This is the week we've all been waiting for.....exam week. If my son passes, then I pass. If my son passes, then we all pass. We've been shushing everyone all summer. All of us try to tiptoe through the house as he studies. It's been a summer of ups and downs as he does well on a practice exam one week, then not as good the next. He has a good study day, then a bad one. He has written 11 practice exams this summer, ranging from 5 1/2-7 hours each time. He has studied 40 hours a week. He has been in contact with others who have written it before him. He's been prayed for by so many. We've been to the testing center. We've walked the grounds. We've booked a hotel for the night before so he has no reason to be late. And now, this Saturday he writes.....he is as ready as he'll ever be and unbelievably (except that he's prayed for) he feels great!
But there's been an emotional toll and a spiritual one as time and time again the enemy has tried to get him where he is weakest, attacking any area of insecurity or fear. Yet, we've fought back and have been in awe at all the encouragement he has received at just the right moment - a text, an email, a phone call, by people he least expected to hear from.
Exodus 17 was what I read yesterday, "But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other one the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun."
Isn't that just the perfect description of what my son has experienced? The weariness, the need for others to support him in prayer, the emotional support from family and friends. He knows he isn't the only one who passes when this exam is over. He's had people supporting him under each arm, keeping his hands steady until the going down of the sun...which is a long time to keep your arms up! All day! Which is kind of how long the exam is!
Meanwhile, he was doing his own reading in 2 Kings. This is the passage my son read yesterday.
"When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, 'Alas, my master! What shall we do?' He said, 'Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.' Then Elisha prayed and said, 'O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.' So the Lord opened they eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha."
What?! How amazing is that....the young man only saw the horses and chariots of the enemy and felt afraid. But Elisha knew of the spiritual element and asked God to open his eyes "that he may see. And who needed to see this, but a YOUNG MAN. The passage actually uses those words...not an old man, or a young girl, but a young man. That was just what he needed to read yesterday. So encouraging.
We are excited to see what happens this weekend, though we won't know results for awhile. We don't need to be afraid, "for those who are with us are more than those who are with them."
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