We are plagued by many worries in our daily lives. As a grade 12 student, due to the stress of my upcoming graduation from high school, much of my attention has been directed towards schoolwork and university applications. This has often left me anxious about what the future has in store for me. Sometimes, these worries cause me to put Jesus lower on the priority list, for example, skipping a day’s Bible reading in favour of doing homework. However, I have come to learn that relying on God is the best way to deal with our anxieties, and that through His guidance and care, we can learn to have peace wherever our life may lead.
In Matthew 17, Peter, James, and John are taken up a high mountain to witness Jesus’ transfiguration. During this time, they also saw Moses and Elijah appearing on the mountain, speaking to Jesus. While they were still on the mountain, a voice came out from a bright cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matthew 17:5). Upon entering the cloud, the three disciples were already in fear. Now having heard this voice from the cloud, they fell on their faces terrifying These disciples were way out of their league from the very start, but because Jesus loved them so much, He allowed them to witness this glorious event. This experience proved to be too overwhelming for them, leading them to fall on their faces. However, when they looked back up, they “saw no one but Jesus only” (Matthew 17:8). The disciples were able to seek comfort in Jesus’ face, which helped them to feel safe and at peace. From this passage, we learn to look to Jesus when we feel overwhelmed in our lives, because likewise, He will also give us peace.
Often, we may feel stressed or overwhelmed by the worries and cares of the world around us. Personally, the pressure to maintain good grades to get into university often fills me with worries about not being good or competitive enough. Sometimes, this led me to put Jesus lower on my list of priorities, by paying more attention to schoolwork in hopes of getting the best marks so that we can get into the best schools. In reality however, Jesus is actually the solution to our problems, because He can give us true peace, making us stressless about these worldly matters. Matthew 17 reminds us that Jesus is there for us, therefore we do not need to worry. As long as we put Jesus first in our lives and ask Him to help us in times of difficulty, there is nothing we need to fear. As it is written in Matthew 6:34 - “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble”. Perhaps we didn’t get as high of a mark as we wanted on a test or we didn’t get accepted into our top university program. We should always remember that Jesus makes things happen for a reason, which is why we don’t need to worry. Jesus is ultimately the one who directs our entire lives. He knows everything that we have done, and everything that we will ever do. So even if our lives don’t turn out the way that we envisioned it to, we can trust that He knows what is better for us. As long as we know that we have tried our best while putting Him first in our lives, we can look to Jesus and have peace in our hearts.
I have recently been blessed abundantly by the Lord Jesus when I received an offer to my top choice university program. Prior to receiving the offer, I was incredibly worried about whether I would receive any offers because my grades were nowhere near where I wanted them to be. They were not extremely high or extremely low, but I was worried that they were not competitive enough because average marks were much higher due to easier assignments and tests in the wake of the pandemic. This led to a lot of stress, as I constantly thought about ways to bring my grades up. I would often pray to Jesus to help me with my grades, as well as to help me feel in peace and be able to put my full trust in Him. I am indeed thankful that He helped me to feel less stressed than I would have been, even before I got the offer, and for helping me to maintain acceptable grades. However, the greatest blessing was yet to come. I received my offer at the end of the first semester, the week before semester two was set to begin. Upon seeing the offer, I immediately thanked Jesus in my heart, because I was not at all expecting to receive an offer so early. The offer changed everything, as I was suddenly no longer stressed about school. I continued to try to achieve high grades, but there was no longer the pressure to get 90s on every test. As a result, I was able to devote more of my time to Jesus in many ways, increasing my daily Bible reading, preparing for RETS, and writing this reflection. When I relied on Him, He relieved me of my stress and allowed me to serve Him more. In this instance, His help was very direct and obvious. However, the guidance of the Lord is often very subtle, and can come in many forms. We often do not realise these little blessings unless we actively try to pay attention to them, which is something that I have been trying to do more. The bottom line is that Jesus is always with us, whether we notice it or not, therefore if we put our trust in Him only and allow Him to guide our ways, we have nothing to worry about.
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