, I broke down and totally burned out. I called my mother to talk to her, and she prayed for me. It was a good prayer filled with comforting words, but after I put down the phone, I was still mentally cracked. I sat huddled on the floor and started tearing. Just at that moment, I looked at the screen on my phone, and there on it was a verse with had been on standby mode.

"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

This verse really helped as it gave me the peace of God, which transcends all understanding. I realized that God will never harm you, and his plans and will is to prosper you and to lead you on to greater heights. I went to sleep with the knowledge that my God will never, never let me down.

Its amazing how the next day, during quiet time, God reassured me again by leading me to Genesis 22. It was about Abraham being put to the test by sacrificing his only son. As everyone knows, God stopped him and proved a ram for the sacrifices. The thing about this scripture is that it was about how God provided (God will provide), and this told me that my God will provide for me, even in my darkest hour.

God spoke to me again after I got back my prelims results. All glory and honor be to God who has given me wonderful results! On the afternoon on which I came back from school, God gave me a verse during quiet time.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God; that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we ask of him.

This again reassured me that my God hears my prayer and my cries for help. He will hear me and will provide the best for me.

During the next few weeks, God repeatedly showed me many verses, which helped me greatly.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy before him endured the cross, scoring its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. The lord is my helper; I will not be afraid, what can man do to me.

As the body without flesh is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. James 2: 26

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds. For the testing of your faith develops perseverance, and perseverance must complete its work before you become mature and complete, not lacking anything James 1: 2-4

I urged all you brothers and sisters who had just finished their prelims and gotten back their results. Do not compromise on your time with God for it is only he who can provide you with strength. He is the only one who can guide and lead you by the hand. Some of you did not get what you wanted, maybe you did not study hard enough or you did not spend your time wisely. Take this as a lesson in which God wants to teach you to become stronger and more disciplined. It is never too late, and there is still time. Use this period of trials and testing to strengthen your relationship with God. And if you honor God and put him first, he will in turn honor you and lift you up. Take this as an investment that will definitely yield positive results. We still have a long way to go, and it is extremely easy to forsake God and toss him into a corner. Remember to spend time with God and to run the race with perseverance in which God has set for each and everyone of us.

Love,

Your brother in Christ, David