By Ji Xi

I’m a college student, and because my family is poor, I need to get scholarships to pay my way through college. So, the grades I gain in each final exam are very important to me.

Generally, before final examinations, our teachers will tell us what’s going to be covered on tests, so it’s always easy to get high marks. However, our Basics of Mechanical Design teacher was serious, and after teaching us the whole textbook, he didn’t tell us what was going to be covered on the test and gave us no time to review. This made me very worried and I was afraid that if I didn’t perform well at the exam, I wouldn’t get a scholarship and thus would be unable to pay my tuition. As I was worried, it occurred to me, “I’m a believer in the Lord. Yes, I should look up to and rely on the Lord in everything, entrust my examination to His hands, and let the Lord orchestrate and arrange all things.”

Thank the Lord! When taking that subject test, I found that I had reviewed what was covered on it, and I finished it very quickly. There was still much time left for me to check the test paper. When I checked it the first time, I didn’t find anything wrong. However, when I checked it again, I became uneasy in my heart about a 12 mark question and felt something was wrong. I thought, “If I get this question wrong, I’ll lose many marks. Then scholarships will be out of my reach.” The minutes ticked by and it was almost time to hand in our papers, but I still didn’t know where I went wrong. My anxiety mounted and so I immediately called out to the Lord, “O Lord, please protect my heart so that I may keep calm before You. I feel that I’ve answered this question wrong, but I don’t know where I went wrong. I ask You to give me intelligence and wisdom and keep my mind clear, so that I can find what the problem is.” After the prayer, my heart calmed down a little and I began to check this question again.

While I was checking it, something suddenly dawned on me, “That’s not right. How can two thin planks of wood be fastened with screws 2 cm in diameter? That doesn’t make sense. Generally, the diameter of the screw in coal trucks is just about 2 cm. So, there is no need to use the screws of this diameter to fasten such thin planks of wood. There must be something wrong. I have to check this question carefully.” Then I immediately began force analysis again, and I found that question was different from ordinary ones in calculating friction. After recalculating the friction, I calculated that the diameter of the screws was about 1 cm, which was reasonable. I thanked the Lord for leading me in time to find the problem, and for guiding me to work it out.

Later, the exam results were released. Most students just passed that subject exam, few students received over 80 marks, and only I got full marks in the year. So, I won the president scholarship easily.

During this experience, I not only got full marks and the scholarship but, more importantly, I knew that it is so important to rely on and look up to God in difficult times. At the same time, I gained some true understanding of the words in Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding.” I deeply felt that man’s intelligence and wisdom all come from God. But for the wisdom God gave me, I couldn’t possibly have received such high marks. Thanks be to the Lord for His guidance!