Okay, the title might be a bit misleading.

"So, staying quiet in college eh?"

Let's be realistic, college is loud. Okay, maybe not necessarily in a "noise" sense (all of the time), but more so in a chaotic sense. I think we can all agree that noisy expectations bombard us on the daily such as academic expectations, work expectations, family expectations, maybe volunteer expectations, and somewhere in the midst we are expected to have a social life and with that comes with the joy of even more expectations.

And sometimes the only quiet hour in our day comes from the silence of admiring the back our eyelids at night, and I say admire because sleep is a treat in college.

Don't get me wrong, staying busy is great! But constant vulnerability to all of the noise without seeking calamity is not so great. I sort of brushed it off until I truly realized the growing gap between God and I. For me, becoming so accustomed to my everyday busy schedule lead me to act like a "secretary Christian". I turned into the "I'll fit God in when my schedule frees up" type of follower.

Investment is the key to success.

Investing in friendships and relationships is the absolute key growing stronger in them. We cannot take steps in our relationships if we simply do not put in the time and effort, it cannot and will not just "happen" - It's the same ballgame with God.

1 Kings 19 depicts the account of Elijah, a prominent Old Testament figure and prophet. Elijah at this time was quite literally running for his life. The terrible, no-good, horrible, very bad queen at the time, Jezebel, had vowed to kill Elijah. Elijah was done (like anybody would be if they were actively being hunted down). He was physically exhausted.

However, God intervened and told Elijah to stand on the mountain before Him. Check it out,

"And he said, 'Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD.' And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper" (1 Kings 19:11-12).

Elijah witnessed a strong "mountain-shredding" wind, a great earthquake, and a fire. God, however, was NOT within the noise and mayhem. After the fire, a quiet voice because audible to Elijah.

Surely God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and we surely cannot limit Him to only speaking in quiet moments, that is not our place. He is powerful enough to speak in any moment, loud or quiet.

On the other hand, we cannot limit God to only speaking in the midst of our loud lives either. God has revealed in 1 Kings 19 that he WILL and has the POWER to speak in a quiet whisper. Will you be prepared when he does? Do you have a quiet moment where He can speak to you in this whisper.

Personally, everything began to fall into place from a swift perspective change. Instead of asking, "how can I fit God into my schedule" I began asking myself,

"How can I fit my schedule around God?"

God's voice is there. Sometimes, however, His voice is muffled in all of the noise. But it's there. As I said, investment is key. Carving out this time is so important friends. From one busy gal to another busy human, I completely understand. Do not catch yourself saying, "God does not speak to me", if your Bible is shut and your prayers are distracted. God is ready, are you? Are you "staying quiet in college"?