When you move off to college, you are moving on to a whole new chapter in your life and entering a completely foreign world that you don’t know anything about. You’re moving out on your own for most likely the first time, and you are both terrified and insanely excited about all your new freedom. College is a time when many people find themselves. But it's also a time when many people start to feel very overwhelmed, undervalued, and lost. It's easy to slip into that funk. Trust me. We have all been there at least once. My way out was through my Bible. I had started to find myself starting to become more and more distant in my relationship with the big man upstairs, and I was feeling depressed, feeling like all my dreams were just too far out of reach, like I was wasting my time here at school, and just not myself. I still went to church when I was at home, but I had not been able to find one that felt like home here at college. I wasn’t praying anymore, and I couldn’t remember the last time I had picked up my bible and just read.

One night I was talking to one of my sisters about how I was feeling, and she asked me how secure I was in my faith and if I had prayed about it or sought comfort in the Lord for how I was feeling. To my complete shock, I realized that I hadn’t. In college, it is so hard to remember to make that a priority sometimes between homework, sorority stuff, academic clubs, friends, and then somehow trying to find sleep. That night I picked up my Bible from where it had been sitting on my desk since I moved in and started to try to find answers. I did end up finding some great verses that I feel can help the struggling college student and I would love to share them with you.

Jeremiah 29:11:

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

Everyone has at least a few times when they feel as if they don’t know what they are doing or where they are going with their life. When you are in these times it is extremely easy to lose hope and get depressed. This verse has always been one that I can look to for comfort in hard times or when I don’t know where I’m going or what I’m doing. College can sometimes seem like a never ending cycle of uselessness, and it's easy to loose sight at the end of the tunnel. But it's important to remember that there is a light at the end, and that this will all be worth it, and that there is a plan. You aren’t just aimlessly wandering around doing useless stuff, even though you may feel like you are.

1 Corinthians 10:13:

"No Temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."

College is a whole new world. And this new world is packed full of things that may tempt us to stray from our desired path. With all our newfound freedom here we also get trusted with a lot more responsibility. We no longer have our parents watching over us and making sure we come home at a reasonable time each night and that we are making good decisions. Now we have to make those decisions for ourselves, and it can be really difficult. When everyone is saying how great something is, but you know you aren’t comfortable doing it, or that it is bad, it is important to remember that you do have the strength to resist. God places these tests in our life, but He will never give you more than he thinks you can bear. And if you do give in, if you do fall, it is extremely important to know that He forgives you. Humankind has been making mistakes since the beginning. He will give you a way out, all you have to do is take it. It's important to remember that He is there for you and that even when you are tempted, it is not the end. There is always a way back to the light from the dark.

Romans 8:28 and 31:

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

"What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can stand against us?"

This part of Romans 8 may well be the most referenced, dog-eared, highlighted, and written in part of my Bible. I find myself going back to it each time that I start to find myself feeling hopeless or as if I’m loosing. In college, we all try to act like we have our lives together, even if in reality we feel like we are taking two steps back for each step forward. I know that I definitely have had moments, days, heck, even weeks, in which I just felt so hopeless and just as if I am fighting a losing battle. That feeling can really wear anyone down, so it is so imperative that we remember that not only are we not alone, not only do we have someone that we can confide everything in, but that person in our corner is the ultimate weapon against our fears. We just have to remember sometimes that we have this amazing advantage on our sides, and that as long as we try our best, and trust in Him, we have no reason to feel so hopeless and weak. Because with God on our side, we are the strongest team in all the world.