When God puts his arm round you and says “it’s OK I am here”

Recently my employer decided it would be a good thing for me along with other colleagues to get a new qualification.

From my point of view studying is a huge pain in the rear end. However, I got my head down and started. Folks at our in the Home group prayed with me and having just come through several weeks of listening to David talking about Faith you would think I would be very calm and ready to go into the exam relaxed and up for it...wrong. On the morning of the exam I was absolutely shaking at the thought of it.

There were several things that were putting me under pressure to pass...

1. Being a Dad and a role model to 2 teenagers who both have very important exams this year, I felt I was having to lead by example 
2. I have never failed one... yet and the sin of pride was playing games with my head
3. My colleagues who were on the recent course with me had all passed 
4. The company pay for the first sitting but I would have to cough up £100 for a resit... like that was going to happen!!! 

So I sat down at my desk, put my hands together and prayed. I had never felt that I have had a close up and personal meeting with Jesus but I knew that did not mean he was far from me, quite the opposite. This day was going to change that. As I was praying a very clear picture of the stereotypical image of Jesus came to me and I felt his arm going round me and Him saying “John, I am here, what are you worried about”. At that moment all my concerns disappeared and my head was now in focus mode, rather than panic mode. From that moment on, my day went from good to better.

So, did I pass? You bet. My feeling of elation when I hit the “finish” button and saw I passed was amazing. I just looked upwards and unconsciously said out loud “Thank you Lord”. This caused a few heads of my fellow candidates to lift, some with a nice smile on their face, others scornfully.

The passage that always comes to mind at times like this is a favourite of mine and comes from Proverbs 3: 5-6. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight”.

I hope this may be encouraging to some, especially my Son and Daughter and I cannot wait for Jesus to be so visible and tangible to me at some time again in the hopefully not too distant future, but this time in somewhat less stressful times.

John Russell