Looking to God instead of food--fellow Believers out there?
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Yep I get that.
It makes sense, he doesn't have any powers but he's personally asking God to bless me, so doing it on my behalf?
--->>That should be how it works, all blessings come from God. Now whether or not your priest was asking God or thinks he has the power all on his own, I do not know.
Now I've told you that happened, do you believe God would of heard that prayer for me to be blessed etc?
--->> I know this. God created you and knows you-your thoughts, your fears, your heart, your hopes, your needs. I know that He(God) HAS blessed you with this child-whether healthy or not. A child is an amazing thing! My mom got pregnant with me when she was 16. She tells me I saved her life. God gave me to her to take her eyes off of herself and change her heart. My mom is an amazing lady! I love her dearly and am grateful every day for the blessing she is in my life. She knows God intimately from walking a tough life and having to press into Him and Him alone for every part of her life. He answers her prayers.
He is not unaware of our struggles. He's also already blessed you with a million blessings you probably have just taken for granted and assumed they just came with life. You are blessed my dear, you just don't know it yet.
Does he hear every prayer even if he doesn't answer them all (Bruce Almighty just sprung to mind )
--->>HA! Brauce Almighty-yes!
I'm posting you a quote from elsewhere that explains this better than I can-because while He sees and knows every single things, our prayers can be hindered. Here goes~
God sees, hears and knows everything—including our prayers. Nothing escapes his attention. Why then did God say he would not listen to the people’s cries for help? There are several possible reasons.
In this case, God did not respond because judgment was unavoidable. Judah had disobeyed God’s laws and ignored his pleas for so long that judgment was, in effect, already on the way. Their cries were too little, too late. God even told Jeremiah not to pray for the people (see Isa 14:11–12)—that not even Moses and Samuel could have persuaded him to offer further compassion to them (see Isa 15:1).
It’s also possible that people sometimes sabotage their own prayers. The Bible mentions several attitudes and actions that can short-circuit our prayers: sin (see Ps 66:18; Isa 59:2; Jer 14:10–12), disobedience (see Pr 28:9), hypocrisy and insincerity (see Isa 29:13; Mal 1:7–9), wrong motives (see Mt 6:5–6; Lk 18:11–14; Jas 4:3), lack of faith (Heb 11:6; Jas 1:6) and even marital problems (see 1Pe 3:7).
Finally, what sometimes appears to be no answer to prayer may actually be a delayed answer (see Da 10:12–13). Other times God may deny our request in order to give us something better than what we knew to ask for. — “When Does God Refuse to Hear Our Prayers?, from the Questions Answered devotional0 -
Yep I get that.
It makes sense, he doesn't have any powers but he's personally asking God to bless me, so doing it on my behalf?
--->>That should be how it works, all blessings come from God. Now whether or not your priest was asking God or thinks he has the power all on his own, I do not know.
Now I've told you that happened, do you believe God would of heard that prayer for me to be blessed etc?
--->> I know this. God created you and knows you-your thoughts, your fears, your heart, your hopes, your needs. I know that He(God) HAS blessed you with this child-whether healthy or not. A child is an amazing thing! My mom got pregnant with me when she was 16. She tells me I saved her life. God gave me to her to take her eyes off of herself and change her heart. My mom is an amazing lady! I love her dearly and am grateful every day for the blessing she is in my life. She knows God intimately from walking a tough life and having to press into Him and Him alone for every part of her life. He answers her prayers.
He is not unaware of our struggles. He's also already blessed you with a million blessings you probably have just taken for granted and assumed they just came with life. You are blessed my dear, you just don't know it yet.
Does he hear every prayer even if he doesn't answer them all (Bruce Almighty just sprung to mind )
--->>HA! Brauce Almighty-yes!
I'm posting you a quote from elsewhere that explains this better than I can-because while He sees and knows every single things, our prayers can be hindered. Here goes~
God sees, hears and knows everything—including our prayers. Nothing escapes his attention. Why then did God say he would not listen to the people’s cries for help? There are several possible reasons.
In this case, God did not respond because judgment was unavoidable. Judah had disobeyed God’s laws and ignored his pleas for so long that judgment was, in effect, already on the way. Their cries were too little, too late. God even told Jeremiah not to pray for the people (see Isa 14:11–12)—that not even Moses and Samuel could have persuaded him to offer further compassion to them (see Isa 15:1).
It’s also possible that people sometimes sabotage their own prayers. The Bible mentions several attitudes and actions that can short-circuit our prayers: sin (see Ps 66:18; Isa 59:2; Jer 14:10–12), disobedience (see Pr 28:9), hypocrisy and insincerity (see Isa 29:13; Mal 1:7–9), wrong motives (see Mt 6:5–6; Lk 18:11–14; Jas 4:3), lack of faith (Heb 11:6; Jas 1:6) and even marital problems (see 1Pe 3:7).
Finally, what sometimes appears to be no answer to prayer may actually be a delayed answer (see Da 10:12–13). Other times God may deny our request in order to give us something better than what we knew to ask for. — “When Does God Refuse to Hear Our Prayers?, from the Questions Answered devotional[/quote]
(Morbid and depressing pose ahead!)
The child I was carrying when I got blessed had to be terminated at 6 months gestation due to him having a zero chance of survival. I had to give birth to my dead baby.
I was not blessed. In the slightest. I feel there was no other message, no other lesson to teach me, it was just cruel.
This is why I have no faith.
(P.s. - this was 2 years ago now, so it doesn't hurt as much as it did, I can talk about it lol no need to tread on eggshells around the matter, just saying so you don't feel uncomfortable)0 -
Oh sweetheart, I had a feeling we were heading in this sort of direction. I am so sorry you went through such a painful time. And I understand that it feels cruel and unjust and just utterly painful. And I get that you're trying to make sense out it. All I can tell you is that He knows.
Matthew 10:29-31 says this about His love for you-
29)Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care.
30)And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31)So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
It means that there is not a creature on this earth whose pain He does not feel-yours and that of your sweet baby as well. All I can do is point you back to Him. He is real and He is waiting for you.
His love for you is infinite, in spite of all the crap that happens in this really broken world. He is the pillar that we can anchor ourselves to, no matter the storm that comes.
Faith is something that reaches out beyond our understanding-And when we reach for Him with everything in us, He meets us wherever we are at.
I an tell you too that there is stuff that has happened in my life that has been ugly and just doesn't make sense. But God has kept His promise to me "All things work together for the good of those who love Him".
And I have seen good come from things where that just shouldn't be possible. It's only because of Him.
I wish I could hug you with the biggest hug right now-I really do.3 -
Romans 8:28 is the scripture that you need to cling to. This song should give you a real understanding that this life is hard but that God works all things together for good. All things means the good and the bad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyUPz6_TciY 2 -
Well, to me, what he did was unforgivable.
And if he had a human form then I'd probably punch him in the face.
If he wanted my faith and belief then he's certainly gone the wrong way about it.
But apparently, according to my midwives and drs.. it was just "one of those really unfortunate things"
And that's easier to cope with, I have no one to blame. If He exists then he is fully responsible for what happened. And I don't know how he can do something like that yet apparently "love" me.
I think you understand why I have so many questions now lol!
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Well, to me, what he did was unforgivable.
And if he had a human form then I'd probably punch him in the face.
If he wanted my faith and belief then he's certainly gone the wrong way about it.
But apparently, according to my midwives and drs.. it was just "one of those really unfortunate things"
And that's easier to cope with, I have no one to blame. If He exists then he is fully responsible for what happened. And I don't know how he can do something like that yet apparently "love" me.
I think you understand why I have so many questions now lol!
It's natural to feel the way that you do-I wouldn't expect you to feel differently than how you do.
I've been pretty angry with Him a few times myself. In fact, if I were you-I'd tell him about it. He'll hear you.
All of that doesn't mean my understanding of Him was right though. Our understanding is pretty small compared to His. So if you want understanding, ask Him for it. And keep asking until He hears you.
Your questions are good, and really deep. And I'm grateful to be here to help answer them no matter how difficult they are-and I wish I could give you an answer that you would just love to hear. But I won't to lie to you. How would that help?
He is the God of all hope. That's what He offers you. In spite of the yuck-we can still find hope in Him.
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Well, to me, what he did was unforgivable.
And if he had a human form then I'd probably punch him in the face.
If he wanted my faith and belief then he's certainly gone the wrong way about it.
But apparently, according to my midwives and drs.. it was just "one of those really unfortunate things"
And that's easier to cope with, I have no one to blame. If He exists then he is fully responsible for what happened. And I don't know how he can do something like that yet apparently "love" me.
I think you understand why I have so many questions now lol!
I think that one of your problems is a fundamental misunderstanding of your relationship with God. He is not waiting and pleading with you to believe. The God of the universe is giving you the opportunity to believe. Faith in God is not some additive to one's life but the entirety of a true believer's life. God demands nothing less. The good news is that in return He gives us the ability to be called children of God. It literally makes a dead person live. I also think you misunderstand what God promises. Scripture is full of verses about suffering in this life. Nothing in the Bible says that believing will make your life easier. What it promises is that your suffering will have purpose. Your sweet child is in heaven and it is entirely possible that God permitted you to go through that situation in order to have you turn to Him. When things are going easy, we often times don't rely on God, but when a believer goes through suffering, he knows that God is perfectly good, and knows that He is working all things together for good. If you don't think that God understand pain just remember that He sent His Son to die on a cross for you. Jesus knows suffering better than anyone who has ever lived. Yet that suffering had a massive purpose. To save you.
The best analogy that I've heard is imagine a surgeon working on a toddler. The toddler looks at the physican and thinks that the man is hurting him for no reason. The toddler thinks that the cutting is evil and unnecessary. The toddler does not have the perspective or ability to understand that the doctor is saving his life. God is not the originator of your pain and takes no pleasure in your suffering but he knows so much more than you do and is trying to save your life.
I'd love to talk with your about this if your want.7 -
Bex953172, I need to apologize in advance because I am really busy today through Thursday and I won't be around much to check in. I don't want to just abandon the conversation without asking you 2 questions in return though.
I am a real person, with real problems. I am not particularly strong, or healthy, or exceedingly smart, or of any particularly great value to society. I am a pretty normal person. I have endured loss, pain, sadness, heartache-years of heartache. I have come out of those things with great joy, with deeper faith and with a heart that most of the time(because I am not even close to perfect) says "Yes Lord, whatever You ask". This is not just my story, but the story of countless other believers in Jesus both now and throughout history.
Because of this, my first question is "How"?
Tragedy and heartache strikes all of mankind, not a single person escapes it. None of us are immune. So my question to you would be, how is it that some people come out of tragedy broken and scared for life while others come out of it and are strengthened? How is it that people can have the thing most precious to them in all the world, ripped from their grip yet still find complete peace and joy? How can anyone still have faith in God when He allows bad things to happen? How does God take something ugly and horrific and turn it into something beautiful? How does He heal a wounded heart? How does He transform a life?
You bravely entered into this conversation asking questions.
So my second question to you is "Why"?
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Wow. I have read this thread from beginning to end, and I have found it mesmerizing.
First, I would like to say to blushenvy, you have done a beautiful job trying to explain questions that don't have easy, clear answers. It's obvious that God is working in your life and transforming you, through the good and the bad. Others have given beautiful responses, too.
Second, I would like to say to Bex953172 that I'm so very, very sorry that you lost your child. I can't imagine the pain you've been through. Reading your questions and comments, I see so much of myself in you, from years ago when I, too, questioned God's existence, and how He could allow bad things to happen to good people. Over a period of 20 years, I watched not one, but both of my parents suffer through the horrible disease of Alzheimer's. I watched my mother slowly lose her memory and function, I watched my father watch my mother decline and saw how hard that was for him, and then I watched my father slowly decline with the disease. I'm not trying to "compete" with your suffering, I'm just saying I can relate.
I was very angry with God and ultimately lost my faith, which wasn't very strong to begin with from growing up in a religion that basically just told you what to believe. I floundered in life, I was depressed, and felt like I was just going through the motions. But somewhere deep in my heart, a tiny hope remained that maybe God would show Himself to me and allow me to rebuild my faith. My husband and I started going to church, a church where they welcomed people from all walks of life, people who had questions about God and their faith, and the church worked hard to help people work through those questions. I think my biggest struggle with believing is that I thought I had to have all of my questions answered if I was going to believe, but I discovered that God is bigger and more powerful than I can imagine, and there aren't always easy or obvious answers. I tried walking the path of a Christian along with others, even though I felt like a fraud. But I kept asking God to reveal Himself to me. Eventually I saw what God was doing in other people's lives, and felt God working in my own life, and I decided to take the leap of faith to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Sometimes I still struggle with my faith, but God says all you need is faith the size of a mustard seed, so I have hung on, and God has done amazing things in my life.
I truly understand your anger with God and why it seems so cruel that He allowed your baby to die. I don't have any perfect words to explain this, but I will say this. In order to allow humans to truly have faith in God, He had to give them free choice, free choice as to whether believe in Him or not, free choice as to whether to follow Him or to lead a life away from. Giving free choice to the world allowed room for people to sin and to do bad things, and this brought much suffering into the world. I can't say why you've been through your ordeal, but I do know that free choice is necessary to allow humans the freedom to follow God or not. Accepting God doesn't give you a life free from loss and pain, but it allows God to be there with you, guiding you through it, and perhaps you'll be a stronger, kinder, and more compassionate person because of your suffering.
Sorry to make this so long, but I just want to give you a few words of advice. First, pray to God. Tell Him how angry you are, scream at Him, be honest about how you feel. He can take it. He wants an honest relationship with you. Then ask Him to lead you and to show Himself to you. Second, I encourage you to read an Application Bible. It has footnotes at the bottom that help explain some of the confusing parts of the Bible and helps you to apply it to your everyday life. Third, consider reading a book called "Letters from a Skeptic" by Greg Boyd. The book examines a lot of the questions I asked and that you are now asking. It's a little wordy at times, but it truly made a difference in my faith journey, especially the last few chapters. It took me almost a decade to work out my issues. It probably won't be easy, or quick, but I can tell you from the bottom of my heart that accepting God is WORTH IT.
I hope you can relate at least a little bit to my testimony and that it might help you a bit. Big hugs to you!5 -
Bex953172, I need to apologize in advance because I am really busy today through Thursday and I won't be around much to check in. I don't want to just abandon the conversation without asking you 2 questions in return though.
I am a real person, with real problems. I am not particularly strong, or healthy, or exceedingly smart, or of any particularly great value to society. I am a pretty normal person. I have endured loss, pain, sadness, heartache-years of heartache. I have come out of those things with great joy, with deeper faith and with a heart that most of the time(because I am not even close to perfect) says "Yes Lord, whatever You ask". This is not just my story, but the story of countless other believers in Jesus both now and throughout history.
Because of this, my first question is "How"?
Tragedy and heartache strikes all of mankind, not a single person escapes it. None of us are immune. So my question to you would be, how is it that some people come out of tragedy broken and scared for life while others come out of it and are strengthened? How is it that people can have the thing most precious to them in all the world, ripped from their grip yet still find complete peace and joy? How can anyone still have faith in God when He allows bad things to happen? How does God take something ugly and horrific and turn it into something beautiful? How does He heal a wounded heart? How does He transform a life?
okay so, I guess people are all different, our thought processes are different and that means the way we deal with things are different. Regardless of whether you are a believer or not.
I don't know how one can still have faith in god after a bad thing, as a non believer I don't know what the answer to that is.
Can you give an example of something being ugly and horrific and him turning it beautiful?
I don't think he does heal a wounded heart as such, maybe someone turning to God could change their life but have they not ultimately made that choice to look?
Does God fall onto people's laps? (Not literally obviously lol)
Aren't humans on their own capable of achieving such feats without the help of God, are we really that vulnerable?
(On a different topic can God stop my 3yo repeating mummmy 2000 times a day
)
You bravely entered into this conversation asking questions.
So my second question to you is "Why"?
Do you mean why I asked these questions?
I saw how you all believe that god could help you on this journey of your weight loss and I wondered how this could be, and it got me thinking about it all tbh.
We can achieve anything as human beings and not with a higher being, can't we?
When did we lose faith in ourselves?
But I waited a while because the first time I commented I got accused of being offensive and the last thing I want to do is offend anyone.
I respect all your opinions and if you believe in God that's not a problem to me, people
Believe in all sorts don't they really.
It's been rather refreshing reading about it all.
Do you believe in Satan if you believe in God?
Don't worry about late replies
I'm full of a cold anyway and got two poorly kids, so not been on much myself!
P.S I bolded your questions and italics my answers to make for easier reading lol4 -
I'm in! Another good resource is the Daniel Plan by Rick Warren. I haven't finished made o crave yet but so far its really good!-1
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Hi Bex, I hope you don't mind if I take a stab at the first of your questions. I have known people who have gone through tragedies that you wouldn't believe and have come out stronger in their faith than ever. I've also seen people who claim to be believers and who lost their faith over a very small trifling matter. The fundamental difference between the two groups is who either trusts. The first group makes a decision to trust God and to believe His word that he will work all things together for good. Their heart is broken (Jesus wept over death and suffering) but they believe that God knows more than they do and they have faith that He will see them through the difficult times (which He is faithful to do). Their heart breaks for the pain and for their loss, but they fundamentally trust a good and all loving God. The other group sees themselves as victims and question how good God is. Rather than believing that God knows more than they do and that his sovereign choice will always be for good, they put themselves in God's place by assigning moral judgments. They trust themselves over God and are let down.
Faith isn't simply believing that God exists. Faith in God is a belief that he is working in us and knows what's best for us. The Christian Life is not about the easy life, but it is a purpose filled life that will culminate in an eternity with God. What many Christians don't realize is that our salvation is just the first step. The Christian Life is about being sanctified. It means that while we are on this earth l, God changes us and makes us more Christ-like. What is one thing that Christ did and experienced more than any other person in the history of the universe? He suffered. He suffered a disconnect from the Father, a pain that is beyond our comprehension. Have faith that He understands your pain.
God bless you and I really hope that you find peace. He is waiting for you. Of that you should be assured.2 -
PLEASE ADD ME! I can always use encouragement (and maybe a place to whine occasionally?) - and hope to encourage others when possible.
I have enjoyed reading the wonderful testimonies here so much!! I had no idea I'd click into such a beautiful testimony journey here. blushenvy - I am blessed by your witness to bex in the UK. Bex, I pray God touches you ~just that little bit~ that you need to keep seeking and asking the questions. mdav - also awesome words!
Let us uplift and support each other in our journey to "clean up the temple". May God continue to transform us as we seek to serve Him, in whatever capacity He's called us.
God bless us, every one!
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Wow. I have read this thread from beginning to end, and I have found it mesmerizing.
First, I would like to say to blushenvy, you have done a beautiful job trying to explain questions that don't have easy, clear answers. It's obvious that God is working in your life and transforming you, through the good and the bad. Others have given beautiful responses, too.
Second, I would like to say to Bex953172 that I'm so very, very sorry that you lost your child. I can't imagine the pain you've been through. Reading your questions and comments, I see so much of myself in you, from years ago when I, too, questioned God's existence, and how He could allow bad things to happen to good people. Over a period of 20 years, I watched not one, but both of my parents suffer through the horrible disease of Alzheimer's. I watched my mother slowly lose her memory and function, I watched my father watch my mother decline and saw how hard that was for him, and then I watched my father slowly decline with the disease. I'm not trying to "compete" with your suffering, I'm just saying I can relate.
I was very angry with God and ultimately lost my faith, which wasn't very strong to begin with from growing up in a religion that basically just told you what to believe. I floundered in life, I was depressed, and felt like I was just going through the motions. But somewhere deep in my heart, a tiny hope remained that maybe God would show Himself to me and allow me to rebuild my faith. My husband and I started going to church, a church where they welcomed people from all walks of life, people who had questions about God and their faith, and the church worked hard to help people work through those questions. I think my biggest struggle with believing is that I thought I had to have all of my questions answered if I was going to believe, but I discovered that God is bigger and more powerful than I can imagine, and there aren't always easy or obvious answers. I tried walking the path of a Christian along with others, even though I felt like a fraud. But I kept asking God to reveal Himself to me. Eventually I saw what God was doing in other people's lives, and felt God working in my own life, and I decided to take the leap of faith to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Sometimes I still struggle with my faith, but God says all you need is faith the size of a mustard seed, so I have hung on, and God has done amazing things in my life.
I truly understand your anger with God and why it seems so cruel that He allowed your baby to die. I don't have any perfect words to explain this, but I will say this. In order to allow humans to truly have faith in God, He had to give them free choice, free choice as to whether believe in Him or not, free choice as to whether to follow Him or to lead a life away from. Giving free choice to the world allowed room for people to sin and to do bad things, and this brought much suffering into the world. I can't say why you've been through your ordeal, but I do know that free choice is necessary to allow humans the freedom to follow God or not. Accepting God doesn't give you a life free from loss and pain, but it allows God to be there with you, guiding you through it, and perhaps you'll be a stronger, kinder, and more compassionate person because of your suffering.
Sorry to make this so long, but I just want to give you a few words of advice. First, pray to God. Tell Him how angry you are, scream at Him, be honest about how you feel. He can take it. He wants an honest relationship with you. Then ask Him to lead you and to show Himself to you. Second, I encourage you to read an Application Bible. It has footnotes at the bottom that help explain some of the confusing parts of the Bible and helps you to apply it to your everyday life. Third, consider reading a book called "Letters from a Skeptic" by Greg Boyd. The book examines a lot of the questions I asked and that you are now asking. It's a little wordy at times, but it truly made a difference in my faith journey, especially the last few chapters. It took me almost a decade to work out my issues. It probably won't be easy, or quick, but I can tell you from the bottom of my heart that accepting God is WORTH IT.
I hope you can relate at least a little bit to my testimony and that it might help you a bit. Big hugs to you!
Wow I nearly missed this post!
Of course your not trying to compete, I know awful things happen to others and it broke my heart to hear about your parents.
I'm so so sorry.
I'm starting to understand a lot more about it.
You've all helped a lot it's been very insightful.
Still unsure on how I feel about it all.
Just had a random thought, who here thinks God is trying to reach out to me? Hence my questions?3 -
Just had a random thought, who here thinks God is trying to reach out to me? Hence my questions? [/quote]
I DO! I DO! I DO! I absolutely think this is true.
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@Bex953172, I def think He is working on your hardened heart (don't mean this in a bad way). Please don't forget, we were all unbelievers before accepting Christ as our Savior also. We all had the same questions you had, and we were lucky enough to have them answered. Once you realize (may take a day, weeks, months, sometimes some people never do) what Christ has done for you and the love that He has that no one else can provide, it will be an overwhelming moment and you can't help but give your life to Him. The changes he has made in my life are for the better and are always to my benefit/to make me a better person and be more like Him. He is not a God to MAKE us change, He points out the flaws (in a loving way) and makes us want to change. It's all about free will with Him, He stays by our side waiting until we are ready to make the change. Give it a try, I promise you WONT be disappointed. Not to say you will not have another bad thing in life happen, but it makes those bad times a bit easier to deal with because He is by your side.
P.S.: this is my first post ever on MFP, I love what blushenvy has started and could help but to put in my 2 cents3 -
Wow. I have read this thread from beginning to end, and I have found it mesmerizing.
First, I would like to say to blushenvy, you have done a beautiful job trying to explain questions that don't have easy, clear answers. It's obvious that God is working in your life and transforming you, through the good and the bad. Others have given beautiful responses, too.
Second, I would like to say to Bex953172 that I'm so very, very sorry that you lost your child. I can't imagine the pain you've been through. Reading your questions and comments, I see so much of myself in you, from years ago when I, too, questioned God's existence, and how He could allow bad things to happen to good people. Over a period of 20 years, I watched not one, but both of my parents suffer through the horrible disease of Alzheimer's. I watched my mother slowly lose her memory and function, I watched my father watch my mother decline and saw how hard that was for him, and then I watched my father slowly decline with the disease. I'm not trying to "compete" with your suffering, I'm just saying I can relate.
I was very angry with God and ultimately lost my faith, which wasn't very strong to begin with from growing up in a religion that basically just told you what to believe. I floundered in life, I was depressed, and felt like I was just going through the motions. But somewhere deep in my heart, a tiny hope remained that maybe God would show Himself to me and allow me to rebuild my faith. My husband and I started going to church, a church where they welcomed people from all walks of life, people who had questions about God and their faith, and the church worked hard to help people work through those questions. I think my biggest struggle with believing is that I thought I had to have all of my questions answered if I was going to believe, but I discovered that God is bigger and more powerful than I can imagine, and there aren't always easy or obvious answers. I tried walking the path of a Christian along with others, even though I felt like a fraud. But I kept asking God to reveal Himself to me. Eventually I saw what God was doing in other people's lives, and felt God working in my own life, and I decided to take the leap of faith to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Sometimes I still struggle with my faith, but God says all you need is faith the size of a mustard seed, so I have hung on, and God has done amazing things in my life.
I truly understand your anger with God and why it seems so cruel that He allowed your baby to die. I don't have any perfect words to explain this, but I will say this. In order to allow humans to truly have faith in God, He had to give them free choice, free choice as to whether believe in Him or not, free choice as to whether to follow Him or to lead a life away from. Giving free choice to the world allowed room for people to sin and to do bad things, and this brought much suffering into the world. I can't say why you've been through your ordeal, but I do know that free choice is necessary to allow humans the freedom to follow God or not. Accepting God doesn't give you a life free from loss and pain, but it allows God to be there with you, guiding you through it, and perhaps you'll be a stronger, kinder, and more compassionate person because of your suffering.
Sorry to make this so long, but I just want to give you a few words of advice. First, pray to God. Tell Him how angry you are, scream at Him, be honest about how you feel. He can take it. He wants an honest relationship with you. Then ask Him to lead you and to show Himself to you. Second, I encourage you to read an Application Bible. It has footnotes at the bottom that help explain some of the confusing parts of the Bible and helps you to apply it to your everyday life. Third, consider reading a book called "Letters from a Skeptic" by Greg Boyd. The book examines a lot of the questions I asked and that you are now asking. It's a little wordy at times, but it truly made a difference in my faith journey, especially the last few chapters. It took me almost a decade to work out my issues. It probably won't be easy, or quick, but I can tell you from the bottom of my heart that accepting God is WORTH IT.
I hope you can relate at least a little bit to my testimony and that it might help you a bit. Big hugs to you!
Wow I nearly missed this post!
Of course your not trying to compete, I know awful things happen to others and it broke my heart to hear about your parents.
I'm so so sorry.
I'm starting to understand a lot more about it.
You've all helped a lot it's been very insightful.
Still unsure on how I feel about it all.
Just had a random thought, who here thinks God is trying to reach out to me? Hence my questions?
I do. You have been so genuine in your questions. You have been heartfelt. You've been receptive. You've been specific and open minded. I truly do think God is reaching out to you. No matter what, please know that I have specifically prayed for you. I wish you all the best.
Hugs !
1 -
Steph38878 wrote: »Wow. I have read this thread from beginning to end, and I have found it mesmerizing.
First, I would like to say to blushenvy, you have done a beautiful job trying to explain questions that don't have easy, clear answers. It's obvious that God is working in your life and transforming you, through the good and the bad. Others have given beautiful responses, too.
Second, I would like to say to Bex953172 that I'm so very, very sorry that you lost your child. I can't imagine the pain you've been through. Reading your questions and comments, I see so much of myself in you, from years ago when I, too, questioned God's existence, and how He could allow bad things to happen to good people. Over a period of 20 years, I watched not one, but both of my parents suffer through the horrible disease of Alzheimer's. I watched my mother slowly lose her memory and function, I watched my father watch my mother decline and saw how hard that was for him, and then I watched my father slowly decline with the disease. I'm not trying to "compete" with your suffering, I'm just saying I can relate.
I was very angry with God and ultimately lost my faith, which wasn't very strong to begin with from growing up in a religion that basically just told you what to believe. I floundered in life, I was depressed, and felt like I was just going through the motions. But somewhere deep in my heart, a tiny hope remained that maybe God would show Himself to me and allow me to rebuild my faith. My husband and I started going to church, a church where they welcomed people from all walks of life, people who had questions about God and their faith, and the church worked hard to help people work through those questions. I think my biggest struggle with believing is that I thought I had to have all of my questions answered if I was going to believe, but I discovered that God is bigger and more powerful than I can imagine, and there aren't always easy or obvious answers. I tried walking the path of a Christian along with others, even though I felt like a fraud. But I kept asking God to reveal Himself to me. Eventually I saw what God was doing in other people's lives, and felt God working in my own life, and I decided to take the leap of faith to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Sometimes I still struggle with my faith, but God says all you need is faith the size of a mustard seed, so I have hung on, and God has done amazing things in my life.
I truly understand your anger with God and why it seems so cruel that He allowed your baby to die. I don't have any perfect words to explain this, but I will say this. In order to allow humans to truly have faith in God, He had to give them free choice, free choice as to whether believe in Him or not, free choice as to whether to follow Him or to lead a life away from. Giving free choice to the world allowed room for people to sin and to do bad things, and this brought much suffering into the world. I can't say why you've been through your ordeal, but I do know that free choice is necessary to allow humans the freedom to follow God or not. Accepting God doesn't give you a life free from loss and pain, but it allows God to be there with you, guiding you through it, and perhaps you'll be a stronger, kinder, and more compassionate person because of your suffering.
Sorry to make this so long, but I just want to give you a few words of advice. First, pray to God. Tell Him how angry you are, scream at Him, be honest about how you feel. He can take it. He wants an honest relationship with you. Then ask Him to lead you and to show Himself to you. Second, I encourage you to read an Application Bible. It has footnotes at the bottom that help explain some of the confusing parts of the Bible and helps you to apply it to your everyday life. Third, consider reading a book called "Letters from a Skeptic" by Greg Boyd. The book examines a lot of the questions I asked and that you are now asking. It's a little wordy at times, but it truly made a difference in my faith journey, especially the last few chapters. It took me almost a decade to work out my issues. It probably won't be easy, or quick, but I can tell you from the bottom of my heart that accepting God is WORTH IT.
I hope you can relate at least a little bit to my testimony and that it might help you a bit. Big hugs to you!
Wow I nearly missed this post!
Of course your not trying to compete, I know awful things happen to others and it broke my heart to hear about your parents.
I'm so so sorry.
I'm starting to understand a lot more about it.
You've all helped a lot it's been very insightful.
Still unsure on how I feel about it all.
Just had a random thought, who here thinks God is trying to reach out to me? Hence my questions?
I do. You have been so genuine in your questions. You have been heartfelt. You've been receptive. You've been specific and open minded. I truly do think God is reaching out to you. No matter what, please know that I have specifically prayed for you. I wish you all the best.
Hugs !
Awh have you really, that's so sweet!2 -
Just had a random thought, who here thinks God is trying to reach out to me? Hence my questions?
Are your spidey senses tingling?
In other words, do you feel a still, small voice whispering in your heart?
As I've read this thread, I've had a chill running down my spine and tears in my eyes, both for your own broken heart, and for the beauty of the testimonies you have received. A nonbeliever would dismiss it as just being overemotional or imagining things. A believer would say it is the work of the Holy Spirit. (For some context, I'm the kind of person who scoffed at the love story in Titanic, so that gives some indication of how emotional I am, ha ha).
Regardless, you have probably had hundreds of people praying for you and your sweet little baby, a tiny, innocent lamb now being cradled in the arms of the Good Shepherd, we believe.5 -
French_Peasant wrote: »Just had a random thought, who here thinks God is trying to reach out to me? Hence my questions?
Are your spidey senses tingling?
In other words, do you feel a still, small voice whispering in your heart?
As I've read this thread, I've had a chill running down my spine and tears in my eyes, both for your own broken heart, and for the beauty of the testimonies you have received. A nonbeliever would dismiss it as just being overemotional or imagining things. A believer would say it is the work of the Holy Spirit. (For some context, I'm the kind of person who scoffed at the love story in Titanic, so that gives some indication of how emotional I am, ha ha).
Regardless, you have probably had hundreds of people praying for you and your sweet little baby, a tiny, innocent lamb now being cradled in the arms of the Good Shepherd, we believe.
I feel pretty torn.
I don't know what I feel tbh.
What if that's just my inner voice?
Or some very deep sort of mindfulness?
How do you even communicate anyway?
Out loud? In your head?
I always have to be careful with these things as I'm pretty vulnerable mentally, and can be convinced of almost anything.
Not that any of you are trying to lure me into anything but I have to be 100% sure.
I just keep thinking what if.
You all truly believe and you're all adults so it's not like santa and there must be something in it.
I even did something called the alpha course in college after the day was over, it was just a small group of people of different views going over the bible and getting different views on it. That and me and my friend were cooking the meals for everyone afterwards lol
It was a catholic college so can't exactly remember what we were going over.
Apart from Noah apparently being an alcoholic?
That always stuck with me for some reason because i found it rather surprising lol!
I don't know, if I decided to try, where would I begin?4
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