I feel I'm Slipping

[Scarecrow]

I feel I'm starting to slip off into agnosticism... the more I think the more I confuse myself. And why is it most atheists come directly from Christian homes? Most people who tend to be atheist used to be Christian. Non-Christians who were never Christian tend to be more agnostic than flat out atheist.

I feel I know God exists but don't know if I believe God exists if that makes any sense. It's hard to explain. Anyway I've always been testing myself, trying to picture myself as an atheist to see what life without God is like to see if I am a Christian... since I've always been a Christian since like 8, I don't really know what its like on the other side.

Anyway... just thinking about all these things like how I believed them when I was little and they turned out to be not true, I'm starting to question myself here too. My cousin, I realised, who used to be a nice Christian girl when she was little... I remember her favorite part in this Cartoon about Jesus was when the boy called out his name. She cried and screamed to get her dad to watch Heavens Gates hells flames cause she didn't want him to go to hell... anyway, her dad kind of took her away from her mom a few years ago and now she claims to be an atheist like he is. So once saved always saved is bull IMO. And all these lies that people say... people are doing drugs cause they don't have Jesus... suicides... blah blah.. I don't think so... cause God doesn't make everything perfect once you accept Jesus.... And many people have gotten over these without coming to Jesus... Anyway despite all this I do feel sad when I see others who are not Christian and really want them to become one so they can be in heaven but I'm not sure about myself.

I'm kind of bummed I even let this get to me think like this... if I accept it then my whole way of seeing the world will change. But I don't really want too... and I can't really get myself to accept it... Just every one seems so blind and only believing this stuff cause they were born into it... I've always struggled with doubt after feeling extremely self loathing and bad a couple years, really finding what it ment to have a personal relationship with Jesus more than just "I believe in God and Jesus died for me and I'm going to heaven cause I said a prayer when I was three" listening to Skillet... but I never overcame or changed much... it was like I got stuck in the thirsting for God and never got any further cause nothing ever dropped and I finally got tired of trying to drink from an empty cup.... So I thought maybe I didnt do it right or I didn't really believe or I wasn't believing hard enough. I constantly cringe everytime my parents speak about God or whatever... not cause of the subject just cause its such spoon fed stuff and they didn't study what they're saying. They'll buy anything you feed them so it's not very surprising they'd eat up everything told to them at church or Conservative radio no matter how nonsensical it may be. And I don't see God shining out of them really anyway.

I like what I read in the bible. I dunno... I just feel mixed up. I'm not upset or anything. Just anytime I'm alone I'm either thinking or praying and I'm think about God and if I'm genuine in my faith or if I'm just lying to myself. And what about all the atheists who felt so much better after they just gave up and left Christianity behind them?

I know I should pray about this but it seems everytime I do little thoughts like to slip in like "what if you're just talking to nothing" or "its all in your head". God yes makes sense. I want to believe I just don't feel I do or know if I do all the time. And since I have such spiritual ups and downs I question it. When I'm in a "I love Jesus mood I love you so much" it tends to be because I feel good or something good happened. Or when I'm upset I question myself. Or if something makes me think from an outsiders perspective. Why do I change like the tides so much? Its all seems to be just mood swings. And why doesn't God strengthen my faith like I've asked him before?

[NekoChan_C]

you know... I truly think that most (if not all) Christians go through times like this... Especially the ones of us who were raised in the church... We kinda... what -- take it all for granted, maybe? I grew up KNOWING that God was real, KNOWING that the Bible was true, but never really FEELING like I had a relationship with Him. I questioned my salvation often and deeply...

I wasn't living my faith. I had my faith, but I wasn't living it. And I was troubled, miserable, and lost.
When someone is raised without Jesus, as a member of another religion, or an atheist/agnostic, then they generally have a life-changing moment at some point that reveals God's presence and love to them, and they give their hearts to God... but for those of us who were "saved" early, its much easier to simply go with the flow, and do our best to live a Christian life, even when we're just going through the motions.

At least, that's how it was with me... and after a while, after highschool, I didn't even try to live a Christian life anymore... I fell so far away from God that I didn't even know what would happen to me if I died. And it was scary.

I was blessed enough to get a revelation of my own. After 28 years of trying to do it on my own, I had failed so incredibly that I was literally broken. I crawled my sorry self back to God and asked Him to fix me. And He's been guiding me ever since. Now, I don't question if He's there, I just reach out to Him and talk to Him... and He comforts me.

Try listening to some music that invites worship in your soul. Spend some time not only reading the Word, but meditating on it. Google is a great help to me. I often look up things like "Lord, I need help" and "Father, I feel broken" whatever tends to fit my mood and affliction... you often come up with the thing you really needed to hear.

I'll be praying for you... The spot you are in is a tough one, but God will certainly reveal Himself to you if you keep seeking Him.

Neko

[EricTheFred]

You're passing through a place many Christians have passed before. It is hard to decide what you believe, when so much of the data you work with depends, frankly, on what you believe.

I'm an engineer, and a man with a strong working knowledge of physics, cosmology, evolution, etc. I refuse to discuss these here, but I often have to discuss them with my atheist friends, because they can't understand how I can believe all the same science as them, and still end up with a belief in a Creator designing it all.

To me, it is simple. After drowning in data and theory based upon the idea that blind chance and happenstance created the elegance of a universe where even Chaos can be computed and calculated, after looking deeply into cosmology and discovered that at the very beginning of things, the theorists have placed a 'that's just the way it is' for a starting point, and reinforced by the discovery that the best theory on how the Big Bang happened assumes a greater reality beyond it, I find I started my journey with a belief system that told me how 'blind chance and happenstance' could be nothing more that an atheist's name for God.

No, my beliefs may not be welcome in any Conservative Protestant congregation (although they are in line with many Lutheran and Roman Catholic theologians) but they made for me a starting point where other things began to make more sense.

I truly believe that we live in a world of suffering and hardship not because God forgot us or doesn't exist at all,and not because He thought it 'built character' or some other twisted reason, but because we chose it, and like a wise parent, He knows we must be allowed to make our own mistakes. He created us in his image, not as puppets but as independent minds.

If He doesn't strengthen your faith on demand, then just consider this... you aren't placing an order at a fast food counter, you are asking for something from God. Accept it if He says 'no', if He decides you need to do this for yourself. A tree may need to be staked and held upright when it is first transplanted, but it can't become strong that way. Eventually, the ropes binding it to hold it upright would kill it. Eventually, they must be taken away for the tree to grow.

[chibiphonebooth]

If He doesn't strengthen your faith on demand, then just consider this... you aren't placing an order at a fast food counter, you are asking for something from God. Accept it if He says 'no', if He decides you need to do this for yourself. A tree may need to be staked and held upright when it is first transplanted, but it can't become strong that way. Eventually, the ropes binding it to hold it upright would kill it. Eventually, they must be taken away for the tree to grow.

QFT. that's an amazing meptaphor.

[12praiseGOD]

Praying!

[Tsukuyomi]

*Praying as well* ^^

I guess you have to ask yourself what do you truly think? Not what others say, but how do you truly feel about all of it?

[Danderson]

And what about all the atheists who felt so much better after they just gave up and left Christianity behind them?

But do they really feel better? Anyone can say their alright with a smile on their face yet feel like their heart is going to explode......

Also believing in God isn't so much feeling him as it is knowing Him and the truth He speaks in His Word...Don't put ur trust in ur heart and every feeling that comes from it, Scarecrow.....Instead put ur trust in the One who gave u the ability to feel...

As believers, we'll never stop being persecuted, even if that persecution comes in the form of doubts and despair.....But the more we come before God and ask Him to fill us with His love, when we come before Him with everything we have..then our persecution will not be in vain as we will have come away stronger then before.....

U have my prayers....Keep seeking Him....He will show Himself to u....Even if it is in a Whisper......

[Prince Asbel]

I feel I'm starting to slip off into agnosticism... the more I think the more I confuse myself. And why is it most atheists come directly from Christian homes? Most people who tend to be atheist used to be Christian. Non-Christians who were never Christian tend to be more agnostic than flat out atheist.

Most atheists come from Christian homes because Christianity is the dominant religion. Plus, atheists turn away from Christian more than other religions because other religions already being opposed to God already do their job in supressing the truth of the Christian God.

I feel I know God exists but don't know if I believe God exists if that makes any sense. It's hard to explain. Anyway I've always been testing myself, trying to picture myself as an atheist to see what life without God is like to see if I am a Christian... since I've always been a Christian since like 8, I don't really know what its like on the other side.

You're struggling with doubts. That makes sense, I can understand that. But really, looking and listening to what Atheists have to say will save you trouble and struggles with doubt in the process.

Anyway... just thinking about all these things like how I believed them when I was little and they turned out to be not true, I'm starting to question myself here too. My cousin, I realised, who used to be a nice Christian girl when she was little... I remember her favorite part in this Cartoon about Jesus was when the boy called out his name. She cried and screamed to get her dad to watch Heavens Gates hells flames cause she didn't want him to go to hell... anyway, her dad kind of took her away from her mom a few years ago and now she claims to be an atheist like he is. So once saved always saved is bull IMO.

I'm really sorry for your cousin. But once saved always saved is not bull. Your sister was not saved to begin with. One bad experience with a relative does not negate the doctrine of the Bible.

And all these lies that people say... people are doing drugs cause they don't have Jesus... suicides... blah blah.. I don't think so... cause God doesn't make everything perfect once you accept Jesus.... And many people have gotten over these without coming to Jesus... Anyway despite all this I do feel sad when I see others who are not Christian and really want them to become one so they can be in heaven but I'm not sure about myself.

People do drugs with and without Jesus, that's true. And they get over them without Jesus. That's true for sins besides drug abuse. If you have any doubts for your salvation... You'd need to be more elaborate. I could talk to you about this via PM if you'd like.

I'm kind of bummed I even let this get to me think like this... if I accept it then my whole way of seeing the world will change. But I don't really want too... and I can't really get myself to accept it... Just every one seems so blind and only believing this stuff cause they were born into it... I've always struggled with doubt after feeling extremely self loathing and bad a couple years, really finding what it ment to have a personal relationship with Jesus more than just "I believe in God and Jesus died for me and I'm going to heaven cause I said a prayer when I was three" listening to Skillet... but I never overcame or changed much... it was like I got stuck in the thirsting for God and never got any further cause nothing ever dropped and I finally got tired of trying to drink from an empty cup.... So I thought maybe I didnt do it right or I didn't really believe or I wasn't believing hard enough. I constantly cringe everytime my parents speak about God or whatever... not cause of the subject just cause its such spoon fed stuff and they didn't study what they're saying. They'll buy anything you feed them so it's not very surprising they'd eat up everything told to them at church or Conservative radio no matter how nonsensical it may be. And I don't see God shining out of them really anyway.

I know what you mean. People uncritically accept all sorts of information all the time. And people also make (as Denny Kenaston said) spurious conversions fairly often. That doesn't subtract from the truth of God's word. As for the relationship with Jesus, I think you lack a more personal relationship with him because you don't feel you know a lot about him. Bible study about how Jesus works, who he died for and if he actually saved sinners when he died or just made it provisional, etc. should be the key to that problem. The more you know about Christ, the more personal a relationship you can have with him.

I like what I read in the bible. I dunno... I just feel mixed up. I'm not upset or anything. Just anytime I'm alone I'm either thinking or praying and I'm think about God and if I'm genuine in my faith or if I'm just lying to myself. And what about all the atheists who felt so much better after they just gave up and left Christianity behind them?

Atheists feel better because they, in the act of supressing the truth in unrighteousness, made the decision to steer from the cultural norm and profess their real mindset. That of course makes them feel better.

I know I should pray about this but it seems everytime I do little thoughts like to slip in like "what if you're just talking to nothing" or "its all in your head". God yes makes sense. I want to believe I just don't feel I do or know if I do all the time. And since I have such spiritual ups and downs I question it. When I'm in a "I love Jesus mood I love you so much" it tends to be because I feel good or something good happened. Or when I'm upset I question myself. Or if something makes me think from an outsiders perspective. Why do I change like the tides so much? Its all seems to be just mood swings. And why doesn't God strengthen my faith like I've asked him before?

My answer to this is this. Apologetics. Apologetics is one thing that sent me crazy for my beliefs and solidified them like no cement could. If you want answers to these questions, I can help you. I also have materials that can help that as well. Give me a PM. I want to be able to help you in this, okay? I'm sorry I didn't respond sooner. It just slipped away from me.

God bless.

[AsianBlossom]

But do they really feel better? Anyone can say their alright with a smile on their face yet feel like their heart is going to explode......

Also believing in God isn't so much feeling him as it is knowing Him and the truth He speaks in His Word...Don't put ur trust in ur heart and every feeling that comes from it, Scarecrow.....Instead put ur trust in the One who gave u the ability to feel...

As believers, we'll never stop being persecuted, even if that persecution comes in the form of doubts and despair.....But the more we come before God and ask Him to fill us with His love, when we come before Him with everything we have..then our persecution will not be in vain as we will have come away stronger then before.....

U have my prayers....Keep seeking Him....He will show Himself to u....Even if it is in a Whisper......

I've gotta agree...I once heard something along the lines of this: "Trust not in what you see or do not see, or feel or do not feel, but in what you know to be true." It may be difficult to face these doubts, but perseverance and clinging to the Truth (that is, Jesus, Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Light) will help you reach the end of this trial victorious. I know it can be hard to trust in Someone you perhaps haven't seen, but God will always be there for you regardless.

It's like that one joke where the professor tried to prove God didn't exist by saying that no one has seen, smelled, or tasted God so He therefore couldn't exist. Then one of his students, asking to speak, then asked if anyone had seen, smelled or tasted the professor's brain]are[/i] human after all--but if we are sincerely sorry and want to do better, God will forgive us because He loves us and knows we want to try again.

Interestingly enough, there was a true story about a Catholic priest who was living for the world and himself, and not God. One day, he was in a terrible car accident and was nearly decapitated. As he was laying in a hospital bed, he heard Jesus' voice saying that because he was a priest for his own gain, his judgment was hell (and this was despite the fact that he was a priest). But Jesus's mother Mary interceded for the priest, asking Jesus to give him another chance. Jesus agreed; the priest recovered from his injuries and began fixing his life to be the priest that God wanted him to be.

Anyways, I'll be praying for you. Don't lose hope.

[hxckid]

WE all come to times in life of struggle and questioning including me. infact i just got out of it. i realized that God is not an empty cup. He will give you water when you really want it. I know that he exists simply because of what he does for me.

Until resently i dont think i even had a relationship at all. when i prayed it was like talking to the back of my head. but i finnally realized its not about saying sorry its about being sorry. he will never leave you no matter how far you could ever stray and no matter how many times you will fall. I know this because i have fallen over the same thing to many times to count and he never left me. it was always me trying to leave him.

I will keep you in my prayrs all i ask is that you just get on your knees and talk to him as he is there in your room, not as if he is some magical being. He is your Father and he loves you.

[Chrysolite]

Here's a thought that came to me reading your dilemma. God created us as individuals. No one disputes this fact. If He wanted us all to be exactly the same and follow Him like robots, He would have made a bunch of robots. But because He wants children and not mindless automatons, He decided to give us the choice to follow Him or not, which doesn't exemplify us from the consequences of abandoning Him, but let's stay on topic. Now, because He made us as individuals, He treats us as individuals. He deals with each of us differently according to the purpose He's designed for us. For instance, a person who's meant to be a missionary and go around the world to preach the gospel to multitudes might abstain from things most of us love, like tv. To them it might be a waste of time, even damaging to their soul, yet it's easy to look at someone who says "I don't watch TV" and think "What a snob!" On the other hand, maybe someone else has been designed to reach smaller groups on a personal level, like teengae kids in a youth group, or even just one person they meet by chance on the street. They may only be able to connect with that person on the level of common interest, personal understanding, the ability to say, "Oh! I've seen that show! That's an anime, right? I don't like how some of the women dress, but I love the story and how it's so funny!" Inversely our missionary might look at our casual yet strong Christian and say "I can't believe they watch stuff like that and think they're still saved!" Of course believers need to set limits on what they allow into their hearts as Jesus repeatedly warned, but Paul's letters don't talk about convictions for nothing! God has created each of us for a unique purpose and will give us gifts, interests and convictions that compliment it.

Now, having overly established my thinking on God's view of us as individuals, I want to remind you of the Devil's. He's not nearly as intelligent as God, but he's not stupid. He knows that we each have different strengths and weaknesses and that our strengths and weaknesses usually tie together somehow. The aforementioned casual Christian who likes anime may have a weakness for the spiritually damaging content in some anime, a weakness that Satan recognizes as something he can exploit. Then, if they're not spiritually strong, he may tempt them to slowly push back their standards little by little until nudity and sex doesn't even bother them anymore. Once he's pushed them far enough from God it's not hard for him to keep them away.

One thing I'm sure of: It's never good for your faith to be purely based on go-with-the-flow Christian teaching. Such faith is described in Jesus's parable as the seed that fell on shallow soil. It is weak, ignorant, and impersonal. It dies easily. Being taught Bible stories and Christian ethics by your parents is undoubtedly a good thing! But at some point you need to find God on your own terms or he won't be able to work with you as the individual He wants you to be, and He doesn't want you to be an ignorant church-trend follower. My advice to you is this: don't lose faith just because you're having a hard time understanding God, don't buy into everything you're told just because it comes from the church, and don't let the devil twist something against you that God meant for good! You're desire to know the undiluted truth is a good thing! Pursue it! The bible says in Hosea 4:6 "my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge." It also says in Ephesians 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."

God wants you to have both knowledge and faith, balanced in wisdom. Take it from me, balance is hard to manitain. But it keeps you sharp, true, and strong, which is what keeps the Devil's grip off of you. Don't just pray for faith. Pray for salvation. Pray for wisdom, and have faith that God will give it to you!

May He bless you and keep you!

--Chrysolite

[Lochaber Axe]

You are having these problems because you are not a sheep. You KNOW that there is more out there in Christ, but all you see is as you say, "an empty cup". This is a time of transition for you where your faith can explode, or you can allow Satan to use your own thoughts and desires to lead you into what is an illogical and pessimistic way of thinking and believing.

Atheism and Agnosticism is a lie. It is a limiting and oppressive belief system that destroys what makes man special, makes him subservient to his self, and makes all ethics subjective and shallow.

However, the Church in America is made up of many levels: weak, emotional but passionless; logically strong, but passionless; logically weak or strong, but in passion for and know Christ. People who were born in the Church but never fully accepted Christ and so just go along with the flow of the service is the first level. The second are those who have accepted Christ in their minds, know without a shadow of a doubt that he is God and may not even need to go to church, but it never enters their hearts and lives. The third is born out of either the first or second, but have a difference in that they have met the rabbi of Galilee. They have felt his whispers, heard his voice, and maybe even felt his touch. They are the light and salt of the world. They are the victorious!

Do you want to be the third? Then prepare for the battle of your life. I wish I could say it would be easy, but it won't. Satan is going to throw everything at you to stop you, your flesh is going to fight you every step of the way, and God is going to temper you through trials and flame by what Satan and your flesh does. God will be close one moment, and then disappear the next... not because He hates you but so that you grow ever more stronger.

You have the choice to conquer or submit to doubt.

I am the second level, but I will not give up! I will find my Lord, serve Him, and be like Him. Nothing will be more joyous then entering into God's presence and hearing, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

You are not alone my brother. There are those here who are as thirsty as you. Talk with them in fellowship and become partners in growth. Pray and worship unceasingly... when the doubts are at their highest, and also when they are at their lowest. Read of the Word and then silence all thoughts and listen even if you hear nothing. Only you can choose to go higher than your parents, to go as high as possible, and change the world.

[ChristianKitsune]

It's like that one joke where the professor tried to prove God didn't exist by saying that no one has seen, smelled, or tasted God so He therefore couldn't exist. Then one of his students, asking to speak, then asked if anyone had seen, smelled or tasted the professor's brain; he concluded saying that by that logic, the professor didn't have a brain. XD

I've read Albert Einstein was the student in this "joke"

ANYWAAAY...

Scarecrow, you've been given a lot of great advice in this thread... so I hope my reply won't be just a repeat of it all, but if it is, well then that's probably for a reason.

I can not even fathom living without Christ. I've got a LOT of Athiest/Agnostic friends, and while they may appear happy on the outside, I can also see a lot of pain that they are trying to hide. My friends rely on drugs, booze, sex and other stuff to stay "happy." and I just can't imagine how they sleep at night without the hope that we as Christians have! How can anyone say that everything around us is just "Happenstance?"

I took geology last semester and I have a feeling that my geology professor is an athiest... he kinda drifted to making fun of Christians for believing that our world was created... and when we went on the subject of the universe and stuff, he was like "No one knows where the Universe came from, or how it came to be..." and I just had to ask him. "Is there ANYTHING that Science can say that would point to where it came from?" And he just kinda shrugged and said "Not really. There are several theories about different universes and such...but not really..."

I just kinda nodded and walked out. (Class was over) And that just kinda solidified my thoughts. Science is all about how something can't come from nothing, isn't it? (Or do I have that backwards?) Anyways...I can't imagine how something like our Universe, our Earth, the animals, the plants and finally, us. Can just HAPPEN. From the simplest creature to the most complex... we had to be crafted. We had to be made!

I leared in Geology that science says that our earth came from a bunch of gasses that was able to form our planets. But I'm still really confused by that. Where did the seeds come from that we needed for plantlife? How did something biological just come from gases? How did the creatures that we are said to all evolve from just become what they are today? How did they KNOW to grow legs? How did they know to form lungs? How can a creature just CHANGE and ADAPT like that?

I don't think they can. Not without God involved. I can't agree that God doesn't exist. And that's just from my "logical" POV. (and I can coudl go on, and on about that XD) but I won't. I'm sure there are some members here that probably think I'm an idiot and will probably disagree with me, but that's okay.

~~~

I agree with you about Christians who just blindly accept their faith. And like Chrysolite said, their faith is a very weak one...

However, I grew up in a Christian home. I accepted Christ when I was like 7 and then decided when I was 12 that I really wanted to become serious about my faith... But like you when I was 15, I had just gotten back from a Church camp and I was working on fasting for another week from media... (at my camp we can't have ANY media of ANY kind...it's kinda refreshing actually)

But during my media fast, I was constantly "attacked" with these crazy thoughts and whispers... "Are you SURE Jesus was real? Are you SURE you are Saved? Are you SURE that Jesus really died for you? That he was even who he said he was? What if he lied?"

I struggled for a few months with these thoughts... I knew deep down these were not from me. And I cried out to God to help me with them. And after a while, he did, and you know what? Because of that, I feel like my faith is even stronger than it was. Thankfully.

Scarecrow, if you can. Think of God like an artist. Like a sculptor. When a sculptor is working with clay...they have to mold it, mash, squash it... in order for it to take a magnificent shape. Finally, once the sculptor is satisfied... The sculptor then fires his clay. The fire is hot, extremely hot. And once it's done with the first fire, the Sculptor then takes the delecate artwork and refines the edges. He scrapes away the rough edges and smoothes it out... and then he glazes his piece. And once again. It's back to the fire...

Finally, the beautiful masterpiece emerges, as a shiney object that truly shows the Greatness of the artist that made it for al to see.

We are kinda like clay. The Bible even says so. God is constantly molding us, shaping us for HIS purpose. He's taking us in our imperfect shape and making us into something he can use.

If there was no artist, no creator. We would be just lumps of clay...people would look at us and see some sticky stuff out of the earth. But we wouldn't have much of a purpose.

Sorry my post is EXTREMELY long... but I hope it makes sense.

[12praiseGOD]

Still praying! Please keep us updated!
GOD BLESS YOU!!!
your sister in Christ

[Kamille]

I'm praying for you. Your situation hurts me greatly (it hurts me to see a brother confused and/or in pain), but sometimes we all need seasons such as these before we reach a higher level of faith (read the second verse in my sig).

Read from the Bible often, and meditate on one or more verses that speak to your situation. After that, start asking God hard questions - real questions. Take away any rituals you might have. Don't worry about any kind of elaborate speech. He knows what you want to ask Him. Don't stiffle it, just ask. Make your prayers heart-felt and truthful. Ask for the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, to come into your heart. But the important thing is to have the Word of God in your heart and mind when you do this. It's one thing to ask questions "from the hip", it's another thing to have read the scriptures constantly over and over again, and then you're asking important questions about your faith or lack thereof and saying "I don't get it - I just don't get it" and then the Spirit of Truth comes to you, which brings love and wisdom and peace and joy, and all of His fruits (Galatians 5:22-23) and gifts (1 Corinthians 12:8-11) - and then you just get it. Then you move on to another question, and another. This has happened to me a few times - it just takes a lot of raw emotion on your part. Typically I end up sobbing (which I usually don't like doing) on my knees when I ask God these types of questions. But you may not be moved to tears. I'm just saying that whatever the emotion is - it must be heart-felt. It must be true.

God loves you, which is evidenced by the death of His one and only Son on the cross so that by believing in Him you will not perish. And He will never leave nor forsake the ones He loves (Deuteronomy 31:6, 8) - but we can run from Him:

"But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear." - Isaiah 59:2

But we can always repent and run back to Him, for from Acts 2:21: "And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Just ask for help.

[Scarecrow]

Umm wow... I very much appreciate the replies. And for the prayers. Lot of good stuff there... I have to say I've actually been doing much better in this regard since posting this. I don't know how to say anything it without sounding cheesy or anything but ya... God's watching over me is about all I'll say. The thing is to just stay steady and going forward but it seems this happens a lot. You start doubting and then a couple weeks later you couldn't be more convinced. So convinced you kind of stop looking and everything is great and then you go back down and you feel really messed up spiritually or even out of reach of God. Deep down I know he exists, and I guess thats why I can't just throw in the towel turn away. I guess its more or less just me second guessing and doubting myself...

But again, I REALLY do appreciate the replies. First it's cool to see actual people who are obviously farther in their relationship with God, know what they're talking about and be so strong in their faith. Or even care enough to bother reading prayer threads and posting their thoughts or even bothering to pray. It's inspiring to be honest. And what was said is very helpful. Good stuff to adopt as a part of a daily routine or look back on for a little push.

[12praiseGOD]

That´s great that you are doing better! May GOD be with you!

[Prince Asbel]

Daily devotions are good, make no mistake. Prayer and bible reading each day is a big contribution to Christians.

Hey, are you going to reply to my last PM? Or do you want me to expound on my one argument?

[Kamille]

Umm wow... I very much appreciate the replies. And for the prayers. Lot of good stuff there... I have to say I've actually been doing much better in this regard since posting this. I don't know how to say anything it without sounding cheesy or anything but ya... God's watching over me is about all I'll say. The thing is to just stay steady and going forward but it seems this happens a lot. You start doubting and then a couple weeks later you couldn't be more convinced. So convinced you kind of stop looking and everything is great and then you go back down and you feel really messed up spiritually or even out of reach of God. Deep down I know he exists, and I guess thats why I can't just throw in the towel turn away. I guess its more or less just me second guessing and doubting myself...

But again, I REALLY do appreciate the replies. First it's cool to see actual people who are obviously farther in their relationship with God, know what they're talking about and be so strong in their faith. Or even care enough to bother reading prayer threads and posting their thoughts or even bothering to pray. It's inspiring to be honest. And what was said is very helpful. Good stuff to adopt as a part of a daily routine or look back on for a little push.

Yay!:jump::jump:. Praise God you're doing better. But I definitely know it is a constant struggle to keep your faith (I know it is for me). It's because you're going against what you see in and hear from the world. It's like a constant marathon, but here's something Jesus said about standing firm in your faith:

"All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." - Mark 13:13.

Not to say that you are saved by standing firm to the end. We are saved through the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8-9), but if you are saved you will stand firm to the end. Also, here's something Jesus said about the world:

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
- John 16:33.

Hopes this helps you some more. God loves you always.