God is good ?

[luxem]

God is good? God is only good to some people. For me, this really sucks. Is He the reason why I suffered in the past year, and am still suffering? I don't know why He favors some people. Give them happy family, good companion, good jobs...I don't know where I do wrong so that He hates me so much. Those non-belivers who sin are even have a better life than mine. Then why should I be a Christian? Gave tithe, no sex before marriage, can't date non-Christian, can't go out w/family on Sundays...But what do I get? One misery after another. I am not Job! Why can't God just just give me a break or leave me alone!

 

[goldenviolet]

i wish i could wrap you up in my arms. we are to bear eachothers burdens and to be the hands and feet of christ. your discouragent is mine too. let us build you up and edify your heart. just like we are commanded to.

and you will find like yourself, and me... there are many of us hurt and struggling. but we are in different stages of life and growth. at one time i felt as you do now... i remember it well. my hardships inspire me to reach out.
so if you need to talk and don't feel comfy on a forum, you just send me a pm. love dee

 

[CordieLaLa]

God is good? God is only good to some people. For me, this really sucks. Is He the reason why I suffered in the past year, and am still suffering? I don't know why He favors some people. Give them happy family, good companion, good jobs...I don't know where I do wrong so that He hates me so much. Those non-belivers who sin are even have a better life than mine. Then why should I be a Christian? Gave tithe, no sex before marriage, can't date non-Christian, can't go out w/family on Sundays...But what do I get? One misery after another. I am not Job! Why can't God just just give me a break or leave me alone!

I used to think the same. I used to say "why me? why me? Just give me a break!" but I sit back and say to myself "why not me? who am I?"

Maybe this is evil tapping your shoulder saying "you can have all this if you give up on your faith. What good is it to you anyway? It doesnt make you happy but all this will!"

I regret having sex before marriage and I believe you are better of being with a Christian man because at least they care about what God thinks. Non-Christians are just out for themselves and for what they get and they don't care about who's feelings they hurt as long as they get it.

 

[nowhereville]

Wow, I felt like that my entire life before I became a christian. I was raised in church but all I really knew was that I was going to hell. I used to RAGE at God to either change my life or let me die after trying to commit suicide and it not working....

Sometimes it is HARD to say God is Good all the time, but he is, even if we don't "feel" like that.

Sometimes we're in boot camp and we need the training for down the line.

Sometimes we suffer at the hands of others because it is their will and has nothing to do with God.

Sometimes it's that we're asking for things that we want, not realizing that it's not God's best for us and that his best is a million times better then anything we could ask for.

Trust me, I've not had a cushy life - in fact I don't know anyone who would trade with me so I'm not making light of your feelings. I can tell you how I got where I am now and hopefully that will help.

Get in the word MORE - flat out tell God how you feel - say, "Look I am being crushed by my feelings about my life here - I'm going to read your word - SHOW me your character in the word, open my eyes and my heart to receive". (God says come boldly)

Watch the words that are coming out of your mouth. What you speak on yourself is more powerful then you can imagine - instead of what you've said above, start saying things like, "I sure enough have no clue what God is doing with my life right now, but I trust God that it is a good thing."

Stop looking at what it is you think you don't have and start focusing on what God has put in your life right now that is good.

I lived a criminal life before I knew God and I made GOOD money, lots of money and I never had to sweat it. Then I was changed and I made money working 40 hours a week. It was difficult to say the least when I hit a wall moneywise - in the past I could work a day or two and have everythign covered. I choose to focus on the fact that I didn't have to worry about the police and I could look myself in the mirror everyday and know that I was not a bad person any more. Sometimes it's all about how you look at things and not so much about how things really are.

Anyway, I hope this helps - press on - I KNOW that God has a plan and a hope for your future.

 

[luxem]

I felt I was punished by my faith in God. I used to trust Him so much, believing that He is faithful and loving. But actually He is not, at least not to me. There was a time I was so hopeless. I cried out to Him, praying for His guidance, but I heard nothing. But that's fine. God never talked to me directly just like He did to other people. So I took a night bus to New York for Billy Graham's crusade, or went to Vinyard church to have other people pray for me, but He didn''t even want to spare me a word. There were so many times I wanted to end my life. After a year of suffering and pain, I came back to my home country. At first I still tried to go to church, but it's so hard. I was reminded of what He's done to me in that year. I used to love praise and worship so much but now those songs disguist me. I was full of hatred and resentment towards God. So I stop going to the Church, stop praying and thinking anything about Him. Then I felt I was gradually recovered, and much relaxed. I used to surrentder everything to God, and prayed to walk on the path He prepared for me. Now I can make my own decision. No need to worry if it's God's will anymore. I don't need Him, His blessing, guidance or whatsoever. I don't want to have anything to do with Him, and I'll be responsible for my own life. But He just refuses to give me a break. One misery after another. I have no hope or any expectation. Nothing I can feel happ about. I feel I am like a living mob. The only reason why I am still in this world is bcause of my parents. If I were an orphan, I'd have jumped from the building a year ago.

 

[The-Doctor]

I don't think God is responsible for your bad luck but that aside no matter how much you are angry towards God He will always love you.

I also advise reading Isaiah chapter 41 vs 12 to 14.

 

[Im-revived]

A very understanding question, and a question I'm sure many of us could ask. But rather than be negative about it, lets be positive.

So we can imagine people, seriously ill, we can also imagine people with the greatest jobs, perfect lives and we think or ask the question. Thats not fair God Why do they have everything, and we struggle, I have cancer and did ask the same question. But even though things are hard for us both, we can witness and show extra faith by the way we leave our lives to God. How can God be seen working or getting us through trials if we don't have any, or they are not seen. This doesn't mean that all those who seem to have perfect lives are any less with Jesus, we don't know what goes on behind there doors. You see someone, a Christian with a flashy car, whose always smiling, never admitting to any problem, but who knows what real life is like that they hide. In there house they could actually be becoming bankrupt, they could be really ill, they could be going through abuse, we don't know, but God does, and thats the difference, never take a smiley face as total reality, because really you don't know what there lifes like. We can all go out and pretend everythings fine, but deep inside only God knows the real problems.

Im-revived

God is good? God is only good to some people. For me, this really sucks. Is He the reason why I suffered in the past year, and am still suffering? I don't know why He favors some people. Give them happy family, good companion, good jobs...I don't know where I do wrong so that He hates me so much. Those non-belivers who sin are even have a better life than mine. Then why should I be a Christian? Gave tithe, no sex before marriage, can't date non-Christian, can't go out w/family on Sundays...But what do I get? One misery after another. I am not Job! Why can't God just just give me a break or leave me alone!

 

[DarkCloud]

luxem,

God does not cause good or bad things. Things just happen randomly due to the nature of chaos. Some people have better luck than others. If this were not the case, could a truly just God be satisfied that children in some countries starve to death before they are 3 years old? Of course not, because God is just; therefore, it must be that God created a system with certain rules--in particular, a random universe--and things happen according to these rules, but there is no certainty, only randomness. Take peace of mind in this.

 

[tapero]

luxem,

God does not cause good or bad things. Things just happen randomly due to the nature of chaos. Some people have better luck than others. If this were not the case, could a truly just God be satisfied that children in some countries starve to death before they are 3 years old? Of course not, because God is just; therefore, it must be that God created a system with certain rules--in particular, a random universe--and things happen according to these rules, but there is no certainty, only randomness. Take peace of mind in this.

Dear DarkCloud, God does only good to His children. God does do good. He never does anything bad.

Luxum,

May you find peace with God. I know you don't think this but He is wonderful and wants nothing but good for you. Bad things happen. Try to look at things from another perspective. The bible has is in why do the bad have it made while the good suffer. We don't understand all things, but God only does good to his children. Again, may you find peace in Christ.

 

[UnitynLove]

Have you been praying about a situation in your life and found yourself waiting for a breakthrough? Are you wondering why the answer hasn't come yet? Do you feel as though victory is passing you by?

Sometimes when we pray long and hard about a situation in our life without receiving any answers, we just learn to live with it. We go on about our business, wondering if or when God will send the answer. But God does hear those prayers, and He is working toward the answer even though we may not know all the details. And our situation can change suddenly—quickly ...without warning!

But one thing is certain; before God moves suddenly, we will wait. Waiting for answers is a fact of life. Nobody gets out of it. So the question is not if we'll wait, but rather how we'll wait. And I believe HOW will determine HOW LONG.

There are two ways to wait—one way is to wait passively and the other is to wait expectantly. A passive person hopes something good will happen, and he's willing to sit around waiting to see if it does. After a short time, he gives up. He says, "That's it! I've had it! I've waited and waited and nothing has happened." The passive person has a whole lot of wishbone but not much backbone!

The expectant person, on the other hand, is hopeful, aggressive, and purposeful. He believes that his answer is just around the corner—due to arrive any minute. His belief is not a passive thing. His heart is full of hope expecting his problem to be solved at any moment. He wakes up every morning expecting to find his answer. He may wait and wait, but suddenly, what he's been waiting for happens.

It's just like when a woman is pregnant—it is said that she is expecting a baby. She carries inside her the promise of a baby, and even though she can't see it, she knows it's there. The moment she learns of her pregnancy, she begins to plan for the baby's arrival. She starts to collect items she'll need, and she busily gets the nursery ready. She actively prepares for the arrival of the baby because she knows the promise will be fulfilled—it's just a matter of time. She is expectant, and she will wait as long as it takes.

We know the word "wait" means "to expect" or "to look for." But remember, it also means, "to serve"—just like a waiter "waits" on your table at a restaurant. Our act of waiting isn't supposed to be spent sitting around passively hoping something will happen sometime soon.

Once we've asked God to answer a question or solve a problem, we need to be eagerly awaiting His answer. We need to be actively serving, aggressive, and expectant. When our hearts are eager to hear from God, He loves to rush in suddenly with His solution. In many cases, this waiting period actually serves as a time of preparation for the answer. If God answered right away, many of us would be ill prepared to handle His solution.

Sometimes we find ourselves in such horrible messes that it's hard to imagine waiting one more second. But we need to keep waiting on God and trusting Him with a sweet and simple faith. Then, in a way we never could have figured out—God moves suddenly!

In the Bible, Paul and Silas knew about waiting, and they waited well. Acts 16 tells the story of how they were attacked by a crowd, beaten, and thrown in jail. Verse 24 says the jailer ...put them into the inner prison (the dungeon) and fastened their feet in the stocks. He was making sure they couldn't get out. But about midnight, God showed up. Now, it would have been nice if He had come a little earlier, but Paul and Silas didn't seem to mind—they just decided to start singing and began to worship the Lord. They began to "wait" on God.

Verses 25 & 26 say, But about midnight, as Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the [other] prisoners were listening to them, suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the very foundations of the prison were shaken; and at once all the doors were opened and everyone's shackles were unfastened. God answered them suddenly!

When people patiently and expectantly wait on God in the midst of horrible circumstances, suddenly God breaks through. So don't give up! Don't stop believing! Stay full of hope and expectation. God's power is limitless, and He will break through for you.

 

[silentpoet]

I won't offer advice. All I will say is I know the place where you are real well. Only with grace am I not there at the moment. I pray for you and your sorrows.

 

[mmreed]

I find myself fighting similar feelings of anger as to why does this continue to happen to me.

I feel completely broken, and cry out for help...yet remain in the state I am. I beg God to give me strength...yet I continue to suffer and feel alone. I plead with God to heal me and use me as a testimony...yet I remain broken and unable to do much.

I often hear of people touched by God and changed "in an instant" or a "blink of any eye"... I long so much to be one of those testimonies.

Everyone says pain and suffering is part of this random free willed universe, and it is a needed part for us to have free will... people say without it, we would all just be puppets made to worship God. For someone suffering and in pain, being a happy puppet looks very good.

Lord, please give me strength to overcome these emotions I talked about above and more importantly, bring me out of this stage of suffering I am in and heal me, make me strong and healthy. I beg for this every day, and I pray that today you answer so I do not feel forgotten and alone.

Even Job in the Old Testament was delivered from his suffering... please deliver me.

 

[silentpoet]

I keep praying and lately have had some signs of answers. But past dissapointments keep me afraid of wholey believing. But what I pray is the old prayer "Lord I believe help my unbelief." If you want to know how down I have been search my old posts. Know that I do know full well the weight of sorrow as it crushes hope. I think it is important to realize that faith is a choice of belief not a feeling of belief.

 

[qh93536]

God is good? God is only good to some people. For me, this really sucks. Is He the reason why I suffered in the past year, and am still suffering? I don't know why He favors some people. Give them happy family, good companion, good jobs...I don't know where I do wrong so that He hates me so much. Those non-belivers who sin are even have a better life than mine. Then why should I be a Christian? Gave tithe, no sex before marriage, can't date non-Christian, can't go out w/family on Sundays...But what do I get? One misery after another. I am not Job! Why can't God just just give me a break or leave me alone!

Oh, do I have an answer for you. I have been going through a series of trials for 40 months and here is what i have learned:

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]There are people who are going through their own trial right now who are wandering why God is angry at them. They are doing all of the right things. They are praying. They are tithing. They are attending church and Bible study. They are diligently serving the Kingdom in one way or another. Yet, their lives are not improving. Things are not getting any better. They are doing everything they can do to please God and nothing seems to make a difference. They are wandering: “Why is God angry at me?” What happens to some is that they will turn away from God because they think that he is angry at them. It is like when your father was angry at you. You did not want to be in the same room as him. Weather it was from shame, embarrassment or fear, you just wanted to hide from him. Those people think that they have hurt God or failed him in some way. They go through cycles of frustration, mental pain and anger. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I’m here to tell you that God is NOT angry at you. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]What happens is that when you go through an extended trial, it is always God putting you through it. God will not allow the devil to put you through an extended trial. Why? God wants to remain in complete control of your trial. He wants to back off when he feels he needs to back off. When you get to a point where you are ready to throw in the towel, he will back off for a period and give you rest. If it was the Devil causing your trial, he would kill you. He would kill you without hesitation.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Now the reason that you feel that God is angry at you is because when he puts you through a trial, he deprives you of himself. He will deprive you of his love. He will deprive you of his comforting. He will deprive you of his encouragement. When you are in his trial he does not want you to feel blessed in any way. The only thing he will do is he will keep you. He will supply your basic needs.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]What is the purpose of the trial? It is to consecrate you, to set you aside for God’s holy use. It is to burn things out of you. It is to make you stronger. It is to give you patience and tolerance. It is to grow you spiritually by putting you in the wilderness where you will have to depend on and listen to him. It is a season where he wants to develop a relationship with you. He will test you and he will re-test you.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Why does God want to consecrate you? God wants to give you what he has for you. He has incredible spiritual and material gifts for you. What God has for you is more than most people can handle in their carnal flesh. That is why God will not bless an unconsecrated believer. A carnal believer would take his material blessing and run away from God, saying: “Look what I have, look at what I have!” A consecrated believer would run with God, saying: “Look how God blessed me! Look how God blessed me!”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So, how will your trial last, when will it end? Your trial will end when God feels you are ready. When you are consecrated and God can trust you, he will allow you to cross over the Jordan into your Land of Milk and Honey. That is why most people never receive their blessing from God. They will turn away from God, they will stop growing. The reason this happens is that they don’t understand what is happening and why.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]How do you know that it is a trial from God, and not just bad luck or hard times? If you are doing all of the right things and your life does not improve, it is a trial from God.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]What can I do to ease the pain and shorten the trial? Surrender to God. Give him yourself entirely, mind, body and soul. Start living for him; make him number one in your life. Praise and bless him often throughout each day. When you face a crisis, think about God’s love and goodness, the crisis will pass. God will never give you more than you can handle. When you start becoming angry about your situation, forgive him promptly. When you feel you are about to “loose it” ask for mercy…it will come. Don’t focus on what you are going through, but think about what he promised you. Hang in there. God has something that will “blow your mind”[/FONT]

 

[tapero]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Now the reason that you feel that God is angry at you is because when he puts you through a trial, he deprives you of himself. He will deprive you of his love. He will deprive you of his comforting. He will deprive you of his encouragement. When you are in his trial he does not want you to feel blessed in any way. The only thing he will do is he will keep you. He will supply your basic needs.

I think you are mistaken that God withholds His love when we are going through a trial. He would never withhold his love. It was satan that tested Job, and God allowed it. God did not withdraw from loving Job. God doesn't withdraw his comfort either. We pull away. We need to draw near to Him and He will draw near to us.

I've been in a spiritual valley for several years myself. I know God is there; right here waiting, loving, and when I let Him comforting me. It is us who withdraw from God; not the other way around.

Thanks, Tapero[/FONT][/FONT]

 

[Mind_Over_Matter]

I pray for your troubles. When I'm goin through a hard time I usually read the bible. Here is a bible passage to get you started.

Deuteronomy 13:13-19 NLT
"Suppose you hear in one of the towns the LORD your God is giving you that some worthless rabble among you have led their fellow citizens astray by encouraging them to worship foreign gods. In such cases, you must examine the facts carefully. If you find it is true and can prove that such a detestable act has occurred among you, you must attack that town and completely destroy all its inhabitants, as well as all the livestock. Then you must pile all the plunder in the middle of the street and burn it. Put the entire town to the torch as a burnt offering to the LORD your God. That town must remain a ruin forever; it may never be rebuilt. Keep none of the plunder that has been set apart for destruction. Then the LORD will turn from his fierce anger and be merciful to you. He will have compassion on you and make you a great nation, just as he solemnly promised your ancestors. "The LORD your God will be merciful only if you obey him and keep all the commands I am giving you today, doing what is pleasing to him."

 

[qh93536]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]

I think you are mistaken that God withholds His love when we are going through a trial. He would never withhold his love. It was satan that tested Job, and God allowed it. God did not withdraw from loving Job. God doesn't withdraw his comfort either. We pull away. We need to draw near to Him and He will draw near to us.

I've been in a spiritual valley for several years myself. I know God is there; right here waiting, loving, and when I let Him comforting me. It is us who withdraw from God; not the other way around.

Thanks, Tapero[/FONT]

You are wrong!

The story of Job took place 250 years before the flood. It was passed down from generation to generation until it became somewhat of a legend. It was not written down until 150 years AFTER the flood. That is 400 years of pass down that was changed, exagerated and changed again. I first questioned the story because it did not sound like the God I have come to know and love. Making a bet with Satan, causing a child of his all of that suffering, just to prove a point is BELOW GOD!

 

[mmreed]

Oh, do I have an answer for you. I have been going through a series of trials for 40 months and here is what i have learned:

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]What can I do to ease the pain and shorten the trial? Surrender to God. Give him yourself entirely, mind, body and soul. Start living for him; make him number one in your life. Praise and bless him often throughout each day. When you face a crisis, think about God’s love and goodness, the crisis will pass. God will never give you more than you can handle. When you start becoming angry about your situation, forgive him promptly. When you feel you are about to “loose it” ask for mercy…it will come. Don’t focus on what you are going through, but think about what he promised you. Hang in there. God has something that will “blow your mind”[/FONT]

what about the people that have made God #1, and end up wasting away in a hospital bed, never overcoming this trial? People that spend thier lives in pain and suffering, never enjoying a day without pain and suffering, only to die many year later? It is those situations that have me asking "why"

 

[mmreed]

You are wrong!

The story of Job took place 250 years before the flood. It was passed down from generation to generation until it became somewhat of a legend. It was not written down until 150 years AFTER the flood. That is 400 years of pass down that was changed, exagerated and changed again. I first questioned the story because it did not sound like the God I have come to know and love. Making a bet with Satan, causing a child of his all of that suffering, just to prove a point is BELOW GOD!

I often wondered how God could do that...basically take job and use him as an example in a bet with Satan. Surely God would know the outcome and just tell Satan "be gone with your bet".

I often wonder if it would be better to be without freewill and be made to love God and be sinless from the start...that God just destroyed evil all together and made us to just love him and enjoy his company.

 

[newyorknewyork]

God is good? God is only good to some people. For me, this really sucks. Is He the reason why I suffered in the past year, and am still suffering? I don't know why He favors some people. Give them happy family, good companion, good jobs...I don't know where I do wrong so that He hates me so much. Those non-belivers who sin are even have a better life than mine. Then why should I be a Christian? Gave tithe, no sex before marriage, can't date non-Christian, can't go out w/family on Sundays...But what do I get? One misery after another. I am not Job! Why can't God just just give me a break or leave me alone!

can i email you something that may encourage you and help you?

it helped me when i was feeling the same way you are

take care, i really hope things improve for you