How to stay faithful in college
Whether it’s your freshman year, or you are a fifth-year senior, staying faithful to God and growing in your faith should be at the forefront of your concerns. Culture has given college students a free pass to be unfaithful in all areas. God has called you to a higher standard, so how can you remain faithful and become more like Jesus during these years of your life?
5 Tools to Remain Faithful
1. Read your Bible
There is no greater discipline to form in your life. How are you to know God if you do not read His Word? In the middle of the chaos of exams, sports, etc. another book can seem like a chore, but God's word is "living and active, sharper than any two edged sword." This is where we hear God speak and respond in obedience by doing what He says (Hebrews 4:12, Psalm 19, 2nd Timothy 3:16-17).
2. Pray.
College wears on your brain. Making time to bring to Jesus all that is going on is important. Prayer is the means by which God changes things. Prayer is an assault against unthankfulness. Your day can be filled with complaining about classes, professors, grades, etc., or it can be filled with thoughts of thankfulness to Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, John 14:13-14, Psalm 145:18).
3. Keep a journal.
Sounds silly if you are not already doing this, but journaling is a crucial way to remain faithful. Fill your journal with prayer, Bible verses to remember, wisdom from others, and promises from God. Journals are a place for our minds to work through the sweet tasting words of God (Joshua 24:24-28, Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Revelation 1:19).
4. Find a good preacher.
Be sure you are part of a local church. Each week our hearts need to be strengthened, convicted, and challenged as we sit under the preaching of the word of God. Not only must we hear the preaching of God's word but we must preach to ourselves daily. Each day you need the Gospel just as you did when you first believed it (1 Timothy 4:13, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 2 Timothy 2:4).
5. Fight for community.
You cannot do life alone. Sin is out to kill, steal, and destroy you. Don't believe the lie that you can make it by yourself. Secret sin will creep into your life and destroy you. Make a plan for accountability. Sometimes you must give up the appearance of being the best Christian, to actually be a successful Christian. In other words, confession and repentance seem like a weak thing to have to do all the time, but the reality is that those who are actually believing in God will be quick to confess and repent even if it means they reveal ugly nasty sin (Hebrews 10:24-25, Galatians 6:2, and 1 John 1:5-10).
Your whole life you have looked forward to having all the freedom in the world, yet what you do with that freedom can make or break you. Will you allow it to make you lazy, complacent, and faithless? Or will you fill it with godly disciplines and godly people so that you will thrive and become a force to be reckoned with at your college? What next step do you need to take in order to have the best year of college?