If you’re anything like me, you feel like you spend half your life travelling. One thing I’ve found really useful is turning this into an opportunity to listen to podcasts instead of the same old music or radio stations. There’s a variety of genres I enjoy, but recently I’ve discovered some great Christian ones to learn and grow from.
If I had to pick one to recommend, it would be the one above about pursuing Jesus in college. (It’s American, by the way, so ‘college’ can really just be swapped to ‘university’.) Here, it’s acknowledged that uni is a really busy time in your life but we’re told to remember pursuing Jesus is not always about doing more things, it’s about acknowledging Jesus in everything you already do. This is then followed by exploring 8 specific ways to pursue Jesus. I’ll briefly list them below without giving too much away…
- Spend alone time with Jesus – Uni gives you a unique opportunity to build habits and create your own routines so make sure they’re the right ones!
- Seek rest – Yes we can do all things (Philippians 4:13), but not all at the same time! If we are created in God’s image and he rested on the 7th day, then resting on the seventh day forms part of our identity.
- Community – Jesus chose twelve disciples to form a close community, but three were his closest ones: Peter, James and John. Maybe this model of community is something we can all learn from. And as the saying goes – If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together!
- Wise counsel – People who say there are no shortcuts in life have clearly never had a mentor; learning from others’ experiences and their faith can have a massive impact on our own spiritual journey.
- Eliminate sin – Make sure you’re getting the right things out of the university experience.
- Listen and Obey – Sometimes it can be hard to listen if you’re doing all the talking, remember prayer is about spending time with God.
- Fill your heart and mind with truth – Reminding yourself of biblical truths is incredibly helpful and allows us to form a defence for the hope that’s within us.
- Write down your questions and prayers – Like a lot of people, I find that journaling helps me really absorb what I’m reading.
If that’s grabbed your interest, then I’d encourage you to pop it on the next time you’re traveling. And I hope that it helps you to pursue Jesus, whether you’re at uni or not.
Natalie Halliwell, The Church of God in Birmingham
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