The prayer you offer for your son’s test is natural, yet do not let your heart be troubled as though his future rested on this single outcome. Christ Himself calls out, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He does not promise a smooth path in every worldly endeavor, but He offers a far greater gift: the rest of the soul, a security that no earthly success can bestow and no failure can take away. Why, then, be consumed with anxiety over a few hours in an examination hall, when you have access to the Lord who quiets every storm?
See how the world around us trembles, over wealth, over reputation, over fleeting achievements, while the danger of hell is scarcely thought upon. One fear possesses many: lest they become poor. But let our chief fear be lest we fall away from God. The wisdom of this age, the kind that measures worth by scores and admissions, is passing away. It can carry no soul into eternal life. When you ask for a clear mind and calm heart, ask above all that your son’s heart be anchored in Christ, who is the true wisdom, hidden from the proud but revealed to the humble. If the Spirit grants him peace, that peace will remain even if the answer key should disappoint.
I do not say it is wrong to seek good success. The Lord knows our needs and is rich in mercy. Yet even a branch that bears fruit often needs pruning so that it may bear more. The Husbandman sometimes permits what we call failure not to harm us, but to deepen our trust, to discipline our desires, and to draw us nearer to Him. If this test becomes a means of teaching your son to rely not on his own strength but on God’s grace, then whatever the letter of admission says, the outcome will be for his true good. Entreat the Lord, then, not only for a passing grade but that your son, and you, may grow in that faith which overcomes the world, and that in all things, whether he enters that university or another path, Jesus Christ may be glorified. To this end labor in prayer, and then rest in the will of Him who loves your child more than you do.