How to Intentionally Follow God - From A Crazy Busy College Athlete.

 In our modern world, everyone is go, go, go, and as a college student-athlete I am as guilty as anyone. I have to go from school to practice to work. Some days I have a race, and some days homework is due, and I haven't even started....and on and on and on. If your schedule is hectic like this, then I can relate to you. It seems like there is never a break in the day. Stress and anxiety creep in little by little and we become so overwhelmed that we lose sight of where our help comes from. We forget that the very thing that eases our minds and brings us peace is the thing we have been putting to the side.

The Bible tells us in Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” The devil LOVES to distract us and keep us so busy that we are distracted from our time with the Lord. When we are busy, we seem to struggle because we are putting our help to the side. When we struggle, we become weak, and through this Satan sneaks into our lives before we know it.  I believe this is one of his #1 tactics against so many of us. If he can’t make us fall into temptation and be “bad” people he will make us busy, and both will equally dull or kill your relationship with God. It is so easy to use the excuse of being busy to push church, morning devotion, bible study group, etc. to the side. We fall into this so easily because we aren’t using our time to be a “bad person”.  But whether you are partying or whether you are busy, at the end of the day you are still pushing God away.

 By saying this, what are ways to keep God close in our busy days? We all have different schedules and lives so find something that personally works for you. I have found that I can pray throughout everything. I used to think I could only pray when I was in church or kneeled at my bedside, but this isn’t the case at all. The Bible tells us to “pray without ceasing” in first Thessalonians 5:17. What does this mean? The word ceasing actually means to bring or come to an end, and the Bible tells us to never cease prayer...this realization opened so many more opportunities for me to be present with God. Find a time in your day to multitask and connect with God. Now, while I am driving to school, I play worship music. Then I turn it down for a while to pray about personal things that have been on my mind.  I pray throughout my runs. This may sound silly to some, but to me this is how I connect with God even in the busy times. Just being in the presence of God consistently will make such a huge difference in your life. Joshua 1:9 tells us to “Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” He is with us everywhere we go! This is such a comforting verse because it tells us that we can be present with God WHEREVER we are. From this verse I like to start thinking about everything as a form of worship. We can turn anything we do into worship. Whether you sing, teach, play sports, make coffee, or go to school, run, God gave us the ability and time to do these things. If He gave us the time and ability, then we can use these things to worship Him.

We often think connecting and making God a priority in our life can only happen at church or bible study, but this mindset is so wrong. I am personally a very busy person as a college student-athlete. I get overwhelmed so easily, but rather than letting my busyness become my weakness, I try to use my busyness as a positive thing by finding ways throughout.

- Ivy Tilson