What to Know Before Attending College

Before I say anything, I want you to read this verse.

Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (ESV)

Don’t let college make you anxious!  Okay, now for the fun stuff.

Find A Local Church

Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (ESV)

Even if school is only 45 minutes away, this can be a critical step, and needs to be a priority.  Every person I talked to that went through college before me said the same thing, and I’m about to say it: Find somewhere to get plugged in.  If you do not “plug in” (meaning find a club or organization, sport, etc. to get heavily involved with) you are setting yourself up for severe homesickness and failure.  I want to agree with that statement and take it a step further: Find a CHURCH to get plugged in!  Whatever else you get involved in, use that to reach people who are hurting, but don’t allow darkness around you to keep you from shining your light.  Be a light into the darkness!

Crazy Preachers

There are plenty of false prophets that wander around from campus to campus, some worse than others.  You may see them with bullhorns, big banners twisting scripture around to fit their agenda, or just yelling somewhere on campus.  There are a lot of different reasons that these people come to campus and the best way to deal with them is to ignore them.  A lot of them are actually distorting God’s word on purpose, hoping that someone who knows the truth will engage in an argument with them and they can try to engage in a physical fight.  The “preachers” (I use that term very loosely, they’re really just scum) that do this sort of thing are only on campus in hopes to be hit so they can sue the school.  As much as you may want to, don’t give them that privilege.

Destructive Down Time Vs. Relaxing Free Time

Down time is very important to rest your body and mind, but it can be very destructive as well.  The amount of free time you have can depend on the amount of hours you take, homework, your job if you work, any sports you may play, club events, alumni dinners, the list goes on.  The problem is, even very little down time at all can be just enough time to pick up bad habits.  Free time will happen; it’s how you use that time that will affect you.

A friend of mine put it this way.  Sure there are the big bad temptations that everyone knows you should try to stay away from if you want to live a Godly life (alcohol, drugs, sex, so much more. And yes these things are everywhere).  But where it can be easier to trip up, and you don’t even know you’re doing anything wrong, is when you find yourself eating because you’re bored, or watching too much TV, or surfing through the internet looking for something to entertain you.  While all of these things can be innocent and may not necessarily be sins, what are you gaining from them?  There are so many things (seriously, an unlimited amount of things) that can start to take place of your school work or time with the Lord.  That’s where these things become destructive. 

Stay On Top Of Homework

Homework in college can build up pretty quickly, and after just missing a few days you can suddenly feel swamped and completely overwhelmed.  Adding this kind of stress is unnecessary and can be very discouraging.  I have personally let homework go until I reached the point that I felt hopeless and like the semester was a lost cause.  Don’t let it get to that point.  Take care of homework sooner rather than later, and you can save yourself a lot of stress.

Dealing With Strong Temptations

Temptations are everywhere in college.  The question is not if you will be tempted, it’s where, when, and how you will deal with it.  It is so much easier to resist temptations if you make a decision before you are ever tempted about what you will and will not allow yourself to do.  That was pointed out to me by a friend, and once he mentioned it, I realized how right he was in saying it.

Spend Time With God

This may be the last thing mentioned, but it is by far the most important thing to do.

Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (ESV)

Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (ESV)

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (ESV)

I can tell you from personal experience: time with God does not make any of the struggles or stress (and there will be of both of those in college) go away.  What it does do for you, is give an unexplainable peace of mind, the power to push through hard times, and the clarity to think through whatever situation you may be in.  Not to mention, is an amazing way to spend the down time that I mentioned earlier.  A phrase I try to live by is this:

                Read daily, pray hourly, love every second.

These seven words are super loaded and I will explain them in further detail in another blog.  But for now, here’s a condensed explanation.  Your Bible is one of the ways God communicates with you.  He has so much advice that is far better than mine and it is all written down begging to be read.  Keep an open line of communication with God.  He wants to hear from you!  Finally, let love radiate from you.