How to find inner piece?

[yuppers]

there are probably other places you can volunteer that are more regular. I have a dog, too. I do not see how that prohibits you from being involved. There are jail ministries, food banks, homeless shelters, etc. We need to stretch ourselves and get outside our comfort zones for growth in any part of our lives, including our spiritual lives.

The reason it’s hard for me to volunteer with a dog is because I can’t lock her in the house all day. During the week my dog is at home for 9 hours already while I’m working. I can’t just come home and leave again and keep her in the house alone all day. That’s just as unhealthy for a dog as it is for a human.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Hi everyone. I’d like to get some advice on how to find inner peace?

Over the last week or two I’ve spent a fair amount of time by myself and without having some meaningful time spent with people. I’m generally a introvert but I still like to have someone around me just so I don’t feel alone. I’m single so I come home to a empty house. Being alone so much builds up a lot of discontentment in myself and it bottles up so much that I become mad at a lot of things. I struggle with knowing how to deal with my life circumstances properly. In church yesterday the pastor was talking about finding our ultimate joy in Jesus. I don’t know how to do that by myself. When I get to the point of discontentment in life where I’m at now I usually end up just “numbing” the pain with earthy things, which are also considered sinful. I’m in a very unhealthy cycle in life and I’m not sure how to get out of it.

The bible tells us .... you might be saying oh no here we go again ... but in reality the bible holds the keys for us.

It says "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all other things will be added to you". The problem with this is it is not always instant. I will be brief but give you a little of my back story. Why? Because I see many of your traits in my story.

I was born ... actually better skip ahead a bit. Through out my life I was teased for being somewhat different, I had terrible teeth as a teenager. I wanted so desperately to have a girlfriend, but every time I tried it seemed to fail. I was never able to attract the opposite sex. Move forward a few more years, and a few more failed attempts at relationships. And I had a dream that made me become a believer. Then guess what I girl took an interest in me or so I thought. I was really happy because for the first time in my life a girl was spending time with me. So I wrote them a lovely poem, expressing my feelings. And guess what she shut down, and bearly spoke to me after it. Rejection too much. I blamed God, and committed sin. For years that followed I doubted God loved me, to the degree that I could no longer work, I hated life. I felt God had left me. I felt like I was on my way to hell. For years I never went to church, and just waited to die. I was asked back to church from time to time, and God kept drawing me back to himself. Eventually I got the idea that God was still with me, and I began to seek his kingdom. I would ask people to church, and they would get saved. They seemed blessed, but me I still felt distant from God. Then guess what happened I met another girl, who I really liked. But due to my fears and doubts I sent her packing. It was all too much. Every one else seemed blessed, but me I was always coming up short. I would pray for hours, in pain, then fall into inappropriate content use, due to feeling alone. I would drive to work, wishing things could work out, struggling in my heart. Eventually it all became too much I filled the bath, then tried to drown myself. God spoke to me again, and rescued me from it. Yet the pain continued. I would walk around the room quoting God's word, go witnessing, bring people to church. Yet internally I was so angry with how blessed every one else seemed. For years I struggled on, following God, getting stronger each time. I grew in faith, I learned to hear from God from time to time. One day in faith I prayed and said God you could lead me to some one. I will skip the details. But he did. I met a person, who would later become my wife. You would think that would solve all my problems, well, before I was married, I was happy now, I went to the bank to with draw money, and Satan attacked me so heavily I shook violently. A sudden rush of fear engulfed me, and I again fell into the trap of thinking God had abandoned me. I felt again like I was destined for hell, and that God had taken my future wife from me. So I fell into sin again. Some how I managed to pull myself together, and in fear I married my now wife, still feeling separated from God. But enough of the horror story. Move forward 7 years. I am stable, happy, I know God loves me, and I have a great marriage. I have a young son, and another one on the way. I feel blessed. I still pray to God as often as I can, but now it is out of a heart of joy. But my joy comes from the LORD. The bible says a fruit of the spirit is joy, as we seek God He will give us joy. It may not be right now but he will give it.

 

[Rodan6]

there are probably other places you can volunteer that are more regular. I have a dog, too. I do not see how that prohibits you from being involved. There are jail ministries, food banks, homeless shelters, etc. We need to stretch ourselves and get outside our comfort zones for growth in any part of our lives, including our spiritual lives.

Gym Class hero has this right. Service to our fellows is the key to finding inner peace. You have already discovered this yourself. You need to persist in this direction.

 

[yuppers]

The bible tells us .... you might be saying oh no here we go again ... but in reality the bible holds the keys for us.

It says "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all other things will be added to you". The problem with this is it is not always instant. I will be brief but give you a little of my back story. Why? Because I see many of your traits in my story.

I was born ... actually better skip ahead a bit. Through out my life I was teased for being somewhat different, I had terrible teeth as a teenager. I wanted so desperately to have a girlfriend, but every time I tried it seemed to fail. I was never able to attract the opposite sex. Move forward a few more years, and a few more failed attempts at relationships. And I had a dream that made me become a believer. Then guess what I girl took an interest in me or so I thought. I was really happy because for the first time in my life a girl was spending time with me. So I wrote them a lovely poem, expressing my feelings. And guess what she shut down, and bearly spoke to me after it. Rejection too much. I blamed God, and committed sin. For years that followed I doubted God loved me, to the degree that I could no longer work, I hated life. I felt God had left me. I felt like I was on my way to hell. For years I never went to church, and just waited to die. I was asked back to church from time to time, and God kept drawing me back to himself. Eventually I got the idea that God was still with me, and I began to seek his kingdom. I would ask people to church, and they would get saved. They seemed blessed, but me I still felt distant from God. Then guess what happened I met another girl, who I really liked. But due to my fears and doubts I sent her packing. It was all too much. Every one else seemed blessed, but me I was always coming up short. I would pray for hours, in pain, then fall into inappropriate content use, due to feeling alone. I would drive to work, wishing things could work out, struggling in my heart. Eventually it all became too much I filled the bath, then tried to drown myself. God spoke to me again, and rescued me from it. Yet the pain continued. I would walk around the room quoting God's word, go witnessing, bring people to church. Yet internally I was so angry with how blessed every one else seemed. For years I struggled on, following God, getting stronger each time. I grew in faith, I learned to hear from God from time to time. One day in faith I prayed and said God you could lead me to some one. I will skip the details. But he did. I met a person, who would later become my wife. You would think that would solve all my problems, well, before I was married, I was happy now, I went to the bank to with draw money, and Satan attacked me so heavily I shook violently. A sudden rush of fear engulfed me, and I again fell into the trap of thinking God had abandoned me. I felt again like I was destined for hell, and that God had taken my future wife from me. So I fell into sin again. Some how I managed to pull myself together, and in fear I married my now wife, still feeling separated from God. But enough of the horror story. Move forward 7 years. I am stable, happy, I know God loves me, and I have a great marriage. I have a young son, and another one on the way. I feel blessed. I still pray to God as often as I can, but now it is out of a heart of joy. But my joy comes from the LORD. The bible says a fruit of the spirit is joy, as we seek God He will give us joy. It may not be right now but he will give it.

Thank you for the reply. I hope to one day have a story like yours where I can look back on this time and see how much better things have become. Can I ask a question? Looking back at your hard times is there anything you can distinguish that God was teaching you in that time? Can you see why you went through that time? Are you a better person now because you went through those things? I’m just curious if there’s anything to learn from this

 

[paul becke]

The bible tells us .... you might be saying oh no here we go again ... but in reality the bible holds the keys for us.

It says "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all other things will be added to you". The problem with this is it is not always instant. I will be brief but give you a little of my back story. Why? Because I see many of your traits in my story.

I was born ... actually better skip ahead a bit. Through out my life I was teased for being somewhat different, I had terrible teeth as a teenager. I wanted so desperately to have a girlfriend, but every time I tried it seemed to fail. I was never able to attract the opposite sex. Move forward a few more years, and a few more failed attempts at relationships. And I had a dream that made me become a believer. Then guess what I girl took an interest in me or so I thought. I was really happy because for the first time in my life a girl was spending time with me. So I wrote them a lovely poem, expressing my feelings. And guess what she shut down, and bearly spoke to me after it. Rejection too much. I blamed God, and committed sin. For years that followed I doubted God loved me, to the degree that I could no longer work, I hated life. I felt God had left me. I felt like I was on my way to hell. For years I never went to church, and just waited to die. I was asked back to church from time to time, and God kept drawing me back to himself. Eventually I got the idea that God was still with me, and I began to seek his kingdom. I would ask people to church, and they would get saved. They seemed blessed, but me I still felt distant from God. Then guess what happened I met another girl, who I really liked. But due to my fears and doubts I sent her packing. It was all too much. Every one else seemed blessed, but me I was always coming up short. I would pray for hours, in pain, then fall into inappropriate content use, due to feeling alone. I would drive to work, wishing things could work out, struggling in my heart. Eventually it all became too much I filled the bath, then tried to drown myself. God spoke to me again, and rescued me from it. Yet the pain continued. I would walk around the room quoting God's word, go witnessing, bring people to church. Yet internally I was so angry with how blessed every one else seemed. For years I struggled on, following God, getting stronger each time. I grew in faith, I learned to hear from God from time to time. One day in faith I prayed and said God you could lead me to some one. I will skip the details. But he did. I met a person, who would later become my wife. You would think that would solve all my problems, well, before I was married, I was happy now, I went to the bank to with draw money, and Satan attacked me so heavily I shook violently. A sudden rush of fear engulfed me, and I again fell into the trap of thinking God had abandoned me. I felt again like I was destined for hell, and that God had taken my future wife from me. So I fell into sin again. Some how I managed to pull myself together, and in fear I married my now wife, still feeling separated from God. But enough of the horror story. Move forward 7 years. I am stable, happy, I know God loves me, and I have a great marriage. I have a young son, and another one on the way. I feel blessed. I still pray to God as often as I can, but now it is out of a heart of joy. But my joy comes from the LORD. The bible says a fruit of the spirit is joy, as we seek God He will give us joy. It may not be right now but he will give it.

Great testimony. And, yes, everything takes time. God doesn't work to our time-table. But He always exceeds our expectations when He consoles us.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Thank you for the reply. I hope to one day have a story like yours where I can look back on this time and see how much better things have become. Can I ask a question? Looking back at your hard times is there anything you can distinguish that God was teaching you in that time? Can you see why you went through that time? Are you a better person now because you went through those things? I’m just curious if there’s anything to learn from this

Hmmm in general the situation did not benefit me. But parts of it has often helped others. By that I mean when a person is contemplating suicide, or feels hopeless in their situation it has often encouraged them. How it helped or taught me was that it gives me a more humble outlook, it makes me aware that Christians go through trials, but in the end God blesses them.

 

[yuppers]

Hmmm in general the situation did not benefit me. But parts of it has often helped others. By that I mean when a person is contemplating suicide, or feels hopeless in their situation it has often encouraged them. How it helped or taught me was that it gives me a more humble outlook, it makes me aware that Christians go through trials, but in the end God blesses them.

That’s interesting. I agree that sometimes we go through a hard time just so we can help someone else struggling with the same thing later on. You kind of answered this in your original post but, would you say you’re “happy” in life now?

 

[FutureAndAHope]

That’s interesting. I agree that sometimes we go through a hard time just so we can help someone else struggling with the same thing later on. You kind of answered this in your original post but, would you say you’re “happy” in life now?

Yes I am very happy with life now. God has given me rest on every side. I find great joy in life, and in knowing God.

 

[Todd A]

Hi everyone. I’d like to get some advice on how to find inner peace?

Over the last week or two I’ve spent a fair amount of time by myself and without having some meaningful time spent with people. I’m generally a introvert but I still like to have someone around me just so I don’t feel alone. I’m single so I come home to a empty house. Being alone so much builds up a lot of discontentment in myself and it bottles up so much that I become mad at a lot of things. I struggle with knowing how to deal with my life circumstances properly. In church yesterday the pastor was talking about finding our ultimate joy in Jesus. I don’t know how to do that by myself. When I get to the point of discontentment in life where I’m at now I usually end up just “numbing” the pain with earthy things, which are also considered sinful. I’m in a very unhealthy cycle in life and I’m not sure how to get out of it.

I have found that God never meant for us to be alone. We have to have a relationship with Him first and be able to love who we are before he will send someone into our lives to share it with
My problem in the past is that I put people in my life that were not there to enrich my my walk with God. I try now to surround myself with Godly friends and I get out of the house as much as I can.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

The bible also tells us that a fruit of God's spirit is joy. As we spend time with God joy increases in our lives as we draw near to the one who gives joy.

 

[alongingformore]

Hi everyone. I’d like to get some advice on how to find inner peace?

Over the last week or two I’ve spent a fair amount of time by myself and without having some meaningful time spent with people. I’m generally a introvert but I still like to have someone around me just so I don’t feel alone. I’m single so I come home to a empty house. Being alone so much builds up a lot of discontentment in myself and it bottles up so much that I become mad at a lot of things. I struggle with knowing how to deal with my life circumstances properly. In church yesterday the pastor was talking about finding our ultimate joy in Jesus. I don’t know how to do that by myself. When I get to the point of discontentment in life where I’m at now I usually end up just “numbing” the pain with earthy things, which are also considered sinful. I’m in a very unhealthy cycle in life and I’m not sure how to get out of it.

I know how you feel sometimes and I have found that it's in those moments of bleak despair and hopelessness that we need to be clinging to Jesus all the more tightly. Often what I do when I'm in a particularly bad place and on my own is put some worship music on and just lay my heart down at the feet of Jesus right there in the middle of my bedroom floor. We find our healing in his scars <3 I'd also encourage you to get as involved as you can within your church family? I'm sure there are lots of groups/activities that they offer for you to get involved in

 

[aiki]

Finding inner peace has nothing at all to do with serving others, or looking inward, or meditating in a quiet room, or doing yoga three times a week, or whatever else Christians (of all people) throw up as the key to being at peace. The Bible tells us that peace is found in a Person: Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. In fact, the apostle Paul begins most of his New Testament letters by writing:

2 Thessalonians 1:2
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ is in every truly born-again person in the Person of the Holy Spirit (called the "Spirit of Christ" by Paul - Ro. 8:9, 10). In the Spirit, we possess the peace, love, joy, goodness, etc. of God (Ga. 5:22, 23). The Spirit gives of himself to us and as he does, we find ourselves at peace. Why, then, do so many professing Christians suffer from a wide variety of psychological agitations? Sometimes, it's the result of injury, or vitamin or mineral deficiencies, or disease, but by far the most common reason why the peace of Christ does not keep the hearts and minds of believers perfectly is their unwillingness to live in surrender to him moment-by-moment through every day. To the degree a Christian seeks his own will and way in life rather than God's, to that same degree he is prevented from knowing the deep, imperturbable peace that can only be found in submission to the Prince of Peace.

Romans 12:1
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.