“Pastor, no matter how much I prepare for an exam, I end up failing. What could be the problem?”

Oh wow! Sorry about that. But just so I don’t assume that it’s a spiritual thing, let’s touch a few possible causes:

1. MODE OF ASSIMILATION

One of the greatest things I discovered about myself after my secondary school education was that learning through theoretical explanations was difficult for me.

At that time, I enrolled for a professional computer course, and I had failed about nine exams before I realized this. I would read and prepare for exams like every normal student, only to get to the exam and feel as though I didn’t prepare at all. At first I thought the course was too much for me, but then I realized that it was the mode of assimilation.

Months later, I pleaded with the school engineer – who at the time gets external projects, to take me along to project sites so that I could have hands-on experience. The more I interacted with real life scenarios, the better I got in assimilating the theories that was taught both in class and the handouts.

With time, I began to redo the exams I failed. And yes, I passed. As at the time I re-sat for the exams, I wasn’t trying to analyze the theories in my head, I knew exactly what the questions were referring to because I had interacted with them in real life.

Because I had already gathered real life experiences before we completed the 9 months course, I was retained as an IT assistant in that school after the program. It wasn’t long before I was assigned to a class to teach new students.

Students loved my class and wouldn’t allow any other teacher to take them whenever I wasn’t around. As expected, my lectures proceeded from a practical standpoint. I taught from experience, not just the handouts. And because of the way I taught, assimilation was easy. In fact, I’ve had sessions where other teachers joined my class to learn my secret😂. At that time, many of them would bluntly tell me that they can’t teach my class🤣.

When I advanced to a tertiary institution, I knew exactly what to do. I was a computer science student, and even before the semester started, I had practicalized all the programming languages for the semester. Thank God I did, because even programming languages were taught with a board in a tertiary institution. Imagine running a code on the board😂. Honestly, it would have just been another season of failure for me.

Soon I realized that most of those lecturers didn’t know how to run codes on a computer, they only knew how to teach it on the board😂. Hmm, may God bless pragmatic teachers. You won’t believe that it was I and a few of my classmates that eventually taught others how to run codes using a computer.

So, observe how best you assimilate knowledge. If you learnt something that you can’t independently reuse later, then something was wrong with the learning process. If you read and couldn’t use what you read when it is needed, then something is wrong with how you read.

If you’ve been following my articles, you’d notice that I like to be as pragmatic as possible. I find it very difficult to teach something my readers cannot apply.

2. RELATIONSHIP

Who do you walk with? Who are your colleagues, class or course mates? Some times we overlook and underestimate the spiritual influence of relationships. Relationships can both make or affect you negatively. Let’s read from scriptures:

Psalm 1:
1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

So if the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful – is blessed, what will happen to the man who actually does. Your guess is correct, he’d attract a curse. A curse is simply a negative influence placed over a person to remain in bondage. So even after you’ve prepared for your exams, the curse won’t let you succeed.

One of the things I did when I got to my tertiary institution was to make friends with the best 4 students in my department. As time went on, we became the best 5. Actually, we all graduated with a dictinction.

He that works with the wise would only become wiser, but a relationship with foolish people will lead to your doom. There are many brilliant young people who are doing badly academically only because of the kind of friends they keep. Intelligence is not enough to pass exams, you also need to keep the right company.

Finally…

3. SPIRITUALITY

Life is spiritual. Approaching your academic life by what you were taught alone won’t take you far. So in addition to what your textbooks and teachers teach you, have a relationship with the Spirit of God and let the word of God dwell richly in you.

The Holy Spirit is still the greatest teacher, and one of the most beautiful things about His teaching ministry is that He’d always remind you of the things He taught you, just in case you forget. Also, if you made mistakes, He’d inform you so that something can be done to remedy the situation.

I remember an exam I wrote back in school. I was rejoicing with my friends after the exam when I suddenly heard the Holy Spirit tell me that I didn’t order my answers correctly, and that chances are that I’d fail that course. I immediately prayed that God should reorder the answers for me or that He should mark it by Himself. To my amazement, I got a distinction in that course.

Parents, don’t leave your children’s career in the hands of their school teachers. After school, teach them the ways of the Lord through His word. Make them understand that when intellect fails, grace is available to continue. Either way, failure isn’t an option for a child that understands this.

I know I will pass my exams, not just because I read, but because the Lord has assured me that I shall be above only and not beneath, I shall be the head and not the tail. I read the science, but I believe in my God.

I hope this has brought enlightenment to someone.

Remain ever blessed, in Jesus precious name!

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