This maybe a little late already, but who cares.Last September, my sister, Maricar, took the Philippine Board Exam for Teachers (in the Phils.). I'm not really sure if she was so confident about it, or ready about it, cos for one, she self-reviewed. Others who took the exam spent months in review centers, not to mention paid lots of money for it.
Maricar reviewed at home where our mother could be so talkative at times, or our pet dogs - Aslan and Summer - would take her focus from reviewing, or the internet connection on the living room which can lure at anytime, or some random neighbors who'd buy stuff from the little store we have. Those, and more.
"All glory to God!" my sister said in our chat early this week.
This reminds me so much of the David and Goliath story in the Bible. I was studying and re-reading this story for days now because I'm thinking of sharing this in the Bible study we have here in Tianjin, China.
Goliath has been a fighter from his youth. From the story, I imagine Goliath to be one of those giants we see in wrestling matches - buff, muscular, intense, experienced, overly confident, and invincible.
On the other side of the spectrum is David, a young shepherd, about 16 years old - ruddy and handsome, and haven't had any experience in battle except those animals he killed for carrying sheeps from his flock.
When David approached Goliath, Goliath felt insulted, or so it seems, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks? (1 Samuel 17:43). Goliath cursed David's God and said, "Come here, and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field."
But what made all the difference was David's faith that the battle is the Lord's.
"You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I
come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of
Israel, whom you have defiled. This day, the Lord will hand you over to me, and
I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today, I will give the carcasses of
the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the
whole world will know that there is a good in Israel. All those gathered here
will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle
is the Lord's and he will give all of you into our hands." (1 Samuel
17:45-47)
You probably know the ending. David strucked Goliath using a sling and a stone, no sword or spear.
And that's the great thing about a relationship with the Living God. It gives you confidence in every battle, no matter how shattered your heart is, no matter how small other people think of you, or how huge the task at hand - the battle belongs to the Lord.
It's not that you don't do your part, in fact, it should encourage you to be confident and do your best because your battle is His battle.
In John Mason's book, An Enemy Called Average, he mentioned the difference between David's view of Goliath to that of his brothers. " The brothers looked at the obstacle and figures it was too big to hit, but David looked at the obstacle and figured it was too big to miss."
And so last Sunday, probably a month and a half of waiting for the result, Maricar sent me a message on my mobile saying that she passed the board exam! Great!!!!
I was so happy! I sent messages to all my friends here in Tianjin who helped me pray for Maricar when she was reviewing and when she took the examination.
Congrats, Maricar. All glory to God indeed! He is faithful, and will forever be with you in every battle, in all circumstances. Your victory is His victory...and I'm sure He rejoices over you.
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