What I Wish I Knew As a College Student

Ever feel like you’re stuck at a fork in the road and have no idea which way God is calling you to go? And that fork in the road you’re stuck in has about a million different paths to take? 

As you’re looking at all of your options, I know you’re facing the feeling of increasing pressure and overwhelming sense of fear of making the wrong choice and disappointing God.

“Where should I go to college?”

“What should I major in?”

“Should I add a specialty?”

“Which extracurriculars should I join and how many should I join?”

“Once I graduate, where should I apply for a job?”

“Should I move back home, stay in my college town, move to a bigger city?”

You are face to face with astounding decisions and seemingly endless options — it’s scary! I get it. That was me too, friend. This is still me! 

I know you’re thinking that one wrong move and you’ve messed up God’s entire plan for you. What if you take that job in Denver instead of Oklahoma City? What if you’re not applying to the right kind of jobs? How do you know you’re in the right major or at the right college? 

Phew! Deep breaths, sis. You’re going to be okay. I know it, I believe it. Here’s why:

You are not going to ruin God’s plan for you based on where you move, your profession or what you study in school.

What matters to God is how big you love the Lord, your neighbor and who you become, no matter where you live, where you work or what you do.

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 22:36-40

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Matthew 16:24-25

Love God. Love others. Take up our cross. That is God’s plan for us. Simple as that. Everything else is a minor detail.

But that does not change the fact that you’re still facing many life altering decisions and are probably concerned you might make the wrong choice.

Here’s how to make these tough choices confidently in the Lord:

1. Pray. Seek his guidance first. 
2. Be still. Listen for his voice. Many times, a great sign from the Lord isn’t going to come to you. Sometimes, it will be a small voice or gentle whisper you need to listen carefully to hear.
3. Ask yourself, “How will this decision honor the Lord? Which option will better allow me to love God and love others?” Is your major or career based on the gifts God has blessed you with or how much money you’d like to make? (There’s nothing wrong with making a considerable income, what matters is how you serve others and pay it forward). If you want to move and are torn between two locations, which city will better provide you with a spiritual support system and opportunities to grow God’s kingdom?
4. Just do it! Don’t let these decisions paralyze you in fear. Satan can use that fear to trap us and entangle us to prevent us from actually making any decision at all. We don’t win, and more importantly, God does not win when we make our choices based on our fears. Find your brave voice and use it.

You have the spirit of hope, joy, peace and love residing in you, friends. Take a look at your many forks in the road, laugh at the days to come and take that first step. Jesus is walking along that path with you. Don’t worry, he knows the way.