Jossy Ninan – shares how God helped her to achieve her dreams of working as a nurse in the UK.
Exciting Dreams
I was really happy when I moved to the UK to work as a nurse. I had exciting dreams for my future and was very enthusiastic. I believed in God but I did not have a close personal relationship with Him. I think that my faith was fairly weak at the time. I had always prayed since childhood but I had never surrendered myself to God. In fact I took Jesus for granted. I know that I kept repeating the same sins and was sorry for them, thinking that a loving God would forgive me each time, because I was not committing any big sins.
Failures
I was a trained nurse but to become a registered nurse in the UK I had to pass the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) exam. I did not consider it to be a difficult task and prepared well before taking the exam. I was shocked when my results came through because I had failed. I lost my confidence and became very anxious about my future. But this motivated me to try again and I worked harder for the second attempt and again I failed. This was totally unexpected and I was completely devastated. I couldn’t stop crying and lost all hope of ever passing the exam. I lacked faith but my loving God took care of me by giving me wonderful people to encourage me.
Fresh Hope
I started watching Abhishekagni, an Internet television program in Malayalam presented by Fr Xavier Khan Vattayil whenever I could. Hearing the Word of God preached so powerfully gave me strength and fresh hope. One day while watching it, the Holy Spirit touched me powerfully and I was filled with peace and happiness. I immediately surrendered myself completely to the Lord, vowing to give up all my bad habits and sinful activities. I humbled myself and stopped worrying about the future. Immediately I felt a change in me. “Do not fear Daniel, for from the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before God, your words have been heard and I have come because of your words.”(Daniel 10:12)
More Problems
I had to wait six months before I could take the exam for a third time. The long wait was difficult but during that time God was slowly changing me to be a better person. I remembered the words of St Paul, “Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles and pray at all times.” (Romans 12:12) So I prayed and God gradually drew me closer to Him, ”By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8) Another problem was that my visa expired after eight months but I managed to get a sixty day extension that allowed me to stay and take the exam a third time. There were many obstacles in my way but I held on to God’s merciful promise that He would go before me and level the mountains, He would break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron (Isaiah 45:2).
Lots Of Prayer
I worked hard, fasted, confessed and prayed. I became more confident knowing that the Lord could work through me. I believed that, “It depended not on human will or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.” (Romans 9:16) I knew that thousands of people were praying for me. The Kingdom Revelator prayer team promised to pray and the Sehion Ministries team from India and the UK interceded for me. Preparing for the exam was still very tough. One day I broke down in front of Jesus and I felt that He spoke to me through the words of Luke 11:9, “Ask and it will be given to you, search and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.” So I believed and prayed even harder. “I tell you whatever you ask for in prayer believe that you have received it and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24
The Third Attempt
Finally, I took the exam for the third time. Praise be to God, I saw the result of all the prayers, this time I passed the OSCE exam. The rules say that we have to submit all our documents again before the third attempt in order to complete the registration process. I hadn’t done this but God worked miraculously again and I got my pin number without submitting any documents. And my visa was renewed without any problems as well. The Lord had arranged everything to work in my favour and I could feel His presence in everything that I did. He showed me that He loves me so much that He wants me to stay close to Him. He raised me up from the depth of my sorrow and His amazing grace saved me at His perfect time.
Never Give Up
So whatever problems you encounter, never give up. Turn to the Lord and trust in Him. Persevere in prayer then you will be transformed by the love of God and He will be able to act through you.