I had grace on them

Hey guys, I hope you all are doing well!

This semester has been pretty rough for me. I have been having a hard time with some of my classes this semester. There is this one particular class that I have been struggling a lot with. We had our first test of the class about a month ago, and I totally bombed that test. It was devastating. 

Okay, here's how it all went down. I got to my class and got to my seat and was like "yeah, I am ready to do this!" The professor came in to class and said "okay, you can turn on your computers now and the test should be there." Computers?! Nobody said anything about computers! I asked him if he had a paper test, he said he didn't. I had to get out of the class and borrow a computer from a guy in the psychology department. I was pretty stressed out and anxious at that point, but it was all good and I started doing my test. Finished the multiple choice section and the test score for that section came up immediately after I had finished it. I failed. Yes, I did. It took me awhile to process that. I had never failed a test before. I felt horrible and sick, even. "I can't finish the rest of the test," "I can't do it anymore," " I need to leave." My mind was just going crazy. But I held my tears back and finished the rest of the test. Returned the computer to the guy and left. I broke down in tears the second I left the building. It was pretty embarrassing. I called my best friend told her about my devastating story while crying like somebody had died. At first she was like "Wait, calm down. What happened?", and when she had heard the whole story, she was like "Really? You're crying because of your grades?" Although I know that she would cry too if it had happened to her. But yeah, she just laughed at me. We talked for a little bit until I was slightly more calmed and stopped crying.

I was still thinking about that class a lot for the next few weeks. I was thinking of dropping the class and trying to figure out if a W looks worse on my transcript or a D. I also did some math and calculated what the best possible grade that I could get in that class. Statistically, if I get 100% for all of my tests for the rest of the semester (which is impossible, btw), I would get a low B in that class. It was depressing to know that I had NO CHANCE of getting an A in that class. 

We just had fall break this past weekend, and I had an amazing time relaxing and catching up on my studies and stuff. My friend Kezia and I even got to go to the Hillsong night in OKC! It was amazing, but that's another story for another time. Over the break, I received an email from the professor that teaches the class I'm failing. It said "Dear class, the mid-term grades had grace on them; let's rock and roll when you return!" Excuse me, what did you just say? I just checked my mid-term grade for that class today and I have a C! Which means there is a chance of me getting an A in that class! From an F to a C!

Did I deserve grace on the grades? I didn't study a whole lot at the beginning of the semester and cramped all of the studying to that week where I had ALL of my tests. I procrastinated. So, no. I did not deserve it. Did I expect to get that grace? No. Why would I expect it? It was my fault. I have to live with the consequences.

Every time we are faced with problems, we tend to be ashamed of ourselves and blame ourselves for what had happened. But God says "No, don't worry. I've got it covered. Your problems? I had grace on them. Your struggles? I had grace on them. Your finances? I had grace on them. Your relationships? I had grace on them." Even though I had calculated and it was statistically IMPOSSIBLE for me to get an A for that class. God's grace is more than statistics. It doesn't play by the rules of the world. It was made possible with the grace of God. 

Grace

It is a free gift from God. You get it when you put your trust completely in Jesus. It is undeserving. It is unmerited. It is a second chance. 

I am not saying that you can bomb all your tests and say "God's grace is sufficient for me." I still don't have an A in that class, you see. I still need to work really hard on the other tests in order to get an A. But it was not possible before, and now it is. 

God saved you by his grace when you believe. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. - Ephesians 2:8 (NLT)

Song of the day

When You Walk Into The Room - Bryan & Katie Torwalt, Jesus Culture