On Campus: All Those Little (or Big!) Things

I was sitting on the big comfy couch the other day that my roommates and I have next to the window in our common room. It was a normal Saturday afternoon and I was doing homework. After a while my mind started to wander from the words on the page, and my eyes were getting tired. I looked up and the first thing I saw was the little sign in the picture above. My thoughts started to drift away from my homework at this point. The word on the sign in front of me, “trust”, looks like a simple word. There are only five letters. It is a small sign. It sits there in the same spot every day. How often did I ever stop to look at it? Considering how much it struck me at the time, probably not very much.

As I just kept looking at that word, I started to think about the week I had just had. There had been a lot of things on my mind that I knew were still there, and were a source of worry. There were little situations that had occurred that I wanted control over but couldn’t control. There are, of course, little decisions and concerns every week, like “I wonder what’s going to be in the cafeteria at lunch today”, or “Is Professor _____ going to be pleased with the quiz I handed in today?”, or “Why did the fire alarm test have to go off at 6:30 this morning?”, or “What are my weekend plans going to be?”, etc.

Then there are the situations that weigh heavy on us, sometimes for days, weeks, and months at a time. There are those projects that count as a large percentage of a grade that require a lot of research and planning. There are the different relationships we have with those around us (friends, roommates, professors, adviser, boyfriend /girlfriend, boss, etc.) that we question or feel worried over when something seems wrong. Maybe the decisions and concerns this time are “Should I take out this loan?”, or “God, who is the right person for me?”, or “Should I talk to ____about the conflict that’s happened between us?” There could many different things that you’re thinking of as you read this; decisions and concerns that you have had to make in your life at college that seem to come out of nowhere or that you’re not sure you can handle. Sometimes life just seems to be one thing after another, doesn’t it?

Now, if I were to leave you at this point in the story, we’d be left with saying “Yeah, it does seem like that” and probably let out a sigh. But thankfully, God never leaves us with “Life is just one thing after another. I’m going to leave you to figure it out.” Surrounding the word “trust” on the sign above are the words of Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

We need not worry or be terrified. We need not be discouraged. God promises to be with us. Though we sin daily and turn away from Him, trying to control everything around us and trust in ourselves, He never turns away from us. Instead, He turned away from His own Son as he died on the cross to forgive the sins of the world. He forgives us when we put our trust in ourselves and place our worries ahead of our faith in Him. He not only forgives us when we fail at this, but He also enables us to trust Him. The verse from Joshua says that we are not to be discouraged “for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

It is my prayer that as you read this, you find rest and comfort, knowing that no matter what may happen tomorrow, or next week, or next month –whenever, wherever, and whatever it may be- God will never fail you. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Contributed by Christiana