hurting

Dear graciesings. In Matthew 22: 35-40: Jesus give us very good advice.
Even when it seems that God is far away from us, we know that we are pleasing God, and God will Bless us. Jesus told a Lawyer: " The first and great Commandment is: Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second is like it: Love thy neighbour as thyself." Then Jesus states this great fact: " On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." Love is very important to God our Heavenly Father.
We start by treating all we know and all we meet, friends and not friends, treat them as we would love to be treated, always kindly and with friendly words. Also a helping hand, when needed. God will notice our sincere efforts,
and God will Bless us, and you may be sure that God is with you. How?
God will know that you love God, because you are following God`s Loving Commandments. In Matthew 7: 7-10: we are told to " ask and ye shall receive." Then thank God and share all Love and Joy with your neighbour.
Keep asking God and thanking God, then share all Love and Joy with all around you. Love is a Christian`s great weapon, with love we will overcome
all wrong behaviour. People around us will treat us the same as we treat people, and life will become good and pleasing. We might stumble and forget at times, but then we ask God to forgive us, and carry on Loving and Caring.
I say this with love, graciesings. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

praying for you

Certainly the enemy of our souls seeks to rob us of any peace in God. Be sure you have the Lord Jesus in your heart --not just be thinking about the Godhead. Jesus said: "no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me" (see all of John 14). Our Creator-God has committed all things into the hands of the Lord Jesus for our good.

Beside reading your Bible daily (mainly the Gospels and Epistles), get the good book: Streams In The Desert by C. Cowman, and read the daily messages for much help. Look up always!

James 4:8

graciesings said:

I'm struggling with nothing right now.

not that there's no struggle, but I'm struggling with feeling nothing and with God not being here.

In the last two years I have run into this at times and it seems like the fire in my heart just dies and I can't seem to find God anywhere. I think maybe it's because I'm not obeying Him and putting something of mine first but not sure. Anyway, I remember the last problems I had a few months ago where God wasn't with me and I got extremely depressed. I don't want that to happen.

The odd thing is that it seems like when I was struggling with my faith and trying to figure out what God was telling me, a month ago, I was much closer to Him than I am now.

It just really hurts. I don't know why but all of a sudden my heart is dead inside and I can kind of pray but no answer.

What should I do? Do you know what I'm describing?

Please pray for me, everything's become a struggle now.

God bless you,
Grace

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I know what you are describing and it is like the worst feeling in the world. I feel so empty and like this world is all I have and that is a miserable thought. The only thing which helped me is to pray earnestly to Him and also to read His word just as intently--reading the Bible was the only thing which gave me comfort. Also make extra efforts to obey Him in His revealed will. For me, it may have been a matter of putting other things before Him but I can't remember for sure now--sometimes it seems like there are always these stupid, hollow idols I make for myself in my heart that interfere with my love for God. Despising these things and knowing them for the empty objects they are helped from what I can remember. I prayed that God wouldn't chastise me in anger enough so that they would be entirely taken away from me, but I tried as much as I could to put Him first and these unnecessary worldly objects at far secondary places.

I will pray for you. I hope that it will be in God's will for Him to turn to you so that He is close to you as He was in the past; know that He has not abandoned you (though it may seem like it) and never will.


Edit: another thing which Emmy points out and which also helped is focusing on others and not yourself. Focus on the cross, Christ's sacrifice first and being a servant to God and to others. It helped to take my thoughts from what I was doing and how miserably I was failing to letting God work in me to do His work, whatever is His will to have done through me.

Be comforted by the certainty that God's love for you is not based on what you feel. I've had to live with depression for many years - I'm a depression veteran. Sometimes there is nothing but bare faith in the grace of God and afterwards I am so grateful that He has sustained me.

I'll pray for you. May you be strengthened by Truth - it is enough.

prov1810 said:

Be comforted by the certainty that God's love for you is not based on what you feel. I've had to live with depression for many years - I'm a depression veteran. Sometimes there is nothing but bare faith in the grace of God and afterwards I am so grateful that He has sustained me.

I'll pray for you. May you be strengthened by Truth - it is enough.

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That is another thing that occurred to me while I was praying and I am glad to see it brought up here in case it hadn't come to me then: The relationship with God must never be based on a feeling, but trust. Even though you do not feel Him near you, you must trust that He is.

In the last two years I have run into this at times and it seems like the fire in my heart just dies and I can't seem to find God anywhere. I think maybe it's because I'm not obeying Him and putting something of mine first but not sure.

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When the Holy Spirit convicts, it's out of love and it's clear. You don't need to spend time in this state of confusion.

Keep trusting in God no matter what you're feeling. Doubt and unbelief tie us in knots and get us focused on ourselves rather than God, on the negative rather than the positive.

Why not use this "down time" to practice resting in Him and to prepare for the next ascent? Get in the Word, look around for opportunities and new directions. Be prepared so that when the Lord does "show up" (though He's always there), you'll be ready for His instructions.

I've learned to recognize these "down times" to as indicators of a new direction in my faith. Everything usually goes deathly quiet before "boom" usually a fairly drastic change to my faith expectation, or how God relates to me, or something he wants me to understand.

Stop... take a knee and a breather at this point. If you're growth is anything like mines, there's something big around the corner.

I've learned to recognize these "down times" to as indicators of a new direction in my faith. Everything usually goes deathly quiet before "boom" usually a fairly drastic change to my faith expectation, or how God relates to me, or something he wants me to understand.

Stop... take a knee and a breather at this point. If you're growth is anything like mines, there's something big around the corner.

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I like that outlook. When you think about pauses in scriptures -- there is the Sabbath rest that we are commanded to honor, but we usually don't. I find that when I ignore rest, God finds a way to make me sit still. Then when we are refreshed and replenished, we are ready to take on the next thing.

Our bodies have strong neuro-chemical-electric pulls, and it can help to recognize what these are and when they hit. Food, hormones, allergies, anxiety, and sleep schedules can trigger changes.

God's promises remain the same. It is important to learn to relate to God as He stands -- He dwells within us, and does not come and go. It is our perception of Him there, that comes and goes. He promises to be present when two or more are gathered together in His name; so in churches, He is there even when we do not feel His presence.

Believing what we cannot feel or see is another thing.

Years ago someone told me that depression comes from stuffed anger. I don't consider that necessarily true, but sometimes it turns out to be. Are there areas where you feel trapped, unable to move freely, misunderstood or oppressed... it can help to get this out in the open and walk solidly away from it.

Hello Grace....I am only a few years older then you...and what you describe is perfectly familiar to me. It is terrifying when you no longer feel the good feelings that come with God's presence.

These times are when He wants you to reach out and trust Him. You see, feelings are not what we go by. They are not our strength or our measure of what is Spiritual. Feelings are like the sand that the foolish man built his house on, for feelings shift and change just like sand. That kind of foundation has no hope of standing as soon as a time of testing (a storm!) comes.

What it comes down to is.....do you trust/lean on your feelings or do you trust/lean on the Word of God? The Word that is true always because He says it? Consider...

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6. "Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:20.

The Lord says He is with you always - to the end. If you take the Lord at His Word, you know this is true. Even if you do not feel it. And if you trust His Word in this way, you will be building your house on the rock. A foundation that will surely stand in any storm.

And lastly....when we are weak....when we feel helpless....He is strong. "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2 Corinthians 12:19.

Gracie, one thing I've done when I've hid dry-spells is to simply speak out the truth: God is with me, even when I don't feel Him near. His fire is always burning for you! Meditate on scriptures that speak of His closeness. Spend time worshiping Him, throw your hands in the air and know you are receiving. Sing His praises, do a spin, do it again. Throw on some praise music and dance through the house declaring His goodness.

The Spirit of the Lord inhabits the praises of His people! Then... Watch the fire in your heart get kindled again. He is faithful.

It's important for you to know that God is ALWAYS with you. He will never leave you or forsake you. Keep yourself in a place to hear from him. Continue reading your bible, pray, and if necessary, fast. The bible tells us to "stir up the gifts within us." Sometimes it's not that we feel God is not there, it's that we need to stir ourselves (our spirit man) up so we can hear from him.

Some refer to these as wilderness experiences, pruning, or valleys. They're to help us to grow spiritually. One purpose is so we will do self examination. Sometimes things will be revealed that we need to take care of and sometimes there needs to be repentance and/or forgiveness of Yahweh or others.. Also, it makes us rely on Yahweh more such as He is our rock (Psa 71:3). We also realize more about His Word because some Scriptures will take on deeper meaning during these times such as I Thess 5:18 "In every thing give thanks:.." These times aren't easy and last for varying lengths of time. Be encouraged - just keep on keeping your faith in Him, examining yourself, praying, reading His Word, thanking Him, hallowing His name, etc. After this period, the end result will be - You will be even stronger in Him.

During "dry spell" periods, I find that focusing on others helps to provide a more healthy perspective. It can be hard, but loving others brings meaning and purpose to any life.

There are a few traps to avoid though:

1. Thinking of love as a feeling or something that happens to me. I have to keep reminding myself to use love as a verb, and not expect anything in return.

2. Needing affirmation that my attention to others is appreciated. Jesus said that we are blessed even more when we help others and get no worldly credit.

3. Expecting big opportunities or dramatic results. Sometimes our best service comes in the simplest, most mundane acts of helping, showing kindness, encouraging, or praying for others.

Making this shift is especially difficult when I feel empty and distant from God. But it's mostly a mindset. I may have to force it a little at first, but almost every time I end up feeling better. Even if I still feel discouraged, there was no down side... my acts of love still meant something and won't go unnoticed by God.

graciesings said:

I'm struggling with nothing right now.

not that there's no struggle, but I'm struggling with feeling nothing and with God not being here.

In the last two years I have run into this at times and it seems like the fire in my heart just dies and I can't seem to find God anywhere. I think maybe it's because I'm not obeying Him and putting something of mine first but not sure. Anyway, I remember the last problems I had a few months ago where God wasn't with me and I got extremely depressed. I don't want that to happen.

The odd thing is that it seems like when I was struggling with my faith and trying to figure out what God was telling me, a month ago, I was much closer to Him than I am now.

It just really hurts. I don't know why but all of a sudden my heart is dead inside and I can kind of pray but no answer.

What should I do? Do you know what I'm describing?

Please pray for me, everything's become a struggle now.

God bless you,
Grace

Click to expand...

I would suggest sticking largely to the Gospels, they should be on your heart countless times everyday.

You may be in something or doing something God is either displeased with or you secretly believe God may be displeased with.

Stop, rest, get quiet time, get places of reflection.

Often this is just before people go to bed, and so the sayings go, such as, "I wonder how you sleep at night", or, "I guess that is what you tell your self to sleep at night".


Try and figure out what it is that may be a problem: then address that.


Often problems are actually your own limitations or preconceived notions about what God does or does not care about.

There are hormonal swings where emotions feel very, very real... and then the next day the person realizes their opinions have softened. God made us to live with these odd bodies, so He would understand if you don't feel close to Him.

It's good practice to stand firm, and not let anything knock you over. Be the punch toy with sand in the bottom, that bounces back up.