It's that time of the year again. Midterms, papers, discussion boards, etc. are overwhelming us. It’s like we have to choose between sleep or social life.
For us as Christians, it becomes a hard situation. Suddenly, deadlines become more important than prayer, and the inbox of our emails more relevant than reading our Bibles. It almost makes sense to think that since the paper we are writing is due at midnight, that that is our priority. That our GPA is all about studying and relying on our knowledge and capacity to make it.
It certainly involves all of that. But we sometimes forget that when we, as Christian students, gave our lives to Christ and we no longer own ourselves. That means we are no longer in control of our lives. We lost our lives, so that we could be found by Him, and when He found us He bought us with His precious blood taking the control of our lives and leading us to a better place every day.
Personally, I have been having very hard days full of homework, papers, quizzes, and tests. Consequently, I realized I was pushing back my relationship with God because I thought it was not as important as all my homework and things I had to do in order to meet the deadlines. But I always was stressed out and always felt frustrated, and when the results came out as not expected, it was a powerless feeling.
In the middle of my chaotic week, a dear friend reminded me that everything you do, you must do it for the glory of God and that there was no better or higher satisfaction than living everyday for Him. Then I heard the testimony of another friend, who said, “Ever since I started to read my Bible one hour every day, I’ve been having time for everything. This is my best semester of college so far!”
“Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass.”
Psalm 37:5
This is a verse I learned when I was little and my parents always have mentioned it. But it doesn’t mean anything to you until you claim it and make it your own. College is the place where God planned for us to get to know Him for who He really is, and not just as the God of our parents. We are by ourselves now, and it’s where God becomes real to us and we realize that we need Him more than anything in our every-day lives. Psalm 37:5 has become real to me, and I can truly say that it is true. If I commit my everything to God everyday, He will bring me through!
No matter how much homework, projects, or meetings you may have, don’t dare to think that leaving God aside “for later” is gonna work. God comes first in our lives. College comes second. Only then will our lives will be in order.
