Staying On Track with God in College

This year, my word is focus. One major aspect is focusing more on God. But, being in college, I am so incredibly busy. I barely remember to do my laundry or eat. How, then, can I stay on track in my relationship with God? Well, I am going to share my tips with you. I am by no means perfect at this, but I have found some things that really help. Hopefully these are helpful for you too.

Quiet Time

The biggest piece of advice I can give is to schedule out your quiet time with God. I’m sure you have heard over and over how important it is to have morning time with God. I don’t care, and neither does God, when you have your quiet time, as long as you have it. I personally used to get up every morning and try to have quiet time, but it didn’t work for me. I couldn’t focus because I had just woken up and was still half-asleep. I didn’t get much out of those times. I personally started going to the prayer chapel on my campus, which is so quiet and peaceful, perfect for quiet time. I also tend to go between the times of after class and before bed. During this time I am the most awake so I am able to better focus and I get so much more out of that time.

Journaling

Once I get settled and decide that the next hour is my time with God, I pull out my Bible, journal and the current devotional book I’m reading. No matter what I am reading or if I’m praying, I am writing in my journal. I find that this really helps me focus. This semester I have been challenging myself to journal more, and after five weeks, I’ve already used half of mine. I seriously see the difference. My mind is clearer because I am getting everything out on paper and then going back over it with God. I love doing this. I feel like when you write everything out you can go from being caught up in the little issues, to seeing the big picture of what God is trying to teach you. Plus, I love looking back at how God had been working in my life. 

Godly Friendships

One of the biggest impacts on my relationship with God has been the godly people I have surrounded myself with. They love me and show me such grace, and yet they know when to confront me and help me deal with issues in my life. Without them I would be floundering in my faith. I cannot stress enough how important the people you surround yourself with are. I have heard that you become like the three people you hang out the most. But, how do you find amazing God-loving friends? Get involved with the college group at your church. Join a Bible study. Seek godly people out and then be the kind of friend you would want. Love on people. Show them grace beyond what they deserve. Don’t try to get ahead of people—put their needs before your own. Just be there for people. I promise you will find people who want to seek out God as much as you do.

Accountability

When you do have those godly friends, you need to form the kind of friendship where you can be accountable to each other. I have four friends who I am close enough to that they can be straight with me, in love, about what I am doing wrong. If I am dealing with an issue, and I start going on about it, I can count on them to remind me that maybe it seems so difficult right now because I haven’t been talking to God about it, or they will show me where I am seeing things wrong, or they will show me what I have been doing wrong to bring the circumstances on. Those kinds of friendships are so rewarding and these are the most genuine friendships you will ever have.

These tips will take some self-discipline, but I promise they will pay off in the end. In order to stay strong in your faith, it’s important to keep good habits so to keep you going. Hopefully one or all of these will help you stay focused in your faith. :)

- Kirsten