I would like to share another incident from my engineering college days.
In the fifth semester there was a subject named Computer Organisation and Architecture (COA). I got 49/50 in the internals and hence I was a bit overconfident. We got two days off before its university exam and I was wasting time when most of my classmates were busy preparing as it was considered one of the most difficult subjects. Only the night before the exam I realised that our professor had taught us just half of the syllabus and that too the easy half. There was a lot that wasn’t taught and hence I didn’t know anything about it. Suddenly, I didn’t know what to do. All this while I thought I knew it all, and then I realise that actually I knew very little. Lot of portion still needed to be covered. I tried doing everything: studying fast, learning from friends etc, but nothing worked. Finally fed up, I slept off. But I was unable to do even that. After sometime I got up and sat on my study table all tensed up, worried, discouraged and staring at the thick text book without any hope at all. Just then I happened to glance at the picture of Christ in front of me and out of my utter desperation I prayed out to Him, asking Him to help me. I invited Him to study with me. I prepared for some time and then gave it all in His hands and slept.
In the fifth semester there was a subject named Computer Organisation and Architecture (COA). I got 49/50 in the internals and hence I was a bit overconfident. We got two days off before its university exam and I was wasting time when most of my classmates were busy preparing as it was considered one of the most difficult subjects. Only the night before the exam I realised that our professor had taught us just half of the syllabus and that too the easy half. There was a lot that wasn’t taught and hence I didn’t know anything about it. Suddenly, I didn’t know what to do. All this while I thought I knew it all, and then I realise that actually I knew very little. Lot of portion still needed to be covered. I tried doing everything: studying fast, learning from friends etc, but nothing worked. Finally fed up, I slept off. But I was unable to do even that. After sometime I got up and sat on my study table all tensed up, worried, discouraged and staring at the thick text book without any hope at all. Just then I happened to glance at the picture of Christ in front of me and out of my utter desperation I prayed out to Him, asking Him to help me. I invited Him to study with me. I prepared for some time and then gave it all in His hands and slept.
The next day, during the exam I had a great time. The question paper was simply amazing. Almost the entire question paper seemed out of syllabus for me, when actually it wasn’t. I got a window seat to write my exam and most of the time I spent looking at birds outside in the lawn, taking bath in the pond and then flying away. I also managed to sleep off for a while during the three hour long exam. When the exam got over, I had no idea whether my boat will reach the other shore or not. Anyways I just said a small prayer. After a few months the results came. I had butterflies in my stomach when I went to the notice board to check my result. Actually it was more like ostriches in my stomach!! For the first time in my life, a failure in exam was staring right at my face. I saw my marks and guess what? I passed the paper. And guess how much I got? 40. That’s the pass marks. Exactly how much I needed. 49/50 in internals and 40/100 in the university exam!! Phew!! I could say just one thing, “Praise God!!”
A few days later I stumbled upon a bible passage which showed me exactly what was happening during that night before my COA exam. It’s a passage from John’s Gospel (Ch6:16-21), which talks about how Jesus’ twelve disciples were sailing in a boat when they were caught in a fierce storm in the middle of the sea. They had lost all hope and were sure they would die. Jesus at that time was on a mountain praying. Though not physically with them, He came to know the danger they were in. He in no time came down from the mountain, walked on the water and reached their boat!! He stood their right next to the boat saying “Do not be afraid. It is me.” What happened next really shook me up. Jesus just stood there, simply stood there without doing anything. The disciples then willingly invited Jesus into the boat and the moment Jesus came aboard, the storm calmed and the boat reached the place they were heading for. What happened here was truly amazing. Jesus realised the plight of His disciples, came down from the mountain, walked three or four miles on the water and came and stood in front of their boat, but He didn’t take that one step into the boat. He waited for them and entered only when they ‘willingly received’ Him. That’s exactly what was happening to me that night. I was in trouble, in a big problem, in a storm and I lost all hope. Jesus knew this and he was with me all through, but he never barged in. He was waiting for me to invite Him and when I finally did he made sure that my boat crossed the sea and reached the other side.
This is what happens to us many a times. Whenever we face a problem we get tensed, worried, troubled, we immediately rush to our friends, our families or in many cases we try to handle it ourselves. When nothing works out we get discouraged, loose hope. We don’t realise that through all these moments Jesus is there with us, right besides us, understanding all the pain that we are going through. He just needs an invitation to come and set things right, but many a times we forget to do that. Once we do, rest assured He would take care of everything.
Jesus is a God who doesn’t sit in His glorious throne waiting for people to come to Him. He is a God who goes out to be with them. A God who went to search for the lost Sheep, a God who went to the sinking boat to save His disciples, a God who went to heal the Centurion’s daughter; a God who went to raise Lazarus from the dead; a God who went into Peter’s house to heal his mother-in-law; a God who went to the house of a sinful tax collector and saved the entire household; a God who, though being the Creator of the entire universe, came down to earth, to be with us, to suffer for our sins, to die so that we could live. And it’s not all over. Even today He understands all our problems and comes to help us.
The next time you face a problem, don’t think that the Lord is unaware of it. He knows everything, He understands the pain you are going through, He knows the help you need, He knows how to solve the problem in seconds, but He awaits your gentle invitation. Just as in the passage above, the Lord comes down from the mountain, walks on water and stands right next to you in your times of testing, when storms are raging in your lives; but He doesn’t take that one step into your boat. Though almighty, He respects your freedom to choose. If you, like His disciples, ‘willingly receive’ Him, then your boat will reach where it is supposed to and your problems vanish in no time.
The Lord says, “Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come into your house and have supper with you and you with me.” (Revelations 3:20)
Some weeks ago a call from home troubled me, there were lot of problems going on at home. I instantly thought of calling up one of my friends and discussing about the problem. But suddenly I was inspired to do something else. Instead of picking up my mobile and calling my friend, I went down on my knees and prayed, inviting Jesus into the situation. To my amazement the problem that seemed so grave got solved within a couple of days. And my friend never came to know about it, except when I shared it as a thanksgiving in one of the prayer meetings the next week.
So in whatever you do and in whatever situation you are in, invite Jesus and see the hope, joy, love and grace rush in. He is knocking, don’t let Him go away.
Dont tell God how big your problem is. Tell your problem how big your God is!!
Do share your experiences through comments.
