I am, by no means an expert on the Bible or God. My relationship with Him is so far away from what it needs to be; I constantly I am working on it every single day, and will be for the rest of my life. This fall, I started college and had to make the decision of whether or not I wanted to be active in my faith. For the first time in my life, it is completely up to me how often I go to church, or what I do regarding my faith; it's both scary and liberating.

I find myself gravitating more and more to my faith now that I am away from home, and, in doing so, I am taking time to read and reflect on the Bible. I have come across five Bible verses that really stick with me as a college student (and as a person in general).

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

Okay, so this verse is basically saying that we need to strive toward the goal that God gave us from the beginning of time: making it to heaven to be with Him and Jesus, and all of the saints forever. It is for this purpose that we were put on this Earth, and we should try and never forget it. In college, it can be easy to forget what the ultimate goal really is, but if we try hard enough and seek out the places where we can find God, wherever that may be for you, we can get ourselves “back on track."

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

College is the time, dedicated to finding ourselves, and that typically means asking a lot of questions. This verse reminds us that it is okay to come to God (or our local priest/preacher/spiritual advisor) with questions, because the ones who seek will get answers, even if the answer is “no” or “not yet.”

“But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

This is probably my favorite Bible verse of all time. We did not deserve Jesus dying on the cross for us. Every single one of us sins everyday. In college it is so easy to get caught up in that, and subsequently think that we do not deserve to be loved by God. But God already proved the ultimate love for us by letting his only son die on the cross for all of our sins. Even if you were the only person on earth, Jesus still would have gone through everything that he did just for you. If that is not love, then I do not know what is.

“Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of you mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and perfect, and pleasing.” Romans 12:2

It is so easy in college to get caught up in the ‘here and now’. And while God wants us to have fun and be happy, his goal for us is to be “in the world and not of the world.” This means that he wants us to be eternally happy with Him in Heaven one day. So we have to be careful to not be so caught up in worldly things and possessions that do not keep our eyes and hearts turned towards Him.

“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe, plans to give you a future full of hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

This is so true and gives so much peace, at least to me. Starting college, it seems like everyone has basically the same question for you: what are you going to do with the rest of your life? And honestly, I have no idea half of the time. It is so nice to be reminded that God has a plan for each and every one of us. I have heard the saying before, “if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans” because however we may try and plan our lives, God almost certainly has something totally different in mind. What we fail to realize is that His plans are always so much better and fulfilling than any that we could ever make.

I know that these five verses are just a fraction of the great advice that is waiting for us in the Bible, but they are some of my favorite that I have come by so far. They remind me of God’s immense love for me, and all of creation and that no matter what we do, He is always there to pick us up when we stumble and fall.