TO THE STUDENTS: A GUIDE TO HOPE

This post is for the students who feel uprooted. This post is for the students who feel as if their plans for the future don’t look like they originally thought. This is for the students who are feeling uncertain and afraid.

As a college senior, I also feel like my life and plans are all hanging in the balance. No one really knows what’s happening except for the one who reigns supreme, and that is our Lord and Savior. Believe me, I know it’s hard to accept and to relinquish control, but it’s the only way to find peace in the middle of any storm, including this one.

Let me share with you part of a message I listened to the other day that brought me a lot of comfort.

Essentially, social distancing means that we should all be acting like we’re carriers of the coronavirus. With this new word comes a lot of uncertainty. We’re not used to it, and the very thought of not being able to see the people we love creates fear.

Without God, our human instinct is to immediately be carriers of this fear because this situation is out of our control. However, with God, we should have no fear. Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV) says:

“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.”

If this is true (and spoiler alert, it is), then why would we be carriers of fear? We should be carriers of hope, faith, and love because our God knows our future. He will not forsake us. Remember this, my friends, from 1 John 1:5:

“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

Instead of being fearful, share the good news of God’s love because that is far more contagious than fear. This is a call to action: Be the carrier of hope and faith that someone in your life may need. We’re extremely lucky to have technology right now, so pick up the phone and call your friend to spread this hope and faith. Fear spreads quickly, but hope spreads even faster. Stand strong in your faith. You’re not alone.

Kendall Christian is a senior communications major at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, and is currently serving as an intern with the Student Resource Team at national WMU.