College is an enjoyable, transformative season in life for Cedarville students. Classes grow and prepare us for God’s calling on our lives. Campus groups provide opportunities for social involvement and service. Deep friendships develop. Students grow in their faith. Lives are changed.
Unfortunately, the effects of a fallen world still touch our lives while we’re at school. Sickness finds us at inconvenient times, relationships with family and friends go through rough patches, and unexpected losses do not wait for the semester to end. Even the busyness of school itself can function as a trial in our lives.
College also moves fast. Courses pack what sometimes seems like a year’s worth of material into a brief 16-week semester. Oftentimes, this frantic routine provides us with little time to think about anything outside of academic work, much less process any hardships that might be affecting us.
There are certainly healthy ways to process through that hardship, even in the midst of a hectic schedule. Below, I lay out some things I have learned through my four years here. I hope they will be of service to you!
Acknowledge the Hardship
As Christians, we often feel the (unwarranted) need to pretend we have our lives completely in order, despite the fact that we may sometimes struggle. When something difficult happens, we should first take time to acknowledge the situation.
Paul, writing to the Corinthian church about his ministry in Asia Minor, honestly expresses how he and his companions felt: “for we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death” (2 Corinthians 1:8–9). He does not downplay the hardship but freely acknowledges the extent of the trial.
The biblical authors set a helpful precedent for all Christians: honesty about hardship. While the hope of the Gospel provides incredible comfort in the midst of trials, the Gospel also gives us the freedom to acknowledge and even lament that hardship. This honesty can freely flow in prayer and in conversations with other believers, which we’ll talk about more later.
Create Space To Process
Despite our busyness, we may benefit more from creating space to process hardship rather than continuing to chug along. Carving out some time to process actually may help us get back on our feet sooner.
While finding time to stop doing schoolwork altogether may be impossible, a good option may be to intentionally block off time in your planner to journal, pray, think, make needed phone calls, or talk with others.
Another healthy practice is to politely decline certain opportunities on campus for a season. Our faculty and staff are incredibly gracious and understand when students may need to temporarily step away from a commitment for personal reasons. In other words, make a practical effort to create space to wrestle with hardships.
Perhaps one of the healthiest ways to process hardship is to do so in a Godward direction.
The Psalms testify to an amazing reality of our relationship with God: Our honesty and lament are acceptable means of communication with Him! In fact, lament-themed Psalms appear more than any other kind of Psalm in the Bible.
Not only do we have the freedom to express our burdens to a faithful God, but God draws near to us in them. Psalm 34:18 gives us an incredible promise: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” God moves toward us as we cry out to Him, and He promises to neither leave us nor forsake us.
Lean on Others
Another healthy and God-given means of dealing with trials in busy seasons is to talk it out with others. When God created mankind, He recognized that it was not good for man to be alone. When God saves people through faith in Jesus, they are saved primarily to God, but they are also saved to the people of God — to one another.
For that reason, we need one another. Sharing our grief with others will not immediately fix the situation, but it serves as a healthy way for us to process hardship.
Find a few people — mentors, peers, RAs, trusted faculty or staff — whom God has put in your life to listen and care for you during these difficult seasons. Cedarville’s Counseling Services can walk with you through especially turbulent times. Don’t be afraid to reach out to them!
Last fall semester, I hit a point where I was extremely overwhelmed with the amount of schoolwork on my plate. When a certain staff member asked me how I was doing, I told him. He prayed for me and offered to support me in any way he could. That support encouraged me and gave me hope during that difficult time.
Find people who will point you back to the ultimate hope that transcends any earthly trial: the coming, triumphant return of Jesus to make all things new.
Remember God’s Character
Remember the example of Paul earlier? After he acknowledges the severity of his trial, this is what he says:
“But that [his trial] was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.” (2 Corinthians 1:9–10).
After Paul acknowledges his trial, he fixates on God’s character. In doing so, he provides a helpful model for all believers. He found comfort in the midst of the trial when He remembered the good, faithful, promise-keeping, life-giving God he serves. God provides deliverance, and Paul trusts that God will provide deliverance yet again.
If another person comes to us with their struggles, we should first intently listen and ask questions. Give the other person space to wrestle with their trial, then gently remind them of the character of God.
This encouragement might look something like: “I know this is not easy for you. I know it does not feel like it will ever improve, but it will. This trial is only temporary. Remember that God is faithful and that He will give you enough strength for each day. He hears your prayers, and He will continue to be with you. Keep hoping in Him.”
Shift Your Perspective
Finally, our faith in Christ means that God wastes no suffering. Sometimes, an encouraging reminder to someone going through a trial is that God is using that trial to bring Himself glory and to make us more like Jesus.
Romans 5 has been a wellspring for me in the midst of some recent personal hardship. Not only can we as believers “rejoice in hope of the glory of God,” but we also “rejoice in our sufferings” because suffering produces endurance, character, and hope in us (Romans 5:2–4).
Just the thought that God was using that specific situation to shape me brought me incredible comfort in the midst of a difficult season. He first used it to direct my hope towards Himself rather than my earthly circumstances. He also used my distinct situation to minister to a close friend of mine who just so happened to be going through the same thing (see 2 Corinthians 1:3–4).
He taught me through that hardship the importance of vulnerability in my conversations with other believers. Finally, He used that circumstance to teach me more about the abundant forgiveness which He extends to us in Christ through the forgiveness which I experienced through that situation.
Remembering (and seeing) God’s divine purposes for our suffering reminds us that this hard season is only temporary.
Fix Your Eyes on the Gospel
College is a busy time of life. Though we may be tempted to continue to plow away with school and extracurriculars when hardship hits us, we may benefit more from taking some space to process.
The end goal of that processing is not to fixate on life’s struggles but to remind ourselves of the incredible hope that we have through the Gospel. Through the Gospel, our hope reaches far past this fractured world into a glorious future in which our God will make all things right.
Class: 2026
Major: History with a minor in Pre-MDiv
Hometown: Mount Pleasant, PA
Bible Verse: 2 Corinthians 5:15 – “And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”
Go-to Coffee Shop Drink: I don’t typically drink coffee! A strawberry-banana smoothie would have to be my answer.
Fun Fact or Interesting Hobby: I lived in the city as a young kid, grew up in the suburbs, and now live in the country.
Favorite Thing about being a Cedarville Student: My favorite thing about Cedarville is the genuine care that people here have for one another.
Posted in: Campus Experience, College Life, Experience, Information, Student Life