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Day 20 – Transition
Get prepared for a million different choices. People will ask you to join Student Government, Greek Life, Student Activities Board, Dorm Life and countless others. Inherently, all of those are great things. Each will challenge and grow you in different ways. However, this transition can have subtle difficulties.
I am a big fan of quotes, and there is one quote that I heard (originally in Spanish) that has forever changed my perspective: “A person can change anything: their face, their family, their girlfriend, their religion, their god. But there's something a person can't change. A person can't change their passion.”
To put it simply, God needs to be your passion. My favorite definition of passion is “strong and barely controllable emotion.” Our feelings towards God should resemble that definition. Psalm 31:3 states “Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.” If the Lord is your rock and your fortress, then for His glory let him lead and guide you. This is much easier said than done.
Understanding the Lord’s call can be difficult. For me personally, it was realizing that if I wasn’t intentional in my daily devotions and the people I was surrounding myself with, then I would change my who was my god. Soon my god became friends, experiences, academics, and the transition. My daily devotionals became coffee with new people and pick-up basketball in the Beaman. My church became my work. Slowly but surely, I had allowed myself to focus on the many things that were changing, while keeping my passions at bay.
Here is my call to action. Be excited for these next couple of weeks. You will meet many people, try new restaurants and see new sights. You will be pushed emotionally, physically and spiritually in ways you never planned. With all those in mind, stay devoted to your most important passion: your relationship with the Lord. For His sake, let him guide you through your college experience. Lean on the Lord through the bad, and equally importantly, the good.
Evan Metcalf | Junior | International Business
Get prepared for a million different choices. People will ask you to join Student Government, Greek Life, Student Activities Board, Dorm Life and countless others. Inherently, all of those are great things. Each will challenge and grow you in different ways. However, this transition can have subtle difficulties.
I am a big fan of quotes, and there is one quote that I heard (originally in Spanish) that has forever changed my perspective: “A person can change anything: their face, their family, their girlfriend, their religion, their god. But there's something a person can't change. A person can't change their passion.”
To put it simply, God needs to be your passion. My favorite definition of passion is “strong and barely controllable emotion.” Our feelings towards God should resemble that definition. Psalm 31:3 states “Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.” If the Lord is your rock and your fortress, then for His glory let him lead and guide you. This is much easier said than done.
Understanding the Lord’s call can be difficult. For me personally, it was realizing that if I wasn’t intentional in my daily devotions and the people I was surrounding myself with, then I would change my who was my god. Soon my god became friends, experiences, academics, and the transition. My daily devotionals became coffee with new people and pick-up basketball in the Beaman. My church became my work. Slowly but surely, I had allowed myself to focus on the many things that were changing, while keeping my passions at bay.
Here is my call to action. Be excited for these next couple of weeks. You will meet many people, try new restaurants and see new sights. You will be pushed emotionally, physically and spiritually in ways you never planned. With all those in mind, stay devoted to your most important passion: your relationship with the Lord. For His sake, let him guide you through your college experience. Lean on the Lord through the bad, and equally importantly, the good.
Evan Metcalf | Junior | International Business
About this Plan
This 40 day prayer plan was written by students, faculty and staff at Belmont University as a daily devotional for incoming freshmen. Each day guides and encourages new college students in their faith in Jesus Christ through the word of God and the sincere thoughts, seasoned advice and honest prayers of the contributing authors. May these words help you grow in your love for God and your love for others!
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We would like to thank Belmont University for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: www.belmont.edu
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