O.K., let me start off with a joke:
One student comes up to another and says:
-Hey, listen; do you know Japanese?
The other one all scared and with a trembling voice says:
-Why? Is the exam already tomorrow?!

A familiar situation, isn't it? Knees trembling, palms sweaty, a revolution is going on in the stomach while it feels like cats are scratching on your heart, at the time while all of the stuff that you crammed into your head has moved down into your throat, getting stuck there and not letting you breathe, leaving your head absolutely void. Get a hold of yourself! First of all only babies, liars and mental patients fear nothing. Second, fear before exams is an absolutely normal and well studied occurrence.

So why do most students experience fear and panic before exams?

The results of the survey conducted by the student group called "The Jesus Embassy" among foreign students of the Volgograd Medical University, have shown that most of the students start preparing for an exam minimum two weeks before the expected day of exam. You would think that only Russian students are capable of such feats. Not so. What's more surprising is that some foreign student muster to get "well prepared" for an exam even the day before! Now that's a miracle! It turns out that procrastination is something that foreign students are well familiar with, too. So, what do they put their trust in?

As the results of the above-mentioned survey show, only 35% of all students prepare for exams as well as they should, i.e. study well all of the answers to the expected questions. The vast majority hopes for a "freebee" or writes cheat sheets. It seems that this ancient art of passing exams will stay highly popular for a long time among today's students.
Today there is a wide variety of sources offering cheat sheets to students for any course. Cheat sheets and "bombs" are handed down from older students to younger ones. Some cellular phone and paging companies are even able to send you electronic cheat sheets right at the time of the exam. All of this raises an interesting question: is it really necessary to prepare for exams?
Let's look at the answer the Holy Scriptures give. Does the Bible even tell us anything about this? Let's read in the book of Proverbs the 31 verse of the 21 chapter. "The horse is made ready fot the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord." (NIV) Let me explain some things here. The horse in those times symbolized power. The word tells us here that it is necessary to prepare for the battle; we do need to our horse ready. In our case, talking about exams, it's clear that we do need to prepare and do it earnestly. But that's not all. The second part of this verse tells us that we need to trust in the Lord, for the victory is in Him. O.K. So what about the saying "trust the Lord, but take chances yourself'? Today the meaning given to this saying by our forefathers has been twisted. What these words are saying is that in every task there's the part that the person must do himself and the part that God accomplishes. We do our part-get well prepared, and God does the part that we're incapable of doing, something that only He can provide-victory. Our responsibility is in no way lessened by the fact that the result is in the hands of God. Say, for example, that God wants you to write a book, but first you have to learn to write. He might want to use you in foreign countries, but you, on your part, have to learn the language. God will accomplish His goals, and He will use you if you do your part-get well prepared.

Sadly, most young people studying today are putting their trust in their own abilities or, what's even worse, into cheat sheets. In other words they prepare well their "horses". For those who trust in their "horses" the Bible says "A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save" (Psalm 33:17NIV). In other words, if we just trust our personal preparedness, trying to accomplish goals on our own abilities, the result still may come out disappointing. One failure can put to question the whole meaning of life. I personally have seen cases of straight-A students who tried so hard to stay on top, but, having received a low grade on the finals, were too disappointed in themselves. There even were side effects of this disappointment on their physical and moral health.
Examine your own student life. Is there that balance of your own work backed up by trusting the Lord? Truly He will help and bring you success.

PRAYER

Dear Lord!
Please fill me with the desire and ability to get well prepared for the exams. I thank you for this opportunity to receive an education. Please bless all of my work, and at the time of the exam give me a clear head, good memory, peace, calm and the knowledge that You're on my side. All of this I ask you in the name of Jesus. Amen