Some of your friends love going to Friday night parties and waking up the next day completely out of it.

Some of your friends enjoy staying up to 12am in the library and then going back home just to study some more.

Then there are some of your friends who you can always count on to go for late night runs to Maccas at 4am in the morning.

Are you a college girl trying to find your identity in Christ? Click the image below to grab your FREE beautifully designed 20+ page How to Find Your Identity in Christ devotional.

For the Girl Going to College

College is a time filled with happy memories and memories that make you want to pull your hair out. It makes you laugh, smile and cry all at the same time. Leaving home for the first time and going to college gives you a new perspective in life. No longer are you found within the constraints of your parent’s guidance and for those raised in Christian homes, no longer do you have to go to those early Sunday morning services when you would much rather be sleeping in. Instead, you are given full freedom to embrace that fresh breath of air and do what you want to do. And it’s exhilarating.

But at some point in your journey in college, whether it is at the beginning, middle or end of it, you begin to wonder what place your faith has in the exciting, brand new world that has been exposed to you. You begin thinking to yourself what it really means to pursue after your faith when your Christian beliefs always seem to rub the newfound culture that you are in the wrong way.

It’s crazy to me that it has been two years since graduation rolled around and that it has been SEVEN years since I was the fresh-faced and doe-eyed eighteen-year-old girl leaving home for the very first time. And this sentimental thought has led me to this very blog post… a very real letter from me to you about what it means to be a girl finding (or trying to keep) her faith in college.

How to Keep Your Faith in College

Lemme Start with a Short Letter

None of us ever plan on getting battle wounds. None of us ever imagined going through the things that we are going through right now. In fact, I can guarantee that none of us ever anticipated the challenges that suddenly came our way. It simply was not part of our carefully crafted out dreams.

But to the college girl that is hurting, feeling alone, scared and frightened of the big, wide world around her, it’s not just you. The world is broken, in complete shreds and let’s be honest, a complete mess.

Your tear-stained pillow after an unexpected fight, your swollen red eyes after overhearing some things about you that could easily go in Regina’s ‘burn book’, and your rejected heart that feels so heavy that it could hold a ton of bricks inside are all experiences that are all too real.

But as cheesy as it sounds, there is a cure to it all… the gospel. Also known as the greatest redemption story of all time, the most amazing love story known in history and the very reason why you are reading this very blog post.

While the ‘college life’ might be fun and all, something is tugging your heart, reminding you that there is more to life than feeling stressed over grades, heartbroken over relationships and trying to get love and attention from all the wrong places. The Holy Spirit is moving within you, reminding you that you were made to be so much more than just a ‘college girl’. You were created to take part in the greatest story written of all time.

Tip #1 on How to Keep Your Faith in College: Setting Your Priorities Straight

When He said to come to the foot of the cross, He never meant for you to come to Him only after you’ve finished the to-do list in your hands. He wasn’t expecting you to come to Him with a list of achievements and accomplishments that you have done (even if it was all in His name). He was simply asking you to come to Him as you are. Messes, scars and all.

He hopes that you will be able to put down everything else and simply run to Him with all that you have. So even though you have so many things that you need to do, begin setting your priorities in life straight. After all, the reason for which you have been created is to simply spend time worshipping your Creator. Like Jesus once told Martha, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.” Luke 10:41-42

Tip #2 on How to Keep Your Faith in College: Finding a Community of Believers Firmly Rooted in the Word

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. – Hebrews 10:24-25

If you’ve come from a Christian home, you’ll no longer have your family trying to push you go to weekly youth group or Sunday morning services. So, if you’ve decided to stay up all of Saturday night chatting with friends or studying throughout the night, there is nobody pulling you out of bed to go to Church.

More often than not, students that go to college believe that they can continue to worship God well through the comfort of their own homes. However, we are called to be in community with one another so that we can continue to profess our faith together as a body of Christ. The purpose of Church is to come together as different parts of a body and spur each other on, and “as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17) we can have encouragement and accountability to help us to keep walking with God in a way that glorifies Him.

Are you trying to keep your faith in college? Click the image below to grab your FREE beautifully designed 20+ page How to Find Your Identity in Christ devotional to begin growing your faith as a college girl.

Tip #3 on How to Keep Your Faith in College: Seek Out a Biblically Grounded Mentor/Family You Can Trust to Take You In

Following the tip mentioned above, one of the greatest thing about being a young Christian in college is that you can experience good mentorship from someone who has gone through what you have gone through before! It is so beneficial to learn from their Godly wisdom and find support in this brand new season of life. So go find a mentor/family that is willing to take a college student under their wing and provide them with spiritual and life support. Learn from their mistakes, listen to their guidance and allow them to be the encouragement and accountability that you need to keep growing in your daily walk with God.

Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance — Proverbs 1:5

Tip #4 on How to Keep Your Faith in College: Learn to Say No to Things that Don’t Bear Good Fruit

In college, you’ll be faced with so many temptations. Honestly, college is like what Candyland is for sugar-obsessed children.

At one point or another in college, you will most definitely be at a crossroads. You will be faced with decisions that make you question why you believe the things that you believe and why you do the things that you do. You begin wondering whether the Bible is anything more than an outdated book of rules and you begin trying to compromise spiritual truth by adapting the Bible to your newfound beliefs.

But the next time you are faced with a decision that you know goes against scripture, stand firmly rooted in the Word. You are allowed to say no to the things that don’t bear good fruit and instead latch onto the things that bring life and light into the world. You are allowed to say no to things that don’t make those around you weren’t made to be of the world, but to be set apart from it.

If you need a good reminder of saying no to things that appear attractive, but ultimately leads to darkness, check out Matthew 4:1-11 where Jesus was tested in the wilderness.

Tip #5 on How to Keep Your Faith in College: Observe Your Friendships with Others

College is the most amazing time for making friendships with others. There is this sense of camaraderie that comes with going through a similar stage of life with everyone else around you. But with these friendships come a lot of important decisions and reflections.

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. — Psalm 1:1-2

The company that you keep and the friend that you try and be to others have a really strong influence on the way you walk with God. So find friends that push you closer to Christ and those that help you to walk in godliness and be wary of those whose influence pulls you away from glorifying the One who hung the stars in the sky and calls them by name.

But how can we really know if our relationships are reflecting the characteristics of Godly friendship? By knowing God on a truly deep level and diving deep in His Word.

Tip #6 on How to Keep Your Faith in College: Expect to Be Tested and Prepare for It

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. — Romans 5:3-4

Has it come to your attention that the entire conversation about ‘how to keep your faith in college’ seems to signify that tests and trials are somehow something that is new and specific to this particular season of life? The thing is, it’s time to have a change in perspective.

One of the most popular biblical untruths is that God will not give you anything that you can’t handle. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth because if we could handle everything on our own, we would not need God. And the fact is, God allows faith to be tested so that you will grow in maturity.

Difficult seasons of life come so that you can be better equipped for the trials that is to come many years from now. Every trial can be used by God for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). Everything always happens with a reason and for a purpose. So while it might stink that you are going through hard times, know that this is all part of God’s plan to help grow you and refine your spiritual maturity.

Tip #7 on How to Keep Your Faith in College: Get Ready to Be Different and ‘Set-Apart’ From Your Friends

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. — Romans 12:2

The world and the truth of God is in constant conflict with one another. It is not possible to be loved by both as they stand for entirely different things. One celebrates sin and endorses it while the other is completely repulsed by it. One masks darkness as holiness while the other is holiness accused of being darkness.

While it might not have been extremely obvious to you in high school, it becomes increasingly more obvious in college that keeping your faith in college means to stand out as set-apart from the world around you. Don’t be afraid of being different and stand up for truth.

Be the person who affirms truth in a classroom. Be the person who doesn’t want to compromise her values and be the person who isn’t interested in the same things that other college girls go wild over on a Saturday night. You are going to be different and you will not fit in with the world. Prepare for that and find your identity in Christ and not in the culture you’re surrounded by.

Tip #8 on How to Keep Your Faith in College: Be Wary of False Teachers and Grow Discernment

When I first went off to college, I went through a period of time believing the word of every single pastor that I met. It never crossed my mind that it was possible for a pastor to preach falsely. I thought the Word of God was a universal truth that only ‘cults’ would deviate from. However, over time, through the grace of God, I was shown the deviousness of false teaching.

More often than not, when we think something is from God (but it actually isn’t), it is because it is part of a ‘sandwich’. This means the statement sounds so close to being ‘Christian’ that it is so easy to mask as something that is biblically true. However, these half-truths are in actual fact far more dangerous than the downright absurd.

There are so many false gospels around that disguise themselves as biblical truth, so learning how to differentiate the truths from the lies is crucial when it comes to discerning the voice of God. And the best way to grow in your faith in college and become a girl deeply rooted in her faith is by diving deep into scripture.

For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. — 2 Corinthians 11:13-15

A Quick Example of a ‘Sandwich’

A really good example of a popular ‘sandwich’ that is currently floating around is the saying: “God won’t give you anything you can’t handle“. This phrase however can be taken in the completely wrong context… causing an entire generation of believers who believe that they can rely on their strength alone to get through anything. What they do not realize is that it is only because you can’t handle everything, that He gives you a way out so that that you will be able to endure all things.

Tip #9 on How to Keep Your Faith in College: Be Careful Where You Find Your Comfort From

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. — Matthew 11:28-30

I used to love running to everything but the one who could truly give me comfort. I ran to my friends, I ran to YouTube, I ran to self-help books and I ran to my favorite comfort foods. However, one thing that I learned about my faith in college is that I needed to be careful about where I find my comfort from.

The world can only offer you so much. But His Word, His truth, and His presence are what will truly set you free. So the next time you face something hard in your life, before you pick up the phone to give your bestie a call, go to the One above and lay it all at His feet. Be careful of who/what you go to for comfort because the only One who can bring light into darkness is sitting up there, waiting for you to come to His feet.

Tip #10 on How to Keep Your Faith in College: Study Your Faith By Diving Deep into Scripture

With the number of college assignments, social events and friendship dramas that go on, it’s no wonder why so many Bibles become nothing more than a Sunday School memory when people go off to college. While the college experience should be fun and exciting, we shouldn’t be neglecting spending time in the Word.

With the whole world around you (both online media and on campus culture) filled with secular beliefs, grounding yourself in biblical truth is important in keeping your faith in college. By regularly spending time reading the scriptures, you will be able to continue sharpening your mind and feeding it with truth.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. — 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Knowing the scriptures well won’t just help you to continue growing in your faith and relationship with God, but it will be able to help you navigate this brand new season of life through a biblical lens that glorifies God. No matter what you are going through, the Bible is there to help equip you with what you need to face the new challenge of the day!

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Hey! I Hope You Liked This Blog Post…

Drop a comment in the comment section below and let me know what college and major you’re taking! I’d love to hear from you!

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—> The Truth About Walking with God | The Gospel Doesn’t Need a Flashy Outfit

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