Midterm is a major point in the semester. It’s a time for students to assess how they’re doing in a class and whether they’ll continue or drop the course. It’s a time when professors solicit feedback from students to evaluate whether the class is moving too fast or too slow and just how much students are retaining. In the fall, around midterms is when seasonal activities ramp up as we move quickly toward Halloween, fall festivals, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
If you’ve made it this far into the semester, I hope you’ve taken some time to celebrate your progress. Just last week I looked out into the eyes of my students and saw extreme fatigue. I told my students, I know you’re tired and I know this time of year is tough. I said if they’ve ever played a sport, this may remind them of the time in the season when things get hard and they just have to power through. As I pondered my students’ faces and where we are in the semester, a few scriptures came to mind.
In First Corinthians 9:24, the writer says, “Do you not know that those who run in a race, all run, but only one receives the prize? Therefore run is such a way that you may obtain it.”
And again regarding a prize, the Bible says, “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).
As you and I work to wrap up the semester, my prayer is that you would lean on God in times when you feel depleted. Pray to the father for strength and “my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19). Look for him to answer your prayers in big and small ways.
