struggling with my faith

hi kryzell You have to understand that life is not easy, it takes alot of work. You must divert your thoughts instead of looking at your problems just ask and look for the strength to continue on . Do not easily get tired or burned out look for god and ask him to help you to renew yourself and be filled with strength to fulfill your life's purpose. Remember, each persons life is meaningful in its own way. Your presence may have given many people especially your family the opportunity to love a beautiful individual like you ... Whatever you are going tru is not ment to hurt you but instead to test your love and faitfullness to your family and god himself ... No matter how much pain you are going tru, remember to think of him and thank him for the rest beautiful things given to you .. especially your family .. Sometimes things aren’t always as they seem, god will hold your hands and guide you tru just be very observant of any knock on your door cheers

First of all let me say that you are very lucky to have parents who have lovingly reintroduced you to God…you know in most cases, children who turn atheists are almost disowned by God loving parents. Now regarding God…its my personal belief that God is something which gets farther and farther away the more you want to grasp Him and pester Him for something…its when you just pray, just be with Him, just feel Him without asking for anything in return, that He comes to you. This is not to say that its bad to ask anything from God, but don’t pray only to expect something in return. Connecting to God should be a 24x7x365 celebration of life itself, talking to Him should be like talking to you own shadow…no need for any special prayers or any special place of worship. But then you say that you have already come to accept that not everything is meant for everybody…so? You’ve got the most important answer to life’s most vital problem…why are you still sad? Maybe you have better things in store for you…He is always planning you know, and planning for all of us…He deserts nobody. Even if you don’t get what you are wanting, praying selflessly will bring you closer to Him and that peace is something more to be treasured than any material or personal gain. Whatever you do, dont give up praying and talking.

That is very sad to hear. kinds remind me of my friend telling me a similar story. you know being a christian was never easy, there's always a chance that God is always giving a test on your faith. God never punished every one but he can test you that depends on if you can take it. but one thing i remember, there's no test coming from God, that you can't handle or achieve..he has plans for you, so get ready.

Hi kryzell. You said your lifestyle had influenced you which made you stop believing in God. Sometimes we must realize that pain and sufferings don't mean that God has forsaken us but because we have done something bad in the past that separate us from His grace. Always remember that God is always watching how we live our lives. If we want to know Him, we must seek his will, and ask Him to enable us to follow and live the life he wanted. Atheist condemn God because they can't get happiness and prosperity in a single shot. "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak". They contest that if there is a God then none of us should suffer and be happy and prosperous all the time. God is fair and knows what is better for us. If you pray for something, we must be patient. God's answer could be Yes, No, Not yet, or Here is something better! Maybe it's time we review ourselves. Are we doing what is right according to God? Have we left our bad habits in the past? God rewards us according what is in our heart, our intentions. There are believers who just pray to get what they wanted. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God (submitting our lives to his will) and all of these thigs shall be added unto you." How can you find God? - What you do unto others, you do unto Him. This means instead of waiting for you prayers to be answered, concentrate on doing good and charity to your family, friends, enemy and those who are in need. "Faith without works is useless"

Hey there kryzell. i think you have been through a lot of challenges lately and i'm glad that you're somehow scared that there is a real and TRUE God. God never wants to hurt us but there could be times that his ways may be hard for us to accept but don't be scared. Because God is not angry with us. You just have to open your heart again and accept Him. Pray for the things you want and need and i'm sure that He'll help you make it. God bless You. have a nice day!Ü

Oh Kryzell You appear to be missing a point here. I do not intend to hurt you. I believe in God, and I have yet to see him. But do I believe in God not just because I want to see Him or want Him to do some good unto me. I believe in His dvivinity because I feel I belong to Him. I may keep praying and nothing may materialise. If this is the way we want to feel His divine presence, then we must reorient our thinking, our style of seeking Gods. We, may, while in our blues feel that the torments we are suffering are worse than what any one else may be going through. The fact may be entirely different. Have you ever done good unto someone else? May surely have. Have you ever prayed for someone else? Well you may have. Have you ever gone to a hospital to feel the suffering of those interned there-in? May have done so sometime. Have you ever passed on your raincoat to someone who may be much more frail than you are and was suffering the on slaught of a heavy rain? You may, perhaps have. Have you ever shared the load of work of a colleague who had a child in Hospital and had huge lots of work given by his boss to be completed before the end of the day? Perhaps, yes. May I suggest that you search your inner self. See if you can contribute to make someone else's life a trifle better. Even animals do for themselves - feed themselves, groom themselves and look after their own safety & security. But as humans, can we be of even tiny bit service unto others. If we can, then we may be able to feel the Gods within. Entire environment will begin to appear Godly. Your faith shall get resuurected in the divinity of Gods. What is even more important, you will begin to feel much better, within, aal the time. And then good will automatically begin to happen unto you. Indeed everyone who feels that s(he) is at the end of his/her tethers, may be able to begin to have better life. May be then one may not think of losing his/her faith. The connect with the supreme being will not allow that to happen.

Hello Kryzell, Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime; give a man religion and he will die praying for a fish. I don't know if this'll help, but the fact of the matter is there is no God, what you do or what you want to do is the only thing you can do for yourself, do not fall for things that tells you to wait for things to happen or do not wait for some charisma to hold your hands, cause if that were to be the case then there are so many people in world who require help but do they get any help.

God is always like that...loving, caring forgiving, its we who think that he has changed and he is not helping me anymore....just with few difficult moments we go away from him or our selfishness makes us near to him, be the same all the times, as he never changes, so must be our love to him..never changing and then see he will be always with you like a shadow of yours and you will never lose hopes and move with confidence in life ..May God bless you !!!

hi..mylotters have actually said it all.!! I would like to say that there have been similar times in my life too but i have NEVER LEFT HIS DIVINE HAND..SEEKED MORE... i simply ask u to - PRAY MORE, COMPLETE FAITH AND VISUALISE THE POSITIVE OUTCOME..!!! BELIEVE ME IT WILL HAPPEN... ut testing time wil not last long enough...

Sometimes we don't always get what we pray for but God always has something better for you.it is not always easy to wait on things or want certain things to happen.God is not punishing you.I wish you all the best and hope you are able to find what you need

I know its easy to say but difficult to do but let me tell you this, if you struggle in life with something that even if you prayed for it, it wasn't granted, you did not really understood what you are praying for, because you are ordering God. We are ought to obey, not to give commands and most of these requests are known by God even if you haven't asked Him for it, He already knows. If that sickness would crush you into tiny bits and pieces just to Glorify God, do it, accept it with all your might and with faith. But if you would be living a life that will not please God, it will only be useless. God knows what is really best for us even if we don't really and truly understand Him. His ways are not our ways. God is not a genie that if we rub Him the right way, it will be given to us. We should know that God is sovereign and Mighty in His ways. I pray that you would ask forgiveness now and read His Word to know more about Him. He loves you more than you'll ever know and He cares for you.

Forgive me, if what I am about to say comes off insentive...I often have to do a B*tch check when I write.......God is not someone who sits around all day waiting for his children to ask him for something, and then provides them what they want. God has a plan for us, a role that we play in this life, and often what we ask for does not fit in that plan. It's not until days, months, years, have gone by that we figured out why God didn't answer our prayers, and we are usually thankful by then, that he didn't. God's mind, and his way of thinking is far beyond what we think. What we assume is good for us, based on our human condition, could be bad for us. Somehow, somewhere, someplace, God will work out our difficulties, or He will give us a way for us to deal with these difficulties, and turn them around to make them a positive thing. I don't know what you prayed for, but it may be that God will answer those prayers in his time, not yours. Or it may be that whatever your problem is, you will help others thru their difficulties, by understanding what they are going thru..because you, yourself have been there. Thru our own suffering, when learn compassion towards others. God is not punishing you as you may think...God is a God of love, not revenge. If you read the many stories of the Bible, you will see how God is forgiving of those who have left him, and returned....the story of the lost sheep in particular, and the prodigal son. When I want God to answer my prayers, I too, pray desparately, however, God heard us the first time. So, I usually tell him, "You know what I need, help me thru this, and give me strength to deal with whatever you want me to deal with." I, too, get mad at God many times, and he understands that...he allows us that. It's when we stop talking to him, or stop getting angry at him, than it becomes a problem. It's when we no longer think he is worth talking to, than it becomes the problem. So, get mad at him if you like...he's listening. But don't forget him...that's the important thing. Look around the world....we have so much to be thankful for...a roof over our head, food to eat, wonderful family, when there are so many others who don't have any of these. If you can concentrate on the good things you have, you can take your mind off the things you are suffering for...and then maybe God can work in your life. As long as we are in his way, he will find it difficult to direct us where we need to be. Have faith...don't give up...God loves you....and knows you are hurting.

kryzell, don't lose your faith. HE is just trying to make you a tougher person. HE is definitely not punishing you, HE understands that someone may loose faith in HIM if things don't go their way, however no one knows what HE has plan for us. I was doubting HIS sincerity too earlier, when HE put me through an unsuccessful relationship, which gave me a child born out of wedlock. However, after knowing further details, I am just glad that HE make this fail relationship in order I don't suffer further. Be strong, pray and give your trust and faith to HIM. Don't give up, and remember, you always have HIM beside you when you really needed HIM.

What's the good in praying if your not doing anything? it reminds me that same discussion that i saw in friendster. but i guess i can be different from yours. yes, it's true that lifestyles and richly lives can change people and forget their faith. i can like that sometimes, but i never dare forget about GOD. there's no way il be Atheist just because of things i can't understand that are sad...and painful. life is not easy and also being a CHristian is not easy. didn't you expect Jesus Christ Living in a 5 star hotel when he became human??not, even crucified, right?? don't give up..keep your faith strong..

The only thing I can tell you to do is to watch Joyce Meyer. She has helped me a lot. I didn't just stumble upon her either. I was led to her. After my father passed away my television started coming on early in the morning (5:30) by itself. It usually only happened on Thursdays. The show that was on was Joyce Meyer. I decided to watch her and from then on I taped the show and now watch it online. Once I started watching it EVERY day, the television stopped coming on by itself and it had been happening for several months. You can find Joyce Meyer at www.joycemeyer.org and watch her shows on the website. I have purchased a couple of her books, taken notes, gotten a set of her CDs and one DVD set. She really makes a lot of sense and has helped me. I've been struggling with things at home right now and a recent episode gave me a wake-up call and I just stopped pestering and worrying and turned to God. Telling the Devil to get lost helps too. One day I was particularly upset about something. I was afraid how my husband was going to react to a recent discussion we had with a family member. I thought he would ream me out for some of the things I said (she was trying to get at the truth about something that happened with her husband when she was not around). I went into the bathroom and prayed. I asked for God's help, told the devil to get lost, that God is my Saviour, God will see me through, God will heal all things, the devil has no part in my life. When I left that washroom I felt so much better and my husband never said a darn thing to me about the discussion! I hope you watch and listen to Joyce and give her a real chance. She can be very entertaining at times. You can check archived episodes as well, radio and podcasts. And as an aside, a friend asked me what the significance was in Thursdays. The only thing I can think of was that growing up it was the only day my father took the car to work because he went to lunch at the Kiwanis Club, a non-profit organization he was involved in since 1958 - before I was born. Anyway, the significance of the day and the tv coming on that day told me it was my father sending me a message. I got the message. I hope you find what you are looking for. God does love you and remember you have to go through the darkness in order to come out into the light. God works through us. He doesn't punish us. He knows what is going to happen to us before it happens, before we were born. He has given us free will to make our own choices and we must make the RIGHT choices as written in the Bible. Joyce Meyer will help you decipher the scriptures. She uses examples in her own life to help you relate and find where it can relate to you. And, you need to get away from toxic relationships that drain you of your energy. I wish you all the best and will keep you in my prayers.

don't worry dude just chill.....and enjoy your life

kryzell . . what is meant to be always finds its way. Just because you pray for something doesnt mean that it will happen or that it should happen. There is a reason that whatever it is is being blocked. Are you praying with true conviction in your heart? [i] "Be careful what you wish for"[/i] is all that comes to mind right now. . God is not absent .. god is always with you . .look deep in your heart. . and in your soul . . and have faith and remember .. . [i] that everything happens for a reason[/i]

Struggling? God is everywhere in different shapes, or in different parts.

I am sure you have heard this from others, but "God works in mysterious ways." With human minds, we are unable to comprehend God's intention in things he does. There are some possibilities for your hardships though. Remember Job from the Bible? God put him through many many hardships. He did that to test his faith and in the end He made Job write a book in the Bible so that people could see the vast knowledge and power that God has. Whenever you are through with your trial time, God will show Himself to you and let you know the reasons for all these hardships. Then you will be able to grow in faith and have stronger faith in God. Another reason could be that he is punishing you like you said. God forgives everything in the end, but there are times he teaches you by punishing you. Don't worry though. God knows what you can and cannot handle. Finally, you should not doubt God's love and forgiveness. He has shown the ultimate love and forgiveness when he sent his only son to die for our sins. How would you feel if you sacrificed your only son to save a person from something terrible (i.e. hell), just to have them come back and doubt your love for them? God has given us everything we have. He has created us and looked over us all our lives. I think that shows the measures of his love. Remember the Bible verse where it says that he looks over every sparrows, but we are worth more than that? Why would he spend time making sure we are doing okay if he didn't care? Never forget God's love. Because God is love and he is the one who created love.

God is not in the punishing business. I have been saved by way of accepting Christ Jesus as the love of my life for over 7 years. It has not been a bowl of cherries but i know without a shadow of a doubt he loves me and wants nothing but his best for me. Sometime we as Christians believe nothing bad will ever happen to us and if it does we have done something to make God mad. I have children and I find myself letting them grow and make errors and mistake under my parentage so i can be there to help pick up the pieces and help them understand the lesson that was learned. God also allows us the same privilege. I will not let my child destroy him or herself and neither will God let you. Give yourself to him everyday. He loves conversation. Remember he knows more about you than you know about yourself.