Class of 2016 Testimony: Sola A.
Ṣọlá
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Visual Arts (Graphic Design)
Department: Visual Arts
Wow, where do I begin? College has been an interesting journey for me, to say the least. But I can testify that, during my pilgrimage, God has continuously proved His faithfulness to me. Let’s backtrack a bit…
In the 10th grade of high school, after witnessing a great transformation go on in my cousin’s life, I decided that I wanted to skip a grade in order to attend a one-year internship and experience this amazing transformation firsthand. By the end of the following school year, I graduated, and six months later, I was in the middle of nowhere in East Texas, encountering God through life-changing events on a daily basis. That one year impacted my life in an indescribable way, so much so, that when the time came to transition into college, I had no desire to do so.
So coming back home to start school was like pulling teeth, let alone starting in “community” college. I didn’t quite have a community to plug into. All my friends from high school had either become wayward friends or gone off to college in various locations. I had no one, and as a result, I lost a grip on the goals and standards I had set for myself while in Texas. I can reflect on countless times in which my grades didn’t look too hot. Other times I’d miss an exam and have an empathetic professor who would allow me to make it up. I lost focus, in school and on God in general. So many situations happened in my life and in my schooling that could have had dreadful consequences. But even in the midst of becoming faithless, God remained faithful.
“If we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself”
Fast forward a little further, community found me! Through a friend, God placed me in a community. A place where I could grow and be encouraged by like-minded brothers, sisters, and leaders. I realized my errors and began to really seek God about where He wanted me to be, what He wanted me to do, and what major I should pursue. He began to remind me of the gifts He granted me and as I continued to commit school to Him, I learned that I would use my creative talents to glorify Him perpetually.
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago”
After 2.5 years in community college, I finished strong, graduating with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Graphic Design. I prepared to move on to University, which was another challenge in itself. Chai, school got hard! You would think that art would be easy and effortless, right? Yeah, no, not at all. Even moreso, so many other things weighed in on my education; so much pressure. It’s as if life began to pick up and throw its curve balls directly at me.
My first semester was hard, but it only became more difficult from there. Once again, I was placed in situations where I literally had to rely on God’s strength and not my own. From praying through assignments to crying through others. From being scared to check my grades or lose a scholarship, though I gave my all. Dealing with the stress of only having 2 years to graduate when I felt as though I may have needed more time, having challenges with my health and going in and out of the hospital while trying to stay on track with assignments, struggling with my grandmother’s unexpected passing, juggling multiple internships, fellowship, school, and jobs, having seriously petty professors (it’s art *rolls eyes*)... man the weight was heavy. But wow, I can’t even find the exact words to describe how faithful and merciful God has been.
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).
I have l i t e r a l l y seen the mighty hand of God move in my life. He has seen me through sleepless nights, weeks, months. He blessed me with classmates that supported me through school. He’s been merciful, granting me multiple grade changes and excused assessments. He’s supplied me with friends and family to be strong for me and pray for me, consistently present by my bedside when I was weak. He’s granted me unique opportunities to develop and advance as a designer. He’s caused my professors to sacrifice their time to see me prosper and even vouch for me… And I am only mentioning the least.
When I was down, He encouraged me. When I doubted, He restored my confidence and faith. When I felt defeated, He reminded me that I am victorious through Him. And now I can declare that I am a graduate! I made it through those 2 years and it was only possible with God! So for that, I am beyond grateful and excited to continue my creative journey. I am ready to dream a new dream with Him!
““Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness” ”
![True Life: I didn't wake up like this [The story before the glory]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54a8ad21e4b0970e0f17e95e/1458530765987-MU6NSV2IF1WIBGDN75J5/The+Story%281%29.png)
True Life: I didn't wake up like this [The story before the glory]
I woke up ugly actually. Dried up saliva marks. Bad breath. Flesh. My hair bonnet missing. Eye boogers. Swollen eyes. Flesh. Irritated. Moody. Did I say flesh?
The Christian world promotes an idea of transparency, but we often fail to do so. We project a false sense of perfection, while knowing that the only thing perfect about us is God. I fall prey to this too.
Lauren DeMoss Benson once said: "The only reason why the Proverbs 31 woman can be previewed as ’perfect’ is because she is a product of the God who lives within her. The only thing that's perfect about her is Him. She doesn't place her hope in her husband, her family or her looks, but in God." I have absolutely no goodness on my own, anything good or perfect about me is truly from God and His goodness towards me.
“The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.”
Psalm 145:9 (ESV)
People tend to perceive me as that “Christian girl” that always talks about Jesus. People most often identify me with adjectives and titles like “happy, joyful, kind, prayer warrior and woman of God,” but in this article, I would like to shed some light on “the story before the glory” and what the Lord takes me through in my walk with Him.
A lot of women in our generation desire the “glory” without the “story.” In other words, we want the end product without going through the process, but in this walk with Jesus, there are no shortcuts to glory. There is no product without a process.
“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”
James 1:2-4 (MSG)
Let me elaborate in a more relatable way ladies; it's like long, bouncy, shiny & soft Brazilian hair. People admire and compliment it, not knowing that the vendor was terrible. It started tangling by the second week, the shedding amount was ridiculous and you did so much just to get to how it is now. Or for my team naturals, who felt like I just spoke in tongues, you know when you see a bomb twist out and you're like “wow that twist out is so defined and fluffy,” not realizing that the girl you're admiring bought a $12 curl wax and spent 2 hours of her previous night to get it like that. Honey, there is a story before the glory. Can I get an amen?
*waits for congregation to respond*
Before any woman of God can ever be deemed as admirable before the public, she has to go through a process. Here are three major stories that I’m sharing, based on my experience with the Lord and His Word. These are stories that I have to go through on a daily basis (process) before the “glory” that everyone on the outside gets to see (product). All of these stories require obedience in order to truly walk out this relationship with the Lord. Before we can be transformed into His image, we have to first let Him in, listen to what He says and respond with a “yes, Lord,” giving him permission to move in his fullness and it reveals that he is truly the Ruler (Lord) of our lives.
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?
Luke 6:46 (ESV)
First Story: The story of Holiness
Before salvation, holiness was once a word that I wasn’t really familiar with. When I thought of holiness, I just imagined a halo above Mother Teresa. Holiness simply means “being set apart unto God.” It’s a war to live in this world as a young Christian female. I’m most often surrounded by a world that forces me to choose between itself and God when it comes to entertainment, fashion and conversations. I literally choose to neither respond to specific texts nor carry along with specific conversations, nor attend specific events because I know that it's not what the Lord has called me to do or be apart of.
The Lord makes us holy by His spirit; Jesus said that He was going to send us The “Holy” Spirit.
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
John 14:26 (ESV)
In a world that’s full of “spirituals,” He could’ve just said He was going to send us his Spirit but He added “Holy” meaning His “set apart” Spirit--His Spirit that is not like any other spirit in this world. He sets us apart because He is already set apart.
It says in Philippians 2:13 “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”
“As for us, we can’t help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth.”
2 Thessalonians 2:13 (NLT)
Before any sort of “glory,” you have to allow the Holy Spirit to set you apart from the world.
“So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:13-16 (NLT)
Second Story: The story of Sanctification
Ouch that hurts!
Do you think my heart naturally wakes up everyday and says "Good morning , beautiful birds! Hi beautiful family that I love ever so much! Jesus is awesome! Let me post something encouraging on Instagram today!" Some people are naturally perky, but I'm definitely not. Don’t get me wrong, some days I do wake up happy, but this isn't la la land. Most times I wake up like, "who's this knocking on my door?! ugh I hate waking up early. oh my gosh, I can't believe I have to do that today. Why is my eyeliner still on my eyes. Oh my gosh, it's raining." I have to make decisions everyday to deny myself and carry my cross and follow the Lord Jesus Christ, because when I wake up, my flesh wakes up too. So what do I do? What do you do? KILL IT. How do you kill it? Live by the power of the Holy Spirit, and the weapon of the Spirit is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17)
For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.
Romans 8:13 (NLT)
Sanctification is holiness in action and also working with God on our pursuit of holiness. When God sanctifies you, He goes through areas of your life that don’t look like Him and He molds them to reflect him. Here’s two out of a million examples; one would be as challenging as music. It was a big deal for me because it was painful to relinquish, but I gave it to God. Guess what? The Lord was sanctifying me to reflect Him and eventually I no longer desired to listen to those artists. The other can be as simple as waking up grumpy. As I read the word, the Lord began to renew my mind and show me that everyday is indeed a day that He has made, He is in control of everything and He is with me.
When you read His word and let the Lord in, that's when you will experience the power of God.
“May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”
1 Thessalonians 5:23 (ESV)
Third Story: The story of Surrendering
Despite how perfect my walk with the Lord may seem on social media or in fellowships, the Lord continuously reveals to me my heart, my rebellious ways and my tendencies to not desire to obey, forgive or rejoice in trials. Instead, sometimes I do want to be petty, respond in anger and irritation or text that boy the Lord told me NOT to. Sometimes I do want attention, sometimes I don’t want to lay my life down and sometimes I’m selfish.
Without Jesus and His grace, I might as well be the prodigal daughter every moment of the day.
Despite how perfect I may seem, the Lord reveals layers and layers of brokenness and hurts that I still carry. But do you know what separates me from who I was yesterday? Jesus. He doesn’t only show me how I’ve fallen short, but He shows me my identity and His love, strength and power. Jesus empowers me to walk in His righteousness. Jesus’ beauty transforms my rebellion to my surrender. I love Jesus so much, but it’s His love for me that draws my heart to surrender. He’s so good that even in my unrepentant state, He graces me to repent. Repentance simply means turning from sin and turning to God--but before you can do any turning, you have to first surrender. Surrendering is daily; the only way I can be deemed as “admirable” is because I’ve surrendered to the beauty and perfection of Jesus inside of me.
A life laid down is at risk of experiencing Jesus & his power.
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.”
Matthew 16:24 (NLT)
In Conclusion, as a young Christian female I am here to tell you that we haven’t arrived and as long as we're still on this earth, we never will arrive. In this walk with Jesus, there is always a story before the glory. Our glorious end product is to look like Christ. Allow him to take you through the process so you can have your own story and most confidently attain the end product, which is Jesus, your glory.
The Pursuit: God’s Perspective
When we read Genesis, sometimes we forget how literal we’re supposed to take it. For example, in Genesis 1 verse 26 it says, “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature” ESV. We’ve read it a hundred times to the point where we’re desensitized to its message. We are made in the image of God, LITERALLY, not figuratively. You’re probably reading this and thinking, “We get it ma, get to the point.” It may take me a while to finally land, but follow me.
Okay, God made us after His likeness, and then we fell. Does that mean we stopped being the image of God? Well, not really, it actually means we forgot who we were. It’s like long-term amnesia. You're not acting like yourself because you lack true identity, So when you accept Jesus, you have this epiphany where you're reminded that you were made in God’s image and after His likeness. In 2nd Corinthians 3:18 Paul stated, “And all of us, as with unveiled face, continue to behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another.” The longer we’re saved, the more we begin to resemble God.
Alright, now that the foundation is down, we can get to the fun part. Being a woman created in His image is fun. When God created us in His image, there was no catch, and it was not a mistake. He purposefully created male and female. So the rest of this article is for women (guys, please keep reading. It’ll help you too). This is a series about women, and we were created after the image of God. But, what does that even mean? Do you recall a time in your life, where you were sitting, minding your business, until life came and gave you a wake-up call? Just last week you were doing #NoBoys2KForeva and you wake-up and your whole world is screaming #Boys2kForeverNdAlways please and thank you. Welp, that was a 180°. You were single and waiting, enjoying your singleness, and doing all the other single people phrases. So what happened? That deep yearning to be pursued starts to tug on your heartstrings. You’re stuck and you start recounting your mistakes and where you could have missed it. What if I told you, you didn’t sin, you didn’t backslide, and you're still single and content? That tug, and that yearn you feel is natural. It’s a reflection of God (remember we’re made in His image). God is all too familiar with that feeling. God felt that same feeling and even still feels it. God is neither male nor female, but our femininity and masculinity originates from God.
This helps in multiple ways, it teaches us how to manage that yearn, and it also helps us relate to God in a way unique to women.
You’re sitting in your room, in your #Boys2KForeva phase and you think to yourself, “all I’m asking for is a guy who is consistent and wants to be my bestie.“ Get this, God said the same thing. In Hosea 6:6 (MSG) He said, “I’m after love that lasts, not more religion. I want you to know God, not go to more prayer meetings.” God is doing #MyPeople2kForeva too, we can see the desire of His heart through this passage. Before Jesus came to die for us, those were dark and sad times. All God wanted was to be with us, but a lasting sacrifice had to be made in order for us to experience that same intimacy. All you want, is to be pursued and God can relate to that. All He wants is to be pursued and wanted. Seek God first. Pursue God the way you want to be pursued. We don’t get to pursue our husbands before courtship. We’re on the receiving end of the pursuit, but that feeling of wanting to be pursued might just be a feeling exclusive to femininity. You can give to God what you want to be given to you. Isn’t that exciting and fulfilling? When I discovered this, it opened up an intimacy with God that I never took advantage of. He’s more than just the “guy best friend” that we try to box Him into; He’s the best friend that we can relate with. The church of Ephesus committed one sin, “you have left (abandoned) the love that you had at first [you have deserted Me, your first love]” Revelations 2:4 AMP. The feeling in this verse is all too familiar. You’ve felt it, and now you know your God feels it too. Chase after God with everything you have, it’ll offer a fulfillment that can’t be compared.
Lastly, understand that God wants to be pursued the same way you want to be pursued, helps make “the wait,” a little easier. Think about it. When you’re in the depth of your #ILoveBoys phase, you can whisper to God and He can laugh with you. He can comfort you in the way only He knows how. Trust me. I’ve read articles, books, and listened to sermons, anything that would make the wait easier. Until I l finally gave in. You’ve learned most of it, and you even put a majority of it into practice. You can’t make the wait any shorter or any less bumpy, but you can find solace in The One who can. God had to wait, God is still waiting. You think you have to wait 2 years 3 months and 23 days, but imagine having to wait centuries to be rekindled to the one whom your heart desires. Pretty inconceivable, right? This is where the masculinity of God really comes in. He can offer strength and even soothe your yearning heart. As a woman, protection and stability is like a pot of gold. God said He is not a man that He should lie. If He said it, it will come to pass. What did God say about your wait? Did He give you a scripture? A date maybe? God is speaking to your current situation. Hear what He has to say about your wait and stand on it.
“Thy word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you”
Psalms 119:11
Lacking faith is weighty, a weight we can’t afford. Listen to what God is saying to you during your wait, hide it in your heart, and have faith towards it. “…And everything that does not come from faith is sin” Romans 14:23 NIV. In Luke 2:19 ESV it says that, “Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” Treasure the word God has given to you and use your time while “waiting” to ponder on them. His promise prepares you for what’s to come.
In essence, women were made after the likeness of God; we can pursue God the way we want to be pursued because we know how it feels. God makes our pursuit easier because we’re able to grab hold of His promises. When you feel that yearn of pursuit, change it from feeling like you messed up, and use it to remind yourself that you’re Godly and you're feeling the very heart of God. Don’t wait on boys; wait on men. Men that pray for you, men that hear from God on behalf of you. It’s worth it, so very worth it.
New Levels, New Glory
“Angela,
Fun, delightful, unique. God’s breaking you out of comfort. You’ll begin to do things delightful and tasteful to the LORD. I see you as a warrior with a sword. FIGHTER. You’ll be faced with many challenges. but God has given you the necessary tools you’ll need to OVERCOME. New Levels, New Glory. Begin to operate in His will and who He’s called you to be.
Love you, Grace U.”
This is a message from over a year ago given to me by one of my teammates at Bethel Campus Fellowship (BCF) Pulse Conference 2014. As I look at it now, I can see how God allowed what Grace said to come to pass in my life.
My name is Ebun Falade and I am an upcoming freshman at Cornell University. Even today, a few days from moving in, I am in awe that God has blessed me with acceptance. Senior year was one full of insane ambition, followed by insane faith. I chased after God like never before and sought for His guidance every step of the way because I knew that missing His instruction could allow me to spend the next four years of my life in the wrong direction. So when I shot for Cornell, and I shot for becoming a Pediatric Surgeon, I trusted that if it was His will, He will make a way for me.
During the application process, many supported me, while others discouraged me. Some told me I was being risky by not applying to more in state/safe schools and that I should stay in Maryland and save money that’s going to be useful for medical school. All good reasons, I refused to accept simply because God taught me not to settle and to expect more from Him. So I applied without hesitation: I got confirmation from God about my essay topic. I prayed, I fasted, I fellowshipped, but, most importantly, I believed. And on March 13th, I got my acceptance letter into Cornell University.
After acceptance I was still faced with the challenge of figuring out how my tuition was going to be paid. FAFSA is known to be not so generous, and submitting my financial information applications late made me even more concerned, but nevertheless God made a way for me. Just a few days prior to May 1st, I received my financial aid package from Cornell with basically my whole tuition covered with grants and scholarships. It doesn’t end there though; along with my acceptance I was enrolled in a summer program at the school, completely paid for. In this pre-freshman program, I took classes for six weeks and got familiar with campus in order to improve my transition to the school come fall semester. Knowing that Cornell had prestigious academics, I was ready and excited to take on the challenge, or at least I thought I was.
This summer was actually one of the least favorite summers of my life. Yeah I said it. And this was not totally because I couldn’t spend my final summer before college having fun with my friends and family, (I had already come into terms with that when found out about the program in March) it was because my academic performance was severely poor up until the final days of the program. I started off poorly, just as everyone else and for the same exact reason; we’re all straight out of high school. We did not know how to study, work, or manage our time like a college student. However overtime we were expected to gain better study habits, learn exactly how we learn, and efficiently maximize the little time on our hands. All these things I failed to do week after week.
This summer I took Chemistry and Calculus, which were both very difficult courses, and juggling the workload became a major challenge for me. Chemistry usually consumed majority of my day leaving me with little time for calculus. And even when I thought I found some type of a balance my grades reminded me that whatever I was doing was not working. I stayed in the D and E range of my class on the chemistry exams for about four weeks, and I had the lowest and second to lowest scores of my calculus class. These courses were pass/fail, which meant that I needed above a 60 to be considered a pass, and I was not even sure I could obtain that. I was scared that my acceptance could possibly get revoked because of my poor performance, so that anxiety lingered in my mind as I continued throughout the summer. On top of that, I found out my dad was in and out of the hospital back home, and not being able to be there for him for the first time took a great toll of me.
Though I spent the six weeks with about 200 other students, I often felt as though I had no one. My friendships merely touched the surface, and the only people I could really express my frustration to were my friends and family back home. “It’s okay Angela, keeping pushing, God’s is going to work everything out, it’s going to get better” was basically what I was told through every facetime call and text message. But it’s hard hearing that and praying and working harder just to see the same results. It was not getting better. I felt defeated, and for the first time I started questioning if I was even going to be able to handle the rigor of Cornell. But then I texted Olamide, the awesome creator of this blog, and she gave me two pieces of scriptures that I stood on for the rest of my summer journey.
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:7-9 NIV
“Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”
James 1:4-6 NIV
One of the beautiful things about following Christ is that He believes in us, even when we don’t believe in ourselves. We have to learn to lean on Him and wait on Him when things get tough, because being optimistic isn’t enough, especially not through college. Positivity without faith turns negative quite and fast once we look at our circumstances. If we know God’s promises, if we know His Word, and if we trust in Him, we shouldn't focus on our circumstances no matter how bad they are, but we should focus on His will for our lives.
“.. being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 1:6 NIV
God doesn’t open doors for us just so we can walk right back out of them. If He got us to it, then He will get us through it. We have all the tools that we need, and if we’re in lack of anything, we can simply ask God for it. The end route is success and prosperity in Christ and looking at the bigger picture makes it a little more bearable to through the roller coaster of college.
I asked God for wisdom and He gave it to me during the last week of the program. I realized that I wasn’t spending enough time studying alone; I was always working with peers or teacher’s assistants or professors. I knew the material, but I didn’t know it for myself, and without mastering it by myself I performed poorly on my exams. So during the last week I minimized my group studying and maximized my individual studying. I socialized less, I got better sleep, and I even had a little more time to myself. I got a C on my third chemistry exam and A on my final, boosting my D average in the class to a C, which was amazing for me seeing how I started. Calculus was a different story: my third exam was a twenty point increase from before which was a pretty good improvement. However, to this day I do not know what my final exam grade or my final grade was, I just know I passed... and that’s enough for me.
In the end, some would say I learned how to study like a college student a little too late. But God’s timing is the best timing whether we like it or not. I waited on Him and trusted in Him and finally I saw the fruits of my labor. And I know that if I continue to keep this mindset of faith, God will get me through these four years just as He got me through this summer. With fall semester coming up, upcoming freshman are filled with excitement and nervousness, but this summer has taught me that I CAN and I WILL do this. It may take a while figuring out how, but I am going to walk across the stage in the next four years and move on to another chapter in my life. As God takes me to new levels in life, the enemy is going to attack even harder. As I fight through these trials I will build my faith and endurance in the process, seeing God reveal new glory in my life.
To everyone going back to school, especially rising college freshmen, don’t give up. The transition is not going to be easy; you’re going to have to drop many of your bad high school study habits and take on new ones. The pressure is harder, the competition is stronger, and you’re going to work harder than you’ve ever worked before to get the grades you want. But just remember that you have Christ on your side. If you continue to have faith and persevere then you will be successful. Get ready for your New Levels and New Glory!
My name is Ebunoluwa Angela Falade and I live in Bowie, Maryland. I recently graduated from Flowers High School, and I am now freshman at Cornell University. I have been saved for about 2 years and I'm aspiring pediatric surgeon.
Sowing and Reaping Academic Success
I have more understanding than all my teachers,
For Your testimonies are my meditation.
Psalm 119:99
Wouldn’t it be great to experience the verse above? With the thought of going back to school, this verse comes to mind because it seems to fully capture what academic success might look like. This blog post isn’t just about what academics success looks like, but how to actually get there; how you can guarantee your academics success. How you can get closer to getting a 4.0. How you can raise your semester GPA by two points more than you had last semester. Sounds far-fetched, right? Let’s see.
There’s a big problem though. Again, this blog post is supposed to reveal a practical way of achieving academic success. The problem is this though: if I were to tell you the steps to achieving academic success, would you actually follow the instructions given? Be honest and really think about it. All your life people may have told you what you need to do to be academically successful: go to class, study, don’t procrastinate, etc., etc. It is possible you have heard some things you need to do to be academically successful at least 5 times in your life. But the question is, “Out of all the times you’ve heard what you supposedly need to know, how many times did you obey or listen to what you were told?”
If I told you what you needed to do to be academically successful would you actually listen and apply the advice? Most people hear what they need to do to be successful in school and then they don’t do as well as they want and then they begin to seek help and ask what they can do to succeed. The problem is what you need to do to succeed is not a secret. In fact, it's already been told to you maybe 100 times. The question is, did you actually do and will you actually do what’s necessary to be successful academically. Some people think, “This semester I’m not doing anything but school and the gym. Yea, that’s it, then I’ll get a 4.0.” The idea that ‘the less you have to do the better you will perform in school’ isn’t always the case and most of the time I’ve seen that fail.
My best semester in school was when I worked two jobs, had two prominent leadership positions, and took 19 credits with some of my major’s hardest classes. I was able to get straight A’s and a few A- that semester and to this day, that’s been the best semester GPA I’ve had. Glory to God! God really graced me that semester. I didn’t take on such a heavy load that semester without asking God if He would sustain me through all of it. He told me to take on the challenge and I did. It was super hard and I sweated almost every step of the way, but I didn’t lose faith.
If I were to tell you what you needed to do to succeed academically, would you actually listen? Obedience to what is true is the key to succeeding. But what does that actually mean? Succeeding academically is not a secret because how people have been successful in the past is not hidden. The verses below reveal how I’ve been able to be successful academically:
He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding
Proverbs 15:32
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
Proverbs 9:9
Instruction is so important because it paves a way to a predetermined destination. “Huh, what does that mean?” Instruction is a structure or template for how you get in line with the goal you have set. If you want academic success, you have to simply get proper instruction. Not just get proper instruction, you must follow it.
The semester when I excelled, in spite of my busy schedule, was a combination of me hearing God daily and walking by faith. I literally had to ask God “I’m overwhelmed and I have many assignments, what do I do first?” Sometimes it was school work and other times it was to prayer and read my word and then get to school work right after. Sometimes I would have to help others with their problems spiritually, personally or academically before I did my own school work. The key here is that I didn’t do anything based on my own presumption or what I thought was best, but I asked God or moved based on what God instructed me to do at the time. As it is written:
Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
John 5:19
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33
Obedience to instruction is key; obedience not just to God, but to your actual instructor. I ask my professors about how rigorous their class is and what a person would need to do in order to get an A in the class. I ask, “How I should study for the exams and assignments?” Because I ask, they instruct me. Their instruction is important because they are the instructor! The degree to which I obey their instruction as a master in the subject, is the degree to which I perform successfully in their class. They as teachers have mastered the materially to a certain level and I have to follow their protocol in order to secure my chances of performing well.
My main example is my Anatomy & Physiology 2 class during the semester when I took 19 credits and had straight A’s. My professor literally told the class on day one what we needed to do to get an A in the class. She said: study immediately after every class, study in groups of at least 3-4 people, use flash cards and a few other basics things like this. This was one of the hardest gateway courses into my major and yes, it was a weed out class with 400 people. I got an A on every exam, except for the deadly final on which I got a 79%. People always complained that this teacher was so hard and her class was unfair, but I had a great experience with her simply because I listened to her instruction. The reason why I got a 79% on the final was because the professor told us not to study the previous exams to prepare for the final because she would not use the same information over again. The class had so much material, but I thought she was jiving.
Here is the key: she gave instructions, but the degree to which I followed her instruction determined the degree of my success on the exam. Clearly, I got a 79. My obedience there wasn’t particularly on point, but I came out with an A in the class because I had sown obedience to her instruction for so long. I reaped my harvest in due season. You’ll reap yours too, if you walk by faith and obey the instructions and guidance of God every moment of your semester and the instructions of your professors too.
Oluwatobi (Tobi) Oke is a young entrepreneur from the University of Maryland College Park who is the CEO of Good Lord Clothing. He's the Vice President of Bethel Campus Fellowship and attends Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Md. He shares the Gospel through rap music and plays the congos. He is working on his mixtape called “3 Days In The Grave” hopefully to be released fall 2015.
The Interesting Truth About Prayer: The Journey Of Prayer
A pastor once said, “Once God has spoken that something will happen or that He will do something, you don’t need to pray about it.” His reason for saying this is that God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19) and His Word will always accomplish whatever He intends it to (Isaiah 55:11). I agree with the pastor because it’s true, but it is not the entire truth; people often say you shouldn’t pray for what God has already given you. Again, I agree because this is true, but there is more to be understood about this. Even though God has spoken that something will happen, it is important for us to pray to Him about that thing for two main reasons: One, the Bible teaches us to put God in remembrance of His Word (Isaiah 43:26).
God isn’t unrighteous that He would forget His own Word, however, God is looking for partnership here on earth (2 Chronicles 16:9). He wants to know if we’re actually interested in doing this thing—I mean this Heaven come to Earth thing. Do you actually want to see His will be done in your lifetime? Or are you willing to let it pass you by and allow Him to manifest His promises in those to come after you? The reality is that God may promise me something today, but, because I did not put Him in remembrance of His Word, it may not come to pass until years after I’ve passed away. If so, He remains faithful to His word, because He did what He said He would—I just didn’t get to witness it. The story of Hezekiah reveals some of what I am saying, and you should check it out ☺.
The second reason to pray about things God has said will happen, is because sometimes the things God promises are conditional: take for example God’s promise to heal the land in 2 Chronicles 7:14:
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Meet the “if.” The “if” provides a condition to the promise that He gives. In this case, the actual promise depends on “if” the people choose to “humble themselves, pray…” or not. In other cases, things, such as disobedience, un-forgiveness, or simply just a person’s character that isn’t ready to receive that blessing, may uphold the answer to a prayer. The truth is that, God’s Word(s) or promise(s) coming to pass in our life can sometimes be based on us continuing to believe what He said will happen; the point at which we stop believing His word, may be the point at which we disqualify ourselves from witnessing His glorious promise(s) (see 1 Corinthians 15:1-2 and Matthew 21:22).
A brief example of this is when God told the Israelites that they would inherit the promise land. Unfortunately, because the majority of the Israelites stopped believing in God, they didn’t enter the promise land. Only Joshua and Caleb’s families entered in because they CONTINUED TO BELIEVE all the way up until the fulfillment of the promise (read Hebrews 4). We see that the Word of God manifesting in their lives, was dependent on their ability to continue to believe.
This is why prayer is a place. When I enter into my place of prayer, I meet with God and I pray about the same things over and over sometimes—it’s not because I’m trying to persuade God to do something that He still has to think about; in fact, sometimes God will tell me beforehand, that He will do something and I still pray about it anyway—it’s not that I feel some special assurance, that once I pray, I expedite the process or even make Him want to do it more. When I run to my place of prayer, what I find is a memorial of who God is and what He has done.
PRAYER IS A PLACE! I’ve learned that praying for things that God has already given me, isn’t for His sake, but it’s for my sake. You see sometimes going through life or even throughout one’s day, one can get so caught up in what external circumstances reveal; God may have spoken one thing to you, but your circumstances tell you the exact opposite. This can be very discouraging.
Here’s an example: I recently prayed for a sister in Christ who was feeling ill. After we prayed her illness actually got worse. What do you think happened to my faith? I’ll tell you this much, my faith was NOT shaken! I ran to my place of prayer and began to feed off of God’s faithfulness. God has promised us healing in His Word, so it wasn’t that I didn’t pray according to God’s will. But in the midst of the adverse situation, I ran to my place of prayer to be reminded of who God was and what He had promised. Remember Genesis 28? Jacob built a memorial of where God had met Him and told him many promises. That memorial is like a place of prayer: a place where we can retreat when life tells us contrary to the promises and Word of God. Prayer is a place of refuge where we can remind God what He has said and more importantly remind ourselves in order to keep our faith strong. The memorial Jacob made was a place to remind Him of the encounter he had with the Living God. Anytime he returned to that memorial, he would remember what the Lord had promised Him and he would have the strength to continue to believe for it.
Acts 10:1-4 “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, 2A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always. 3 He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, ‘Cornelius. 4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, ‘What is it, Lord?’ And he said unto him, ‘Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.”
Meet Cornelius. Cornelius is described as a man who prayed to God “always.” Don’t be discouraged if you pray to God about some of the same things over and over again, because there’s a good chance Cornelius did too. Now once God answers your prayer, you can chill out. If you read the entire chapter of Acts 10, you’ll find that Cornelius’ prayer was to see the message of salvation brought to the Gentiles. I’ll tell you a secret: whether or not Cornelius prayed to God about the gospel being brought to the Gentiles, God was going to do it anyways! We know this because it was prophesied about in the Old Testament that God would do so. Howbeit, Acts 10 lets us know that Cornelius’ prayers became a memorial before God! God took special notice of this man’s humility and faithfulness to praying for what was already God’s will.
Cornelius was desperate, hungry and thirsty to see God’s will be fulfilled. Not only that, but Cornelius was invested in seeing God’s will be done in his life; that’s why he continually prayed for it. As a result, Cornelius had a special experience when the angel of God encountered him. In addition to this special encounter, where God encouraged Cornelius, because Cornelius had spent time in his place of prayer seeking God’s will, he also received specific instructions on how to see God’s promise manifest. Can you believe that? God actually invited Cornelius on a step by step journey on how He was going to manifest the promise, all because Cornelius had spent time in his place of prayer, meeting with God.
Here’s the conclusion of the matter: Build your place of prayer by praying always. Everything can happen around you in life, but when you enter into prayer, your spirit connects with God in another place. In Psalm 77:6, David says that he communes in his own heart and his spirit makes diligent search. Prayer is a place that we go to when we turn into ourselves and commune with the God on the inside. Something happens when you get on your knees, close your eyes and begin to set your mind on God and begin to desire Him. When this happens, the real you is taken to another place. Your mind, will, and emotions melt in the presence of God and now your spirit is in full drive as you cry out to God for His help and His hand. In the place of prayer come stillness, order and relief. The reason why this happens is because when you pray with faith you enter into His presence. That’s the best place to be.
Oluwatobi Oke is a young entrepreneur from the University of Maryland College Park who is the CEO of Good Lord Clothing. He's the Vice President of Bethel Campus Fellowship and attends Hope Christian Church In Beltsville Md. He shares the Gospel through rap music and considers himself a worshipper rather than a rapper. Not to mention he plays the Congo's.
An Interesting Truth About Prayer
It’s always interesting to share about prayer; so many great men and women of God have offered great insights from God’s Word concerning prayer and its purpose. I’ve heard numerous explanations of what prayer is, such as: communication with God, the way we bring Heaven to Earth, the Master’s key, a way of accessing God’s heart, and many other things that are completely accurate! I’d rather not repeat or list the vast definitions of prayer or even try to give some new deep sounding definition of prayer; but, know that, no matter how many definitions of prayer you have, the most important thing we MUST know about prayer, is that it’s SIMPLE!
Once we understand the simplicity of prayer, we can make the shift to making prayer our lifestyle. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that prayer is a complicated thing, or that it’s so deep that you spend more time figuring out what to pray than you do actually praying. Here’s truth number one about prayer: it’s simple and the Word of God clearly defines what prayer is—once you understand even the littlest truth about prayer, you can accomplish so much with prayer; the key is to be certain about what you know about prayer—for example, here’s a Biblical truth regarding prayer:
"And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." -Isaiah 65:24 (KJV)
To sum this verse: God knows our needs before we ask, in fact, He often wants to answer them more than we want to pray them. As previously stated, prayer is simple, so don’t get caught up in feeling like it’s burdensome—just pray! If you are reading this, and you don’t believe in Jesus, know that, eventually, there’ll come a time when you’ll face situations that are outside of your control; at that moment, when you’re ready to lay hold of a power and provision that is able to reconcile the issues in your life, that are without your reach, you can start by calling upon the name of Jesus Christ, who is also God, asking Him for forgiveness of your sins and to fill you with His Spirit. Then will you be fully ready to engage the area of prayer.
Now before I share this interesting truth that I’ve learned about prayer, I want to address a few things: One, prayer can be thought of various ways—I personally think of prayer in a number of ways. There are also various types of prayers, such as prophetic prayer, declarative prayer, intercession, spiritual warfare prayers, etc. Additionally, many people have come to me in the past with an odd concern regarding their prayer life: they usually tell me they have a problem praying or feel awkward in their personal prayer time because they always pray about the same things or don’t know what to pray about. If you’re in that position, the good news is that this interesting truth about prayer will help you with that.
All right, here’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for; here’s how the Lord Jesus has begun to expand my understanding of what prayer is! (Drum Roll please! :P) It’s true that prayer is a way of encountering God, a way of communication, and a way of accessing God’s presence and provision, but of recent I’ve started to understand that PRAYER IS A PLACE. This revelation has been especially beneficial for my personal prayer life. Prayer is a place. It’s the place that you run to when you want to meet with God. When you want Almighty God, who created the Universe and everything in it, to take a moment and pay attention to you, you must run to prayer.
Prayer is a place of mutual agreement, where the believer meets with God and God with the believer. Amos 3:3 says “can two walk together except they be agreed?” When we journey to our place of prayer to meet with God, the implication is that we have humbled ourselves and are ready to agree with God and with what He already wants to do in our lives and in the life of those around us. Going into prayer, makes the statement, “I CHOOSE to no longer be prideful, believing that I have enough power and control to take care of my own life.” (Anyways that was a bit of a side note☺.)
Prayer is a place. I think of Jacob in Genesis 28, where Jacob encountered God in a dream. After his encounter with God, he set a stone as a memorial and named the place Bethel—House of God. Now, let me go off on a tangent for a brief moment to tie this in so it makes sense for our lives. According to 1 John 5:14, when we pray according to God’s will, He hears us and if we know He hears us, then we can be certain that we have whatever we ask for. What this means is we must pray in the will of God. Jesus also says in John 16:23-24, that, when we ask God the Father for anything IN THE NAME OF JESUS, meaning, according to Jesus’ character and nature, we will receive whatever we ask for.
So, how can you know the will of God, to pray it? The answer is: through the Word of God. We have to pray the Word of God, because God’s Word is also His will. Simply, the Will of God is what brings God pleasure, His desires, and His wants; these are all made known by and through His Word. Sounds simple enough, right? Even we as humans, convey our wants and our desires through words. The importance of talking about this is because 1 John 5:14 says, when we ask according to His will, we will automatically get what we have asked; His will is found in His Word, which we must pray to Him in our place of prayer.
What does this all mean? It means God has spoken/will speak His Word to you, that you may know His will, in order for you to pray it, so that He can do what you’ve asked Him—what He wills. Remember, when we pray according to His will, He will automatically answer (1 John 5:14). Now, personally, I pray over the same things in my personal prayer time; one of the reasons I pray the same things over and over again is because God’s Word and Will do not change. Hebrews 13:8 tells us that Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever more. God’s Word and His will do not change.
Oluwatobi Oke is a young entrepreneur from the University of Maryland College Park who is the CEO of Good Lord Clothing. He's the Vice President of Bethel Campus Fellowship and attends Hope Christian Church In Beltsville Md. He shares the Gospel through rap music and considers himself a worshipper rather than a rapper. Not to mention he plays the Congo's.