When I was a sophomore in college, I was majoring in chemistry (note the 'was' haha!). Chemistry was pretty difficult. I liked it, and I plugged away at it, but it did not really come naturally. I did understand what was being taught but the understanding came pretty slowly. The chemistry class I was in became like something of a 24/7 job. I thought about it all the time and even reasoned problems through in my mind while I slept - and you could probably argue that I wasn't sleeping. Stress, as defined from the Google search engine, is "a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances." Well, that was me. Stressed out to the MAX. There was no relaxing. And there was definitely no peace. I worried about every grade in that chemistry class. I was so anxious every time I turned in a homework. I was equally as anxious about getting the homework back. I managed to get a solid B and sometimes and A on the homework sets.
One time, as I was working on a homework and feeling anxious and tight and fatigued, I felt like God got my attention. He told me something like this: "You know, Lisa, you worry about every grade and every homework in this class, but in the end, things turn out fine. You get a passing grade. Why don't you work hard without the anxiety (and trust Me instead). Things are going to work out fine no matter what your attitude is in this situation."
Yes, God wants you to know the same truth that He told me. We can express it in many ways I am sure, but the bottom line is this: You know that you are working hard. God has not brought you to college to fail. Work hard, trust the Lord, and He will bring you through your classes every semesters. Matthew 6:27 says "Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life." (NIV) No! We can't! In fact, we lose time by worrying. I worried to the point of obsession I'm sure. It was not healthy at all. Psalm 127:2 says "It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives to His beloved sleep." (RSV) I believe I took this to heart in grad school. I was able to go to bed by 10 or 11 every night.
So yes, we have to work hard in college. Let work be work, and take the stress out of it by trusting in God to sustain you and work through you. He created everything you are studying. Ask Him to open your eyes and heart to what you are studying. Do what it takes to be able to labor in the day and rest at night. For me, it was overcoming procrastination and forming some better study habits. Instead of starting the homework assignment a few days before it was due (or the day before it was due), I started an assignment the day it was given - sometimes two weeks in advance even if it was reading through the problem and thinking about it the first day (that's how math worked). And if you haven't considered it all ready, pray and ask God whether you are in the right major. I soon discovered that chemistry was not for me because it did not come easy. Math came easier to me, and I found pleasure in it. You may remember the story of Eric Liddle, an Olympic runner, who would not run on Sundays, because of his faith. He once said that "God made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure." What has God made you to do? What do you do that, when you work in it, it gives you pleasure - a pleasure from God because you are doing what He created you to do?
Today, search your heart. Seek God in prayer. He will show you the way. And I hope that you find out what I did - that there is no need to stress over school work. God will get you through. He will take care of you, and He intends for you to succeed.
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