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This week’s verse: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your care on Him, because He cares about you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7 (HSCB)
Being a college student is hard. There are people who don’t believe me when I say I’m feeling burnt out or overwhelmed purely because of my age and what I’m studying. I spend the majority of my time worrying about homework, spending time with friends, doing work for whatever responsibilities I have, read my Bible, and then, if I have the time, do something I enjoy or spend time alone. Trying to fit a little of each into twenty-four hours, while still finding time to get enough sleep at night, is not an easy task. If there are too many days of relentless meetings, homework, and social interactions, I begin to experience burnout, which for me includes drowsiness, lack of concentration, impatience, and no motivation. Along with that, I have trouble focusing on my relationship with God and being intentional in my devotion time. One of the hardest things for me to do is handing my problems, especially ones that are causing some of my burnout, over to God. The things I have concerns about, like getting homework done or just general frustrations that build up over time, feel like they’re my issues that I need to solve. While they are things I’m worried about, that doesn’t mean God isn’t worried about them either. He wants to hear about our problems, and wants us to trust Him with our worries, concerns, and frustrations so that we can focus more clearly on Him. Are you experiencing burnout? Give those concerns that are causing it over to God, and ask Him to renew your soul. We are His people, and we need to cast our cares on Him. He is our strength, and He will never fail us. Prayer: Father, thank You for Your concern over my life. Renew my soul as I cast my worries and cares onto You. Amen. This week’s verse: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 (HCSB)
One of the hardest things for me to do is remember that God is in control. Saying that sounds ridiculous, mainly because the phrase “God is in control” is my youth group’s motto and go-to generic Sunday school answer. It should be drilled into my head, but that doesn’t mean I don’t forget it from time to time. I have anxiety, and when I get into an anxious mindset, my brain immediately jumps to worst-case scenarios and how I’ve messed up everything on the face of the earth. Yeah, it’s a little extreme, but the point being that most of the time, my sinful mind goes straight to how I’m worthless because something happened instead of how, despite my fallen nature and my mistakes, God still has the situation under control. His plan isn’t thrown off because I didn’t say the right thing in class, or acted irrationally because I was frustrated. God uses those moments of imperfection to turn us back to Him. He is always our provision, and the one thing that makes us whole. In today’s society, it’s hard to keep that at the forefront of our minds. So, instead, gently remind yourself today that God is in control. Write it on a sticky note and stick it in your car. Write it on your bathroom mirror. Put that reminder somewhere you’ll see it multiple times a day. When you see that note, remember to thank God for His perfect provision, and that He has everything under control. Prayer: God, thank you for being in control of everything. Please continue to remind me to lean into You and trust Your will. Amen. |
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