It all began in November, 2003 when I asked the Lord “What am I gonna do after I finish High School?” He answered me through His word found in Isaiah 40:31, ‘They that wait upon the Lord shall rise up on wings like eagles, they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not be faint’. The key part of that verse was they that wait upon the Lord, God wanted me to wait on Him for what I was going to do after school. So I waited.
I thought that God would tell me within a few weeks as to what to do but no answer came. December came and went Christmas and New Years went by without a hitch but still no Word came from the Almighty. It was then that I decided to take matters in my own hands and plan ahead. I began filling out applications to Universities for study programmes, and I also applied for several scholarship funds but none replied. It was hard to take in but I still waited on God.
I had always wanted to study Law and so I began correspondence with Waikato University concerning their Law School. It would be expensive for me to study as an international student. The cost for study was NZD $20,000 per semester and I would be studying for 3 years which was equivalent to 6 semesters (approx. NZD$120,000). I knew of the cost yet I believed that God would provide for me somehow.
The months went by quickly and still I had not heard a Word from the Lord. By August I was ready to give up and forget my request to God but He spoke to me in Paul’s letter to the Philippians: ‘…its not that I have already attained or already become perfect but I press on towards that goal and take hold of that prize which Christ has prepared for me’ (Philippians 3:12), I needed to keep on waiting. The year is almost ending and still I wait.
November came and a Word was revealed to me from Habakkuk 3:18 which says, ‘…but I will continue singing praises to God, I will rejoice in God my Saviour. I’m counting on God’s rule to prevail; I take heart and gain strength to run like a deer upon the mountaintops’. I was facing a time of serious self-doubt and low self-esteem but God used an uncle of mine to speak His comfort and peace to me. When Habakkuk spoke out this prophecy, he was facing times of war, drought, famine and disease, but he still rejoiced in God because he knew that God was still in control. My uncle shared that no matter what I was going through, God was still in control.
It was when I sat my FSFE that God pointed me to a job that I had never considered, Journalism. I was an excellent English student and I never had problems putting my thoughts on paper. So I decided to go to God and seek confirmation as to whether it was His will for me to take up Journalism.
I went to school the next morning ready to sit my History paper and I was sharing with one of my teachers about what I was going to do after I finished school. I told her of my desire to study Law; she smiled encouragingly and out of the blue said, “You know you would make a great Journalist!” this shocked me to the core of my being. God had just sent my first confirmation; I was to take up Journalism.
For the next few weeks, I was just left in awe of what God was doing in my life. Everything that I planned out of His purpose left me feeling empty and doubting but He proved Himself faithful to the very end. It was in those weeks that He spoke to me in Zephaniah 3:16,17 – ‘Jerusalem will be told: Don’t be afraid; dear Zion, don’t despair. Your God is present among you, a strong warrior there to save you. Happy to have you back He’ll calm you with His love and delight you with His songs’. Just the fact that my God rejoiced in my returning to His everlasting arms lifted my spirit to a high that drugs could never reach.
But my waiting was far from over! On New Years Day God renewed His Word in Isaiah to me. He still wanted me to wait on Him. I soon came to realize what I had to wait on for. In my past year of school, I had lost some textbooks and photocopied notes that had to be returned to the school before I could receive my School report card, testimonial and exam results. I did not have the finances to pay it off so I decided to wait on God for the right moment to do it.
It was 2005 and I needed to decide as to what I was going to do while I waited for the second semester. I had made several applications for job vacancies but none of them replied, so I chose instead to do some volunteer work. I joined the church Kindergarten as a volunteer teacher. I worked Monday to Friday, from 8.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m. it was hard at first but as I got into the work routine, I really enjoyed it. Although it was hard work teaching 3 year olds, I had God on my side all the way and my needs were always met at His own time. I had nothing to worry about.
Now, applications for USP’s second semester closed on the 30th of April and still I did not have my Form Seven Examination results. I did not necessarily need to get my results from school; I could also get them from the Ministry of Education. So it was there that I went on the 28th April. I applied at to get my results from the front desk and the lady at the desk said that I needed to collect it the next day. That night was the most nerve-wracking night of my life. The question “What if?” kept floating through my mind. You may ask, why?
Well, to get into the Journalism degree I needed a minimum of 50% out of 100%, and looking at the results of my classmates, 90% of them failed English because the paper was marked so strictly you don’t even get a half mark. I am a good English student and I felt that I did well in the paper, so I shouldn’t really worry about what I was going to get. But doubt had become second nature to me when I saw the failures in my class and even within my own circle of friends, who were all brilliant English students.
The next morning, I practically had to drag myself out of bed – all because I was dreading my results. I finally made it to the Ministry office and presented my receipt to the receptionist. It took quite a while for her to look for my envelope and the whole time that it took for her to look for it, my mind was racing at the speed of light. She soon found it and I didn’t want to open it till I was outside.
Summoning up my courage I opened the envelope and peeked at my results. Looking at the paper, the shock of what I was looking at pierced me to the core of my being. I passed! Even better, I scored 84% in English! I couldn’t help letting out a scream of joy right there and I didn’t care whether the people in the bus stared at me. I passed with 264 marks out of 400 – meaning that I got a [B] point average. It was very possible for me to take up Journalism. This was the second confirmation that God wanted me to wait for. Great is the faithfulness of my God!
That same day, I handed in my completed enrollment form to the USP Student Academic Services (SAS) Office. Everything happened in the right time that God had planned. All Praise and Honour be to the Lord God of Heaven!
But my story doesn’t end here. I’m still waiting on God for what He has planned for the rest of my life; He has proved Himself to me over and over again. I have nothing to worry about since my God is in control. It took me over a year and a half to figure it out but I just can’t wait to see what He has in store for me over the next few months.
One of the main reasons for my testimony is because I am a living example of what happens to a person who waits on God. I pray that not only will you be blessed by my testimony but also that you will also learn from my experience of God’s faithfulness and provision like I did. God bless you richly and may He also meet your needs as you wait on Him, just remember that He is never late. God always arrives on time!
‘They that wait upon the Lord shall rise up on wings like eagles, they shall run and not grow weary and they shall walk and not be faint’. Isaiah 40:31
