I remember during the first semester of my sophomore year in college that we had introductory courses about my chosen degree. I didn’t have a concrete idea about my course until then since we only had general subjects in our first year. After learning the scope of our profession in a class, I felt overwhelmed and unfit for my future job. I wanted to shift to the course I originally wanted and transfer to a different campus that was also closer to home. I remember talking to my classmates about my resolve to transfer once our sophomore year is over. 

I woke up one day in my third year—in the same course—and I suddenly remembered how determined I was about transferring. Surprisingly, it was as if the idea never came to me in the first place. I completely forgot about it! 

At that time I realized that it was God’s way of telling me to stay. 

Maybe this situation seems familiar to you. Maybe you feel like you’re not on the right strand, course, or campus. Perhaps in this season, you have even come to question the point of studying because this distance learning is not the kind of setup that you had in mind.

Just as God turned my confusion into clarity, may the truths that I will share bring you clarity and conviction that you are called to be in your campus today not just as student, but as a representative of God’s kingdom. Or may these even bring clarity to where God is leading you. 

I remember what Mordecai told Esther when they faced a threat that could potentially eradicate all of the Jews from the face of the earth: 

“And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 

Esther 4:14

Mordecai asked a question which made Esther realize that there is a bigger picture and a greater purpose of her being in the king’s palace. And from that same realization, we draw out a deeper conviction of why we are called to be in our campus for such a time as this.

God’s Plans

Psalm 139:16 says, “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” The God of the universe, who is not bound by time and space, already has His plan laid out for the world and for you. His plans are already established and they will not change (Psalm 33:11). God, in His sovereignty, did not make a mistake of placing you where you are—in that strand or course, in that section, and in that campus.

Our will and our wrong decisions are not powerful enough to thwart God’s plans for us. Yes, we have our personal responsibilities to make a decision and trust Him along the way, but none of our responsibilities are outside His sovereignty. 

God’s ultimate plan is to fill the earth with His glory, to reconcile all of creation to Himself, and to have a loving relationship with man (Colossians 1:19-22). He allows certain situations to unfold in our lives that will allow us to know Him, experience Him and witness for Him. Because God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9), we can be courageous and confident knowing that God knows what He’s doing and why we’re in a specific place at a specific time.

God’s Calling

In Jeremiah 1:5, God gave a message to the young Jeremiah, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” God gave Jeremiah a specific calling to be a prophet to the nations. He called Abraham to be the father of many nations (Genesis 17:3–6), Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt (Exodus 3:7–10), Paul to be an apostle to the Jews and Gentiles (Acts 9:15–16), Jesus’ twelve disciples to fish for men (Matthew 4:19), and so many more. 

Even before you were born, God already had a specific calling in mind for you in each season of your life, whether that is to be a student, a son or daughter, a brother, an engineer, a teacher, an artist, or a government leader. Just as God called men and women in the past, He is still calling specific people to a specific place at a specific time for a specific purpose.

God could have chosen someone “better” and more qualified than you, He could have accomplished His plans without you, but out of His love, wisdom, and sovereignty, He called you and He has invited you to take part in the fulfillment of His plan and purpose for the world. 

God’s Purpose 

If you have a personal relationship with Jesus, you are called to follow Him and help others follow Him as well. You are to preach the gospel and make disciples. While your calling as a student is to honor God in all that you do (studies, house chores, time management, finances, among others), He has also given you a purpose to shine His light into this dark world and to make Him known to the people around you—to your family, to your classmates, to your campus.

I know it’s difficult to be a student in this season. But it does not invalidate God’s plans, calling, and purpose for you in your campus at this time. With or without the pandemic, God still desires all people to be saved. Despite a very perilous situation, may we have a God-honoring courage like Esther when she rose up to the challenge, took the risk and said: 

“Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”

Esther 4:16

Just like how God used Esther to make a difference in her generation, He will use you to be the salt and light by sending you to the world to make disciples of all nations in this generation and in the next. You can do this, World Changer! God will give you the grace and the ability to thrive in the calling and fulfill the purpose that He has given you now. May God refresh and remind you today of His plan, calling, and His purpose for you to change the campus and change the world.