I have always believed that college is one of the time periods in a person’s life that can make or break his or her faith. No longer does your mom wake you up every Sunday morning and force you to go to church. You’re completely independent, in a new place, and surrounded by new friends that may not share the same faith as you. Those Sunday mornings when all you want to do is sleep in are achievable now, and nobody will think anything of you missing church. Your faith is now for you to define and determine whether you want to grow closer to or let go of God.

Being in college, it is to easy to make excuses as to why you can’t go to church or spend time in prayer or reading the Bible. I get it, it’s really difficult to keep up with classwork, have a social life, work, and possibly even play a sport all while getting enough sleep. Jesus, however, should be a priority. Trust me, I struggle daily with setting time aside to spend with Jesus, but I know that the time spent with Him is the most important part of my day. Jesus should come before everything because after all, does any of it even matter without Him?

When you spend time with the Lord daily you develop an intimate relationship with Him. College is a big adjustment and having the comfort of Jesus to turn to can make a world of difference in your day to day life. When you’re stressed, open His Word and look for peace. Having a fight with your friends? Jesus will always be there for you to turn to. I know how easy it can be to put everything else before Jesus, but you won’t be even close to as being fulfilled from these other things as you will when you have a close relationship with the Lord.

I’m grateful to have the privilege of going to a Christian college. Many of the people who surround me are like-minded making it much easier to choose to keep following God. Most college students, however, are not blessed in this way. These other students are coming in contact with people who will tell them what they believe is wrong. That it’s okay to live in sin because God will just forgive them anyway or that He doesn’t even exist at all. People will tempt you and lead you down a path of destruction if you let them. Choose instead to surround yourself with Christians who will lead you towards the right path. As 1 Corinthians 15:33 states, “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’” Your time spent in college is probably the most influential period in your life in which you will gain habits and ideas that will follow you forever. Don’t allow yourself to fall into Satan’s traps, but instead use this time to develop an un-shakeable relationship with the Lord.

Find your faith while in college. Make it your own. Study your Bible and know what it is that you believe. Surround yourself with fellow believers who will help you grow and further your walk with the Lord. It is so easy to make excuses as to why you don’t have time for God, but if you put in the effort and make time, I promise it will be worth it.