Exam Results – don't worry!

It’s that time of year when thousands of people across the country start worrying about the exam results they are about to receive (as though worrying at this point will somehow change what has already been printed on the results sheet…)
Maybe you are waiting on A level results to see if you can get into uni, or GCSE results to see if you what you can do for A levels, or you could be waiting on AS results, or all sorts of other diplomas and qualification results. And it can be an anxious time – I’m currently waiting on my A level results to see what uni I can go to, so I know what you are going through.
I was at a healing service recently at Christ the King Church that was led by the Rev. Nigel Mumford as part of the Beaver Cross High School Camp that I was a volunteer counsellor at. And during it he suggested praying for emotional healing, and from that I started praying about my exam results, that I wouldn’t worry about how they go (after all, the Bible does day don’t worry about anything but instead pray).
The way my exam situation is, with module results that I already know, essentially what university I go to depends on how one paper goes (barring major mishaps that I didn’t sense at the time of the exams in the other papers). If I do well in that paper I’ll be going to a university close to home, if I don’t do well I’ll be moving to Scotland. (Not that I am in any way implying that moving to Scotland is a bad thing…)
Anyway, as I was praying I just got this real sense of calm and peace, and just felt as though God was saying “You know what, whichever university you end up going to it’ll all work out for the best.”
And I figured that probably that was something some of you needed to hear too. In Jeremiah 29:11 God says “I know the plans I have for you…plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” If you are waiting for exam results you can take confidence from the fact that God is in control, and he can see the big picture (check out Psalm 139). No matter what happens, he will be worth you, causing things to work for your good (Romans 8:28). He doesn’t promise you will ace your exams and get into your first choice university with all your friends, but he promises he has a plan for your life, and he will be with you every step of the way, Things may not work out the way you want them to, but no matter what happens on results day (which for many of you will be either this Thursday or the next Thursday), God still loves you the same. He still cares for you. And He still has a plan for your life. It may not be what you thought it was before, but you can be assured that God will be with you every step of the way.
So if you are worried about exam results, just remember Peter’s advice in 1 Peter 5:7 “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you” and remember, whatever happens on results day, it’ll all work out for the best in the end for God has a plan to give you “a future and a hope”.