How to deal with not knowing

[girlninja]

lol hey guys it's me...as always i got more depressing questions i guess.


ya know i think that nothing in this world makes sense but God......i have a question tho.......

when you don't feel close to God......how do you get closer? Or if you don't know about something......and someone ask you about it.....how do you deal with that??

Just curious.....i'm a babe in the faith at times.......day by day right now i struggle and well i'm trying.......

[That Dude]

Hey it's ok that you don't feel to close to God at times...Everyone feels that way pretty often...One thing I gotta say is that when it feels like God isn't there and nothing is happening in your life don't worry. God uses that as a growing tool. Just keep on praying and living your life for him...It may feel like he's left you but he's there. But yeah my advice is just seek after God even through those hard times. God'll be sure to bless you. (You just gotta know how to recognize how he's blessed you.)

[Slater]

I second what That Dude there just said. It helps you develope a better sense for God and better praying skills.

[EireWolf]

When you don't feel close to God... Keep reaching. Pray. Read his Word. Get to know who He is through the Bible, and talk to Him about everything.

You won't always feel His presence, but be assured that He is always with you. It's kind of like the stars... You don't see them during the day, but they're still there.

As for not knowing the answer to something -- It's totally fine, and even advisable, to say so. "I don't know" is a perfectly valid answer, and people will respect your honesty. Nobody has all the answers, and it's not good for someone to pretend they do. You can say, "I'm kinda' new at this, but I can ask someone who's been a Christian for a long time, and get back to you on it." Then ask your pastor or someone else who is mature in the faith.

It's actually good that you're struggling. It means that you care, and you're not being complacent. This journey of faith is a struggle at times, but also a great adventure. The best part, aside from following a most worthy God, is that we don't have to do this alone! It's good to ask questions and let others struggle with you; it's part of the reason we're in the family of God.

[Arnobius]

Well, when you get lost, they say you should stop running around so you can be found. I think this applies to life with God too. Sometimes we need to stop searching so frantically, and trust he will come find us, using prayer as a cal for help while waiting...

[Swordguy]

it has been stated already but one must seek Him...and know that when we learn to walk we fall, when we are learning anyhting we fail at first...it is a growing process...jsut trust your Father and let Him guide you

[termyt]

When it feels like God is far away, well, it's not Him whose far away. He'll never leave you, but you can walk away from Him. Like any relationship, your relationship with God requires work and patience. If you don't feel close to Him, ask yourself, "How much time am I spending with Him?" It's easy to let the today's critical needs to overshadow life's important, constant needs.

Read the Bible, pray, and spend some quite time alone with Him - talking to Him and listening for His reply. The more time you spend seeking Him, the closer He will be.

[Hephzibah]

When it feels like God is far away, well, it's not Him whose far away. He'll never leave you, but you can walk away from Him. Like any relationship, your relationship with God requires work and patience. If you don't feel close to Him, ask yourself, "How much time am I spending with Him?" It's easy to let the today's critical needs to overshadow life's important, constant needs.

Read the Bible, pray, and spend some quite time alone with Him - talking to Him and listening for His reply. The more time you spend seeking Him, the closer He will be.

But it isn't always a fault of yours that He feels far away. I mean, look at Job (extreme case, but you'll get the idea). Everything was going wrong for him (this isn't to imply that God only feels far away when things are going bad). But the reason why God seemed far away was because He was testing Job.

These 'dry spells' in our lives aren't always indications that we've sinned, but can often be God's way of teaching you to rely on Him alot more. Afterall, you appreciate a glass of water more when you're thristy eh?

[termyt]

I agree, I didn't mean to imply that only some kind of sin makes Him feel distant. I just meant to say that the best way to close that gap is spend more time with Him.

I'm also not so sure Job felt distant from God. Troubles will come, period, regardless of how close your walk with God is. Those troubles are a lot easier to deal with when you are close, though.

[girlninja]

yea...ive had a hard past couple weeks that i wonder if its just...distancing myself.

1. my bf's little bro has terminal cancer and was sent home to die
2. friend really really hurt me
3. grandma has terminal cancer

this all happened in one weekend. *sigh* Im trying to stay close...its just hard...I just wish sometimes God could show himself to me like he did the apostles..

i have to say that i relate to Thomas the best, as faithless as that is....but i keep believing ...dunno life's wierd that's for sure. lol

[holysoldier5000]

I truly can not know the pain you are going through right now, but I will pray for you and maybe my story can help:

Growing up was hard and rough.

It was a long hard journey to get where I am today. I have seen more then my share of troubles and tribulations. Growing up was hard. I have been in and out of more churches then I wish to count. When I was young my Dad was a pastor without a church. He would be called to pastor this church and that church but they were all alike: filled with legalist, judgmentalist, and hedonist. They treated my family awful and they gave me a view of the “churchâ€

[Fsiphskilm]

when you

[true_noir_chloe]

[quote="EireWolf"] When you don't feel close to God... Keep reaching. Pray. Read his Word. Get to know who He is through the Bible, and talk to Him about everything.

You won't always feel His presence, but be assured that He is always with you. It's kind of like the stars... You don't see them during the day, but they're still there.

As for not knowing the answer to something -- It's totally fine, and even advisable, to say so. "I don't know" is a perfectly valid answer, and people will respect your honesty. Nobody has all the answers, and it's not good for someone to pretend they do. You can say, "I'm kinda' new at this, but I can ask someone who's been a Christian for a long time, and get back to you on it." Then ask your pastor or someone else who is mature in the faith.

It's actually good that you're struggling. It means that you care, and you're not being complacent. This journey of faith is a struggle at times, but also a great adventure. The best part, aside from following a most worthy God, is that we don't have to do this alone! It's good to ask questions and let others struggle with you]
Listen to the wolf.

I'd only add that the way you feel is so common for young people. As you get older, and have been with the Lord longer, these feelings will come upon you less. It's like all relationships. The more you know someone the closer you feel to them.

After you've read the Bible a few times more, then you'll start to see Who He is more. After you've prayed a few more years and talked with Him, hearing His Spirit in your heart and are able to look in hindsight at all his mercies and blessings in your life, then you will feel closer.

That is the wonder of aging in the Lord- it is a glorious journey.

While you're young "trust." Trust He is true to His Word when He says, "He will never leave you nor forsake you" and "nothing can seperate you from His love." Trust He isn't like us humans, who give up on one another at a drop of the hat, and He stayed true to love us to the end of the ages because of His Son. Jesus' death was not cheap, and His love for us isn't either.

I know you will stay close to Him, because you cared enough to be concerned that maybe you aren't, girlninja.

I hope you the best in your walk. ^________^

[girlninja]

thankyou so much Please please check the prayer thread it explains what i'm going through right now >< THANKYOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jeikobu]

girlninja, I know exactly what you mean. I have been raised Christian but I didn't actually accept Jesus as Savior until November 2, 2002. I know alot from what I have been taught but I still have a long ways to go in my walk with God. There are times where I feel close to Him, and times where I feel distant from Him. One time, not all that long ago, I felt very distant and uncomfortable in my walk, so I posted about it here. And it was really a blessing. True_noir_chloe and the others really helped me out that night. I know God really used them. And I was strengthened through that. Fellowship with other believers is very important. And I hope we can help you now. All I know is, in my heart I know God's real and He's truly an almighty and loving God, and what the Bible says is very true, every word. I also know that God smiles upon those who try. Obviously He wants to be closer to us, even more than we want to be close to Him. I think we just need to really be able to open our hearts to let Him in. And I am confident that if we keep seeking God and trust in Him, it will only mean good things, and He will be gracious to us and answer our prayers. I pray every day that I will grow in the faith and that others will as well, and I know that the Lord hears me and will certainly not ignore me. There are times where I foolishly really question alot of things pretaining to God, but I know in my heart that He is real and all the Bible says He is. My parents have never lied to me and when they tell me about their experiences with God, I certainly believe them. And I know the Holy Spirit is within me, because He has given me convictions on certain things, like RahXephon recently. I knew it was the Spirit telling me not to have a part with it. I can't describe it, I just know. The feeling couldn't have been anything else. And when Satan attacks me in nightmares, I know it isn't just my mind giving some bad dream. I know it's really a spiritual attack. And whenever I've tried to fight him myself, I always lose, but when I rebuke him in Jesus' name, he always goes from being a hideous, confident-he-can-kill me demon to being scared to death. And he leaves and I'm fine. Besides, I look at all of creation around me and I know, the only logical explanation is that there is an Almighty Creator. Evolutionists may give all of these reasons why they believe it's false and everything in existence really came from a couple of atoms. They may believe it in their mind, but Christians believe what they believe in their hearts. It just makes no sense to me to say that everything "evolved" from a couple of atoms. It's also amazing the differences in the discernment of believers and non-believers. I was talking to an athiest friend of mine a while ago, and he doesn't think dead people look any different than live people. He's seen pictures and all, but he doesn't see the difference. Yet I've seen what a dead person looks like, and it's like an empty shell. The spirit, which makes the person who he/she is, is gone. Also, I remember one time I was at a mall and these people had a baby with them and wanted to go into this spiritually dark store. It's amazing how pure babies are. They aren't exposed to the junk of the world yet so they have very good discernment. As soon as the people went into the store, the baby became very upset and was crying alot. Once they left, he stopped crying and was alright again. That wasn't a coincidence.
The bottom line is to never give up. If you seek God, you will find Him. I really belive that if we give our lives to Him, that He will not cease to be amplified in us more and more. ^^

[girlninja]

you know guys i wanna really thankyou....this is something that i've struggled a lot with as you guys can see in my previous threads...it's funny despite it all i'll always know God has done what he says he's done and Satan is just a butthead -_-;

thankyou for the confidence you guys have in me which i don't have in myself...really it does help me that you guys care so much even when you don't know me...it means a lot to me ^^

i'm gonna keep trekking tho ^^ the thing that im going through now with trying to be there for my bf with his little brother dying, and my grandma dying and my friend deciding that he was not going to be my friend anymore ane well notifying me of this fact by not talking to me anymore....well yea.

So i'm just struggling and i know Satan loves it.....it's just so hard sometimes...but well with your guys support and prayers it makes it a little easier to step one foot in front of the other , thanks guys for both your prayer and support...truly what a fellowship of believers is ^^ it's just sad that i cant find this from my own church *shakes head* Praise God for this site.

[Jeikobu]

We're happy to help you. The fact that we don't personally know you doesn't change anything. We're still brothers and sisters in Christ, so we should always be there for each other. ^^
I think prayer does alot, so I will pray for you. God always hears our prayers. And we all go through hard times in life. I feel for you, I just want you to know that your never alone in your problems. It may not help to hear that, but just know that we're here for you and so is God (especially Him).
Amen, praise God for CAA.

[holysoldier5000]

YOU ARE MY REFUGE IN THE DAY OF DISASTER. ~ JEREMIAH 17:17

The path of the Christian is not always bright with sunshine; he has his seasons of darkness and of storm. It is true that God’s Word says, [I]“Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peaceâ€