2 Corinthians 12.9
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Testimony:
Brethren, at our place of work, we must pray not only for ourselves, but also for our colleagues.
The Lord has done great things for me. And I bear witness to his kindness.
I had got into the habit of praying for my colleagues. And in the course of my career, as part of my professional path, I became interested in a training course that I started.
In the beginning, it didn’t interfere with my work; I did it after work. However, at some point, in order to continue the program, I had to be there full-time.
I didn’t want to give up my job, so I went to see my boss to tell him about it.
To my great surprise, he didn’t object and, on the contrary, offered to rearrange my schedule so that I could work full-time from home and videoconference once a week.
I did this for several years – every semester, I presented them with my results.
And depending on the school’s program, they adjusted my schedule so that I didn’t lose my salaried status.
Already at this level, all this made me realize the mighty hand of the Lord that inclined the hearts of my employers in my favor every time. That’s why I encourage us to always pray for our colleagues.
During the various intermediate exam periods, I was constantly filled with fear, but the pastor advised me that each time in my exam room I should always call on Jesus.
As I did so, I felt the Lord’s presence and it helped me a lot. Everything had gone well so far.
Coming to the end of the course this year, I now had to sit the national exam.
I admit that I was totally terrified at the mere thought of taking this exam.
I was scheduled to take the exam in August of this year, and despite the fact that I was the last person in my class to take it, I still wanted to postpone the date.
I was so scared, I went to see my pastor and explained to him that I wanted to postpone my exam date, because I felt incapable, and I had the feeling I couldn’t remember anything.
He advised me to turn to the Lord, who would tell me whether or not I should postpone the date.
And in prayer, I received the Lord’s answer, clearly confirming that I should take this exam date. Then, because I was still afraid, I went back to meet my pastor.
And then he gave me a prescription to read and ponder in:
2 Corinthians 12.9
and he said to me: My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is accomplished in weakness. So I will much more gladly glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Every day, I meditated on these words. I said to the Lord, I am human, I am weak, but I believe I am strong, because you are in me. And this word from God filled me with boldness.
The day before the exam, I went to scout out the site so as not to be caught short the next day.
And so, on the day of the exam, I showed up. After all the procedures and regulations had been read to me, I had to deposit my belongings in one place. Not even allowed to take a pencil into the room.
Then security showed me some lockers to choose from to put my bag and all my belongings.
As I glanced over, I saw locker n.9, which I chose because it reminded me of the verse I meditated on daily.
I was ushered into another room.
Then I was asked to choose a numbered seat. And when I saw the number 9 again, I chose, because I kept my eyes on God’s word.
As I sat down, I invoked the Lord, and began the computer test.
At the eighty-seventh -(87th) – question, I started to panic, because my classmates had told me that the test ended at the 85th question.
I was totally panicked, and I cried out in my heart Lord, Lord! And he told me to pull myself together! So I continued the test without the same concentration, but I continued the test.
And suddenly, on the 99th question, the test stopped. And I said to myself with a smile, this refers to the number 9 in my verse 2 times.
Then you had to wait 48 hours for the results – it seemed like forever.
But finally, on the following Saturday, the results were available.
The funny thing was that even to consult my results, I had to pay, despite having already paid all the examination fees.
So, after checking my bank account balance, I paid and accessed the results.
And so, at the opening, I saw that I had succeeded. Hallelujah!!!
I’m very happy to have passed my exam and I bless the Lord who really supported me and helped me get there.
All my comrades were part-timers in their workplaces, but the Lord graced me in a miraculous way by touching the hearts of my bosses.
Not only was I full-time, but Jesus enabled me to succeed and be completely victorious. I owe him everything!
Brethren, the word of God is truth. I can attest to that! Let’s put into practice what God tells us through his word: let’s love one another, let’s pray for one another… Love is fundamental.
Our God is faithful, and to him be all the glory!
S.M.