At this point in the semester, classes have started going full force and if you are like me, you might be feeling a decent amount of stress. You might be stressed out about a major test that you have coming up next week, a presentation that you only have three days to prepare for, a job interview that you have tomorrow or even just how you are going to get everything done. You keep questioning yourself on why you decided to sign up for a certain class, why you decided to get involved in a lot of organization or just why does it feel like you are always studying instead of enjoying your time at college. Yes the point of college is to get an education that will help you get a job someday but feeling overly stressed is not going to help any. When you start feeling stressed out, you need to take a step back and remember that you are not alone in life, that God is with you and will stay with you during this stressful time. Sometimes it might not seem that He is there, but He is-- and this truth can be found all over the place in the Bible. The next time you start feeling stressed, open the Bible and read God's promises for your life and start to lean on him for strength to get through whatever trial you are going through. To get you started, here are eight verses that relate to stress and worry.

1) "You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of the world." - Matthew 28:20

This is one time out of many that God tells us that He will always be with us. In the theatrical version of the famous book Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, the character King represents God and he is seen next to main character, Christian, from the beginning to the end of the play. Even though the audience can clearly see that "King" is always with Christian, Christian does not realize it and even doubts that "King" is even real. This symbolizes how God is always with us even though we might doubt that he is there.

2) "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11

For me, this verse is very comforting because it shows that God has a plan for my life. Any kind of challenges that I face and trials that I go through are not random. When you decided to sign up for that 8:00 a.m. class or join that one organization, it could have been because it was part of God's plan to be a witness to either the people in that class or the members of that organization. Do not worry about not having a purpose at college. God can and will use you in order to fulfill His greater plan. You might not understand why you signed up for that class or joined that organization, but you will later.

3) "Look at the birds in the air. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns. But your heavenly father feeds the birds. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds." - Matthew 6:26

This is a verse that is directly about worrying, and it is one that I seriously need to try to remember. You are worth so much more than the birds and God provides for them so what you think that he will not provide for you. Do not worry about what you will eat or what you will wear because God is always with you and he will provide for you.

4) "You cannot add a day to your life by worrying about it." - Matthew 6:27

This is another truth that I know I need to keep in mind when I start to worry because, in all honesty, worrying accomplishes nothing. All it really does is cause you to procrastinate on whatever you were trying to study or work on, and as a result of your procrastination you will probably start worrying even more. Worrying in no way, shape or form prolongs your life so what is the point of worrying about something is going to happen?

5) "I can do all things through Christ because He gives me strength." - Philippians 4:13

If God has put you in a certain situation, then He will give you the strength to get through it. He will never give you more than you can handle, and He will be there for the entire time for what he does give you. Remember this verse when you do not think that you will be able to get anything done. Ask God to help you and He will provide you with the strength that you need.

6) "Give all your worries to Him, because He cares for you." - 1 Peter 5:7

God wants you to tell Him your worries because He cares for you and wants to help you. You can trust Him because He will never lie to you, never leave you and never give you more than you can handle. Next time you are feeling stressed, tell Him because even though He knows about them He wants to hear about them from you. He wants a relationship with you and communication is key when it comes to relationships.

7) "So don't worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Tomorrow will have its own worries." - Matthew 6:34

This verse could not be more true. Today you might have a test and a few days later you might have an interview, so what use is it to worry about both the test and the interview when they are both on different days? All you are doing is using up the energy that you could instead be using to study for the test. Make sure to take life each day at a time because you have no idea what will happen in the future. By worrying, about all you do is cause yourself to feel overwhelmed.

8) "Do not worry about anything. But pray and ask God for everything you need. And when you pray, always give thanks. And God's peace will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The peace that God gives is so great that we cannot understand it." - Philippians 4:6-7

This verse pretty much ties all of the other verses together. God does not want us to be worried about anything. He instead wants us to communicate with Him through prayer and tell Him specifically what is going on and what we are struggling with. Do not only go to Him during the band times, also go to Him during the good times, and make sure to thank Him for everything that he has done in your life. If you lean on God to get through life instead of on yourself, then He will provide for you and give you the strength and peace to get through whatever challenge you are currently facing.

College can be a stressful time, but you do not have to go through it alone. God is with you every step of the way. Before you start stressing out about a major test or presentation, make sure to take a step back and pray about everything to God. If you do this and truly believe that He can and will help you, then He will give you the peace and strength to face whatever challenge or trial that you are going through.