Why is God tormenting me?

[wayfaring man]

Being charitable in spirit is more important than being technically correct.

God does !

God does some things directly, and some things through others.

Sometimes through belief in God's Absolute Sovereignty, one may attribute to God's doing, things which are not consistent with God's Nature.

However, if one "blames", in the sense of "finding fault with" God...then such is practically inconceivable - for how can we judge Him Who we can't even see with our own eyes ?!

The reality is - that we speak not so much of God, as we do our own concept of God.

And if our perception of God suggests God is somehow failing to do what's right...then one can be relatively certain, that that failure lies with our own inability to perceive God completely.

For we are so much weaker, younger, smaller, simpler, naiver, than God - that we lack any tangible comparison which conveys the vast difference between He and us.

And yet we can "know" some things with great assurance...and it is with those, that we find our greatest opportunity and accountability.

If something comes easily, does that mean God willed it ?

If something is very difficult, does that mean God opposes it ?

One might think so...but in this world, things often appear contrary to our sense of the way things ought to be.

So how did we get into this mess ?

Is it God's fault for putting the forbidden fruit where man could reach it ?

Or is it His fault for allowing the devil to enter the Garden ?

Or is it our fault for not trusting His Word ?

Since we are created to be "in God's Own Image", we must posses the ability to think and act independently.

And if all our potential sources/choices were only what God has preapproved - then we wouldn't really have any space to choose/act independently.

From my own experiences/observations it has been noted that hard times generally either bring a person closer to God, or drive them away...with one of the main determining factors being - who do we blame ?

If we blame God, such blame tends to put more distance between us.

But if we accept blame upon ourself - with godly sorrow and a contrite spirit, we draw nearer to God.

Furthermore, we have little or no ability to correct what others are in error over; but do have some potential for altering our own behavioral patterns, especially if we have that "good help from above" !

God helps those who draw near in humble respect, and sincerely ask, in Jesus' Name.

May The Lord Be Pleased to Bless !

wm

 

[lone soldier]

Stop looking at YOUR issues and look to God. Count it all joy when you have trials for this produces patience. I think you need some perspective on the lifes of people in other countries. Stop blaming God. Be content with what you have. God's grace is sufficient for you.

I am content. But do you think it is good to be in a situation like I find myself in? I do not. How is it a good thing? Whether God' grace is sufficient or not, doesn't change the reality or facts at the moment. So far, these punishments have yet to produce patience. They have certainly tried and tested my faith. I can no longer say with complete assurance that God is totally good and never brings about evil / bad. Even a simple reading of the bible would confirm that view.

I'm not saying God isn't good. He is. But he can also be very harsh, punitive and merciless too. "With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury." The trick is, don't get on his bad side. I learned that the hard way.

I see no reason to embrace and love the punishment. A punishment or judgment that is fun is no punishment at all. I'm not saying I didn't bring it on myself. I have come to respect anew the 'darker' side of God - his wrath, judgment, anger, hatred of sin and sovereignty. The wishy-washy love, mercy, forgiveness, etc. may sell tapes, books, movies and so on, but it's an incomplete view of the severity of God.

But I just can't see how we can say unemployment, enormous debt, living at home at my age, no mate, no hope and no future are GOOD things. They are not.

 

[mustluvmusic]

No evil thing comes from God

 

[miss-a]

God can control everything, but He chooses instead to give us free will. When the Bible says He is sovereign that means, though He gives humans free will to do even all sorts of evil, He encourages us not to, and He cleans up after us when we do. He uses His sovereignty to cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him. "God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all." so anything He does, or allows others to do that effects His kids will ultimately turn out for their, our, good. That is God. That is His grace and His promise. In other words, we can't lose as long as we cooperate with Him, and trust Him to the best of our ability. The faith of a mustard seed is all that is required, a willing heart even when things look impossible, because we walk by faith not by sight. We all go through trials, that's just part of being on this sinful earth. But the Christian goes through trials that will be used to bless both him and others in the end. We don't get to predict when the trial will end, and we hate that part, but the point is the trial will end. Cooperating with God can shorten the length of a trial, and I'm sorry to say, blaming God can lengthen a trial. But a bruised reed He will never crush. It just is not His way. So take a deep breath. Back up. Remember who Jesus really is. It sounds like you've had some teaching that shows Him as brutal and unforgiving, but that is not Him at all. Listen to what He says about Himself. Read the red letters. Meditate on them and not your problems. He will get you through this. "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these [other] things will be added to you." Your suffering will not be wasted. He is aware of it and more concerned about you than you could ever be about yourself. He loves you.

Prayers to you,
A

 

[Heavens]

Listen to my story…

God won’t stop tormenting me. He brings much evil upon me and I can’t stop him. Yes, he also does some good to me, for which I am thankful. He blesses me with some food, a little money, a roof over my head, a vehicle that works well and a few nice clothes. He has also made me reasonably attractive, given me good parents, family and friends and lots of other enjoyable things in my life. He has also blessed me with extraordinary wisdom, charisma, communication skills and so on. For these things, I am thankful. In fact, it feels good just to reflect on the few blessings I actually *do* have!

Nevertheless, there is much evil that God brings on me as well. Perhaps it is deserved. Like all human beings on earth, I am not perfect. Of course, no one is. Anyhow, God brings evil upon me in that he will not give me a job. I cannot get a job, no matter what I do. I’ve been unemployed for ages now. I want to start my own business but he will not allow me to. God allowed my finances to be destroyed, too. I went from having excellent credit, to enormous debt – and I was even tithing too! (I realize that tithing does not guarantee he will be happy with me, now.) He has also caused me to desire a wonderful relationship with someone of the opposite sex, yet he refuses to answer that prayer. It is clear he has no intention of fulfilling such a desire, unfortunately for me. I assume this may be related to the fact that I have made it a practice to look at things he may not approve of. I also use profanity at times, which some Christians believe may be a sin. So this is my punishment. Even when I repent, he does not change his punishments. Sometimes I’d prefer it if he would just kill me instead and be done with it. But that would alleviate my pain, so naturally he won’t do it.

So, I have a simple request. Please go to God and pray for me that he will STOP tormenting me with poverty, failure and a lack of a mate. That is ALL I ask. I’m sure he has his reasons and all that. I imagine my suffering is amusing to watch. But nevertheless, I am growing very tired of it and would like it to stop. Please pray for him to stop doing this to me and I will be happy.

Thank you.

God doesn't torment people or bring evil upon them. If you have wisdom you would know this.
Your life is no different than mine, probably better than most people in fact. You just want things to satisfy your own desires, not the things of God. You should be ashamed of yourself whining like this. Stand up and be a man! Confess His Name to the lost and proclaim His goodness, Love and Mercy which endures forever.

 

[lone soldier]

God doesn't torment people or bring evil upon them. If you have wisdom you would know this.
Your life is no different than mine, probably better than most people in fact. You just want things to satisfy your own desires, not the things of God. You should be ashamed of yourself whining like this. Stand up and be a man! Confess His Name to the lost and proclaim His goodness, Love and Mercy which endures forever.

Are you married? Have you ever been? If not, do you have any prospects? Do you have any children? Do you own your own home or at least pay your own rent? Do you have steady income that is not government funded? Do you owe less than $50000 U.S.? Do you have no credit or good credit? Do you own a vehicle that is less than 10 years old? Do you have any savings whatsoever? Do you have any form of employment or a job whatsoever? Do you have a good church home / family you can count on?

If you answered yes to any of these, I can assure you, your life is better than mine. So your attitude simply shows your lack of understanding to what I am currently experiencing.

Yet. Through it all, I still retain a certain kind of inner joy, peace and happiness - even though I essentially have nothing (or very little, rather). Even though forces have tried to take away my joy and happiness, they cannot succeed. Not because God has somehow magically gifted me with happiness, but rather, because I have made a conscious decision in my heart to learn how to be happy no matter what and nothing can take that from me, now that I have acquired this mindset.

Happiness is beyond external circumstances. That is the lesson I have acquired from this experience. And I do my best to live it the best I can, each day.

 

[lone soldier]

God can control everything, but He chooses instead to give us free will. When the Bible says He is sovereign that means, though He gives humans free will to do even all sorts of evil, He encourages us not to, and He cleans up after us when we do. He uses His sovereignty to cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him. "God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all." so anything He does, or allows others to do that effects His kids will ultimately turn out for their, our, good. That is God. That is His grace and His promise. In other words, we can't lose as long as we cooperate with Him, and trust Him to the best of our ability. The faith of a mustard seed is all that is required, a willing heart even when things look impossible, because we walk by faith not by sight. We all go through trials, that's just part of being on this sinful earth. But the Christian goes through trials that will be used to bless both him and others in the end. We don't get to predict when the trial will end, and we hate that part, but the point is the trial will end. Cooperating with God can shorten the length of a trial, and I'm sorry to say, blaming God can lengthen a trial. But a bruised reed He will never crush. It just is not His way. So take a deep breath. Back up. Remember who Jesus really is. It sounds like you've had some teaching that shows Him as brutal and unforgiving, but that is not Him at all. Listen to what He says about Himself. Read the red letters. Meditate on them and not your problems. He will get you through this. "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these [other] things will be added to you." Your suffering will not be wasted. He is aware of it and more concerned about you than you could ever be about yourself. He loves you.

Prayers to you,
A

I appreciate that. Thank you.

 

[Heavens]

Are you married? Have you ever been? If not, do you have any prospects? Do you have any children? Do you own your own home or at least pay your own rent? Do you have steady income that is not government funded? Do you owe less than $50000 U.S.? Do you have no credit or good credit? Do you own a vehicle that is less than 10 years old? Do you have any savings whatsoever? Do you have any form of employment or a job whatsoever? Do you have a good church home / family you can count on?

If you answered yes to any of these, I can assure you, your life is better than mine. So your attitude simply shows your lack of understanding to what I am currently experiencing.

Yet. Through it all, I still retain a certain kind of inner joy, peace and happiness - even though I essentially have nothing (or very little, rather). Even though forces have tried to take away my joy and happiness, they cannot succeed. Not because God has somehow magically gifted me with happiness, but rather, because I have made a conscious decision in my heart to learn how to be happy no matter what and nothing can take that from me, now that I have acquired this mindset.

Happiness is beyond external circumstances. That is the lesson I have acquired from this experience. And I do my best to live it the best I can, each day.

Blaming God is the issue. There is no excuse for that.

No I don't have a job, a home, or good health, or good credit or money in the bank or an income or a church body I can count on. I was married, it would have been better to have never been... If I thought about it I could give you a list a mile long of what I don't have.
But I would NEVER blame God.
That is a terrible thing to do. Whoever began this OP should concentrate on the riches and the eternal glories that God is doing for us. Not blame Him for the mess we got ourselves in to. That is all I am saying. I feel for you, but how could we complain?? I just don't get that. That is all.
Blessings

 

[lone soldier]

Blaming God is the issue. There is no excuse for that.

No I don't have a job, a home, or good health, or good credit or money in the bank or an income or a church body I can count on. I was married, it would have been better to have never been... If I thought about it I could give you a list a mile long of what I don't have.
But I would NEVER blame God.
That is a terrible thing to do. Whoever began this OP should concentrate on the riches and the eternal glories that God is doing for us. Not blame Him for the mess we got ourselves in to. That is all I am saying. I feel for you, but how could we complain?? I just don't get that. That is all.
Blessings

If God doles out punishment to those worthy because of sin, or what have you, then it is not incorrect to say that God is doing this. You are assuming that God never punishes his kids, which may well be untrue. How can you make such a grave assumption without grounds to do so?

I'm not one to complain either. But if God dishes out divine retribution, then who are we to say "He doesn't" when he clearly does? That seems rather odd.

 

[Heavens]

If God doles out punishment to those worthy because of sin, or what have you, then it is not incorrect to say that God is doing this. You are assuming that God never punishes his kids, which may well be untrue. How can you make such a grave assumption without grounds to do so?

I'm not one to complain either. But if God dishes out divine retribution, then who are we to say "He doesn't" when he clearly does? That seems rather odd.

Divine retribution? The fact you are breathing proves He hasn't done that.
Tormenting? How is He doing that to you?
Punishing? What have you done that you think He is punishing you for? And how is He punishing you??
I'm glad you aren't complaining anymore... It was a sure sign of a "root of bitterness" springing up in your soul. You appear to have needed to be slapped into consciousness my dear brother lol! In Love I say this please know

Sure He chastises His Children. Shouldn't we be thankful that He Loves us to do that?

(Heb 12:5) And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
(Heb 12:6) For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
(Heb 12:7) If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

(Heb 12:10) For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
(Heb 12:11) Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

(Heb 12:11) Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
(Heb 12:12) Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
(Heb 12:13) And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
(Heb 12:14) Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
(Heb 12:15) Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

Blessings!

 

[Romanseight2005]

Do you believe that God is good?

 

[Rereward]

Lone Soldier, I know exactly how u feel and I have been exactly where u r....but God has given me a wonderful mate, a job with desent pay and I believe that the business is coming....It was a real blessing to read ur original post of ''Why is God tormenting me'' I felt this way for years...and I thought I was the only one whom God has afflicted in this way, but deep inside my spirit I knew that was not true...The devil comes at u constantly pointing at all of the negative things that are happening in ur life and that has caused bitterness to set in, the truth of the matter is that yes God is afflicting u and He does have an excellent reason for this I can't get into all of the details of my personal walk with God but I can say the He is always in control and u will make it through this just hold on...u should listen to The Ambassador's album The Chop Chop (from milk to meat) on Cross Movement Records....the Bible speaks of brokeness as an important element of our walk of Faith...Who so ever shall fall opon this Rock shall be broken but on whom so ever this Rock shall fall he shall be ground to dust... "I know that I did not quote this exactly nor did I type what Bible verse this is from but I am at work and this is my 1st time on this forum'' ...But honestly Lone Soldier God loves u and He does care about ur happiness, it's just that in order for u to really appreciate the blessings God has predestined for u, things must be this way...also this is happening so that u don't mess over His blessings (weather it be financial or a spouse) "Humility comes before Honor"

 

[lone soldier]

Do you believe that God is good?

That is the area I am being challenged and stretched in. I know I definitely used to think so. Now, I'm not so sure.

Good is a relative term. What I call good, others, and God, may not.

 

[highlife]

Have you ever thought about going to craigslist to find a GF/fiance/wife, also most states usually have a jobs site or you can use career builder or just start talking to people in your industry. Jobs were hard to come by in 09 but things are starting to pick back up again. Also I have heard that employers dont want to hire someone that has been long term unemployed so you may want to take a part time job somewhere just so you have a reference and can say your working (dont do full time because it will take away from your job search), like a liquor store or whatever.

I was reading an article about people being overly picky in finding a mate, I dont know if thats you but you need to have a sort of list of priorities with different weights.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[pgp_protector]

eric, you are gnostic? The bible clearly says God does all these things to people. He controls everything.

...snip...

Maybe you should first figure out why God then made you write this?

 

[lone soldier]

Maybe you should first figure out why God then made you write this?

I think it was to give you something to think about.

 

[Maremma]

Lone Soldier, how old are you if you you don't mind me asking?How long have you been saved? You said you had "good parents" are they christian? What happened to the job that you did have before that allowed you to gain such good credit that then got you into so much debt? What specifically is your employment field? Are you trained to run your own business? What specifically have you done to work towards the goal of your dream job? Did you already get a degree? You know a lot of people get jobs at the company they feel their dream job is at but in a different capacity so as to have their foot in the door. Have you tried that?
Although there is a lot of talk in this string about whether God is good or bad. Punishing/chastising or not. You seem to also have a considerable amount of secular reasoning in your posts. It makes me wonder if you are a new christian or what.

 

[lone soldier]

Lone Soldier, how old are you if you you don't mind me asking?

Almost 29.

How long have you been saved?

I was raised Christian. I "officially" got saved (based on the evangelical belief) around 15 or so.

You said you had "good parents" are they christian?

I did and do. They are the best. Yes, they are. Even if they were not, they would STILL be fantastic people.

What happened to the job that you did have before that allowed you to gain such good credit that then got you into so much debt?

I quit. That was years ago.

What specifically is your employment field?

Don't have one. My prior work history was pretty much sporadic, minimum paying customer service related stuff.

Are you trained to run your own business?

In what capacity? Trained how, exactly? There is no special "training" per se to start your own business.

What specifically have you done to work towards the goal of your dream job?

Education, training, research, practice, experience, planning, looking into loans / grants for funding, etc. There's probably more, but it's early.

Did you already get a degree?

Yes. I believe I already mentioned this several times in previous posts (?).

You know a lot of people get jobs at the company they feel their dream job is at but in a different capacity so as to have their foot in the door. Have you tried that?

What do you mean?

My dream is not to have to work for anyone else - except maybe the people I am doing business with. I'm entrepreneurial.

Although there is a lot of talk in this string about whether God is good or bad. Punishing/chastising or not.

Yeah?

You seem to also have a considerable amount of secular reasoning in your posts. It makes me wonder if you are a new christian or what.

And that's a bad thing. I think it's a good thing. Being overly religious, close-minded and pseudo-spiritual never got anyone anywhere. I like to keep an open mind about things. The only way secular is bad is if it contradicts God, otherwise it's fine.

I already answered that, so your prejudgments of me were grossly wrong. If anything, I've done the whole christian thing for so long, I'm feeling the need to wonder if there is something more to this. Because frankly, if this is all there is - it's not working for me. In a religious context, Christianity doesn't work for me. (Nothing to do with God, mind you. Just the christian view of God seems to be a difficult thing to grasp.)

 

[Maremma]

Lone I wasn't making prejudgments else I would not have asked. I just wanted to understand where you were coming from, be it as a new christian or a badly worn out one is all.
There are specific classes (at least around here there are) that you can take that teach you all the legalities of running your own business so you don't get in any legal trouble, how and where to get start up money stuff like that.

Why did you quit the job you had before? Did you have a new job lined up and it fell through or something?

You said you had a sporadic work history before you quit the last job. Was that due to layoffs, being fired or quitting?

If it was from getting fired or quit can you explain to me the nature of the problems that kept creating the same negative reaction?

I'm sorry if I missed information in your previous posts. I was struggling to be able to keep it straight because this is a fairly long string.

What degree do you hold? Getting your foot in the door I will have to use a made up example because I don't know what your exact dream job is. Myself or my husband are perfect examples of how this works. My husband is a highly trained 22 years worth of experience maintenance mechanic. He has training in multiple fields related to this area. He has lost his job and is seeking a new employer. He strongly desires to work in the maintenance department at this particular amusement park. He has even been to the testing and interviews for this position and passed them all with high scores but still someone else got that position.(he was friends with people that work there) none the less other positions in this department come up periodically and they will always post the position inside the company and if anyone inside applies and passes all the tests they take priority over outsiders. So my husband has since taken a much lower paying position inside the company so that when his dream job comes open he will already have his "foot in the door". The money he will be making at this lower paying job will not be enough to sustain the bills and we will have to work other jobs and more hours until his opportunity comes up but it seems to be necessary to do things this way in today's tough economic times.
It is the same for me. I am in LPN school due to graduate Beginning of April. When I started school I was working in sales. Well I got my CNA certification early on and applied everywhere possible and was relentless until I got in. My foot in now in the door to my chosen field. it is far easier to get an LPN job coming from a CNA position already working in the field than one not in the field just fresh out of school. Again if there is an LPN position available where I am already working when I get my license I already have the job. My employer already knows me,I am always on time, I don't call off, my hard work ethic, all the patients love me, staff enjoy working with me. Of course they would rather keep a know "good employee" over an unknown prospect. Even still that is not my ultimate dream job. I would like to get into a different place where I live as an LPN because they pay for you to continue your education and get your BSN, the benefits are amazing, the opportunities for advancement are greater.
Yet I work where I do, doing the job I do currently at the rate I do currently for many reasons. The obvious being "if a man (or woman in my case) shall not work he shall not eat". but of course also it is adding to my strong work history. I am gaining experience by doing the very job I will have to also supervise as an LPN. it is adding to my resume for when I am ready to apply for my dream job. I am gaining quite a bit of respect from my superiors, my instructors, classmates and fellow employees who come to me and tell me they would like to write me letters of recommendation to do anything I want to pursue. It gets you out there in the public for others to see what you're really made of and what you really have to offer.
I know ultimately you want to work for yourself but working for someone else for a while in the field you want to run yourself one day is always a really smart idea. You gain a lot of experience, perspective, learn the pitfalls so they don't destroy you before you ever get started, get you out there so you are not an unknown to the public. Indeed many advantages.

To get from where you are to where you want to be you have to start taking the steps. One step at a time until you finally get there. There are no easy roads to success. There are no good jobs handed to us on silver platters. Nothing worth having comes easy. They are not just cliche's they are reality.
I must leave for clinical but I will try to check in with you this tonight.

 

[CDMartinJr]

Excellent advice/practical examples, Maremma! Thank you for reminding us how advice is supposed to be given!

lone, I am curious about one thing you just recently posted: you said Christianity "wasn't working for you." Would you mind sharing, exactly, how it's "supposed" to work? I'm just trying to make sure we're all on the same page.