Is God Hiding?

[Seeker of the Truth]

Simple question: Is God Hiding?

I'm in college and before I started college I considered myself a strong christian with a really strong faith in Christ, but lately I've started to see that God isn't here.. in college, in my family, even at my church... It seems as though he has just left me and now I'm starting to doubt his existence... I read the Bible, but nothing spectacular happens, nothing is said to my heart... I pray but my prayers seem to echo... I ask of God to show himself, not physically, but to really prove that he's here with me, and he hasn't...

If you say he's testing me, I think you're wrong, why would God put someone through this? To build faith? I think not.

If you say that God doesn't have to prove himself, then I say that he does because I could just follow a different faith and get the same answers, nothing.

I though I had everything straight, but for some reason, I feel really alone and I feel as though I'm searching for the truth.

I don't know what to ask of you, perhaps prayer?

 

[Shyguyelite]

Been there. Done that.

You are seeking him. Continue to do so.

I though I had everything straight, but for some reason, I feel really alone and I feel as though I'm searching for the truth.

Yep.

Keep searching.

 

[Barren]

Common sense tells me that some Uber being made me and everything around me-- not monkeys and primordial balls of ooze.
Knowing this, I don't need to see any "signs" or "spectacular events" to know that God exists.

 

[Aisynia]

Has anything dramtic happened in your life lately that may be causing you to doubt?

 

[Seeker of the Truth]

Has anything dramtic happened in your life lately that may be causing you to doubt?

nope...

to the others that replied: I believe that I am a Christian, I am a follower of Christ and I do believe that he's my Savior... but at times I just become discouraged because there aren't many "good" christians at my college and I'm not surrounded by any godly things, that's all...

 

[TheAntiLion]

Last Semester I went through the same sort of thing, and I had a strong Christian community. Keep seeking God, and he will show himself. Rarely does such an event just happen, it is usually a series of events (major, and very minor) that come together to bring about a jaring, faith shocking, experience. A book that I would recommend is Dissapointment with God by Philip Yancey. It is very easy to be discouraged if you don't have a good Christian community, but even with it you can suffer doubt and partial agnosticism. God also chose at that point to rid me of the mask that I have worn and carefully crafted by my minipulations of people. However, the only way I got though it all was to have support. See if you can find a good christian community in a Church or perhapes even a website. Try to find a mentor. You cannot do this alone. I know, because I tried, the pit that you are in will just get deeper and the despair will just get stronger. Satan has lied to you, and you are believeing those lies. It is a harsh truth, but I had to face the very same thing. God is there, God does Love you, God will rescue you. I'll tell you the one thing that really caused me to truely see how far I was gone, and how much I truely wanted God. I was at a church service, a very good one, at the end during worship the entire crowd was swepted up in a wave of the Holy Spirit. I could plainly see that. Some were even dancing in the aisle. Yet amid that ocean of the Holy Spirit I was totally and utterly separated. That jared me a lot. These sort of things never fix themselves over night, a week, a month, but it is a long process. I have had my own setbacks, and my own fustrations, but keep being honest with God about your doubts. Tell him that while you pray to him, you doubt he is listening. God can take it.

Also, another question. How is your heart? I know it is a odd question, but it can be very significant. With me, due to my wounds of past events, and lies of Satan I wanted to feel no more. Emotions just brought pain to me. So over a period of time I tried to kill off my heart by any means necessary. No, I didn't turn to drugs, but I did probably worse stuff. First, I shuned all emotion. I got really good at it. Then I focused on building up my mind, and focusing totally on its use. Then, I proceed to encase my heart in stone by hardening my heart towards things that would arouse feelings, such as disasters, problems of friends, etc.. This resulted in a heart that was barely hanging onto life, and a severed connection between my heart and mind. It got so bad that when I had a friend die, I went through the public motions of morning, but in reality I felt nothing, nor cared about anything. My Grandmother was hospitalized and could have died, but once again I felt nothing. I could no longer feel anything. No joy, sadness, concern, nothing. Then when my connections between my heart and mind were severed I devleoped a double mind. On one hand I knew that God loved me. On the other I didn't know what love was, how it felt, or how to even recieve it. If you are suffering sorta like this then I recommend The Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart of God by Brent Curtis & John Eldredge. It is a good book none the less. However, I have to admit that at times I wanted to burn it because it was soo truthful and pierced my defenses.

 

[fuzzyh]

I'm guessing that you are attending a secular university in which the struggle is that you are not involved in Christian things. However, I'm going to say that by only getting involved in Christian groups and organization you will only take care of one need.

I'd look at doing some reading. You might look into some some books by Francis Schaeffer, The God Who is There or He is There He is not Silent. Another book I'd look into is Mere Christianity, by CS Lewis. All of these books ought to give you some ideas and thoughts about Christianity. Perhaps you may see the truth in them.

It sounds to me like you hit the wall that I hit. There comes a time in your life in which you doubt all the emotionalism that seems to run rampant in Christianity. It's easy for people to get hyped for God. The emotions run rampant among certain churches. As you look at them, you think to youself is this some emotional deception or is there truly God. It's at this point there needs to be a revitalization of the mind.

If it makes you feel any better. I have heard very similar things from many others in this generation. I was in fact a part of this view of God, reality, etc. I quit school because I felt like it had no purpose. It was a revitalization of my mind and the relationship with God that brought about greater change in my life.


I think I am rambling a bit. I certainly hope this helps.

 

[Seeker of the Truth]

I'm guessing that you are attending a secular university in which the struggle is that you are not involved in Christian things. However, I'm going to say that by only getting involved in Christian groups and organization you will only take care of one need.

I'd look at doing some reading. You might look into some some books by Francis Schaeffer, The God Who is There or He is There He is not Silent. Another book I'd look into is Mere Christianity, by CS Lewis. All of these books ought to give you some ideas and thoughts about Christianity. Perhaps you may see the truth in them.

It sounds to me like you hit the wall that I hit. There comes a time in your life in which you doubt all the emotionalism that seems to run rampant in Christianity. It's easy for people to get hyped for God. The emotions run rampant among certain churches. As you look at them, you think to youself is this some emotional deception or is there truly God. It's at this point there needs to be a revitalization of the mind.

If it makes you feel any better. I have heard very similar things from many others in this generation. I was in fact a part of this view of God, reality, etc. I quit school because I felt like it had no purpose. It was a revitalization of my mind and the relationship with God that brought about greater change in my life.


I think I am rambling a bit. I certainly hope this helps.

wow, i'm surprised... that really does sound like me in the second bit about my heart... i really don't feel anything, except when i leave home to go back to school i feel sad... other than that i really don't feel anything, like the last day of highschool, everyone was all sad and stuff but i just put it off, and other stuff like that, nothing too deep like death... i have been longing to love someone, not intimate, but honest, true love...

i greatly appreciate your response and will deff check out those books!

 

[Seeker of the Truth]

I'm guessing that you are attending a secular university in which the struggle is that you are not involved in Christian things. However, I'm going to say that by only getting involved in Christian groups and organization you will only take care of one need.

I'd look at doing some reading. You might look into some some books by Francis Schaeffer, The God Who is There or He is There He is not Silent. Another book I'd look into is Mere Christianity, by CS Lewis. All of these books ought to give you some ideas and thoughts about Christianity. Perhaps you may see the truth in them.

It sounds to me like you hit the wall that I hit. There comes a time in your life in which you doubt all the emotionalism that seems to run rampant in Christianity. It's easy for people to get hyped for God. The emotions run rampant among certain churches. As you look at them, you think to youself is this some emotional deception or is there truly God. It's at this point there needs to be a revitalization of the mind.

If it makes you feel any better. I have heard very similar things from many others in this generation. I was in fact a part of this view of God, reality, etc. I quit school because I felt like it had no purpose. It was a revitalization of my mind and the relationship with God that brought about greater change in my life.


I think I am rambling a bit. I certainly hope this helps.

thanks! i does help, and i will, like the others, take a look at those books

thanks again!

CJ

 

[AtlasDM]

I know what it's like to go to a secular college and feel like God has left you alone in a hostile environment. That's one of the reasons I left and came back home. Trust me, it sure doesn't sem like God is anywhere to found where I am now either, but you just keep faith and it will get better.

 

[Doubledb]

im studying to be in the ministry and ive felt the same way the past 2-3 years. sometimes in our life we must simply have faith and trust.. i know that sounds cliche but its so true. Just because you dont "feel" God doesnt mean he doesnt exist. I would suggest to take a break from the bible and prayer for a while and find some good christian books to read, those always help and enliven my own spiritual walk. Try any books by CS LEWIS, JOHN PIPER, LEE STROBEL, and RICHARD FOSTER... all are excellent authors and have books that deal directly to life, use life examples, and also use scripture. I also suggest BROTHER LAWRENCE's books Practicing the Presence of God and St. John of THE CROSS' - Dark Night of The Soul.

God bless and persevere!!!



- Daniel (doubledb)

 

[fuzzyh]

I agree that we must have faith and trust. However, I think there is more to the picture here. We are never to believe in spite of the evidence. What I think ultimately that means is that there comes a point in which we must deal with certain issues related to Christianity. At this point, I think we leave, at least partially, the realm of theology and enter the realm of philosophy, although one could argue that everything is theology in one form or the other even philosophy.

I struggled through a lot of philosophical questions in college. We grow up in a world, in which the meaning of life is often not thought about. We may or may not realize it. This is why movies like Fight Club ring true to our ears because They challenge our view on life. Our culture of commercialism and consumerism, brings us to continually looking towards money, houses, cars, clothes, etc to bring about a sense of self worth. Let's be honest here, what's typically thing someone thinks about when you tell then you are going to school for philosophy. They ask what can you do with that? Implying that there is no money in studying philosophy. However, the moment you tell someone you are studying business, biology, pre-med (to become a doctor) people more often than not talk about how the money is good in those fields of study.

Yet there is no purpose in that. When I started to studying philosophy, I realized that we are really trying to create a purpose for our lives. Define our own existence, be what we want to be, whether that means we have sex changes, practice homosexuality, etc. Yet in the end, it seems like msot of the time, perhaps all the time, these things are not fulfilling. We do not find a purpose in defining our own existence. Instead we find, that we are most lost than we were before.

 

[Doubledb]

I agree that we must have faith and trust. However, I think there is more to the picture here. We are never to believe in spite of the evidence. What I think ultimately that means is that there comes a point in which we must deal with certain issues related to Christianity. At this point, I think we leave, at least partially, the realm of theology and enter the realm of philosophy, although one could argue that everything is theology in one form or the other even philosophy.

I struggled through a lot of philosophical questions in college. We grow up in a world, in which the meaning of life is often not thought about. We may or may not realize it. This is why movies like Fight Club ring true to our ears because They challenge our view on life. Our culture of commercialism and consumerism, brings us to continually looking towards money, houses, cars, clothes, etc to bring about a sense of self worth. Let's be honest here, what's typically thing someone thinks about when you tell then you are going to school for philosophy. They ask what can you do with that? Implying that there is no money in studying philosophy. However, the moment you tell someone you are studying business, biology, pre-med (to become a doctor) people more often than not talk about how the money is good in those fields of study.

Yet there is no purpose in that. When I started to studying philosophy, I realized that we are really trying to create a purpose for our lives. Define our own existence, be what we want to be, whether that means we have sex changes, practice homosexuality, etc. Yet in the end, it seems like msot of the time, perhaps all the time, these things are not fulfilling. We do not find a purpose in defining our own existence. Instead we find, that we are most lost than we were before.

i agree... ive never gotten into philosophy a lot but i have read some. currently i am doing a paper on "simplicity" as it relates to poverty verses our consumerism. I am probably going to either buy or borrow the books from the library because the subject is so intresting... and i think in my own life i need to be more aware of the poor and needy, instead of worrying if i can buy a movie, CD, new compueter or gaming system - those are not bad but over God or over giving to the poor its just purposeless consumerism, mostly things we do not need.

- Daniel (doubledb)

 

[imaniingod]

I feel like today the message is reaffirmation of God's love. GOD IS THE ANSWER FOR WHATEVER YOU ARE GOING THROUGH. STAY STRONG AND YOU CAN MAKE! WITH JESUS YOU CAN TAKE IT!

 

[PrettyLittlePrincess]

I'm in my first semester at college right now, and I haven't felt like God is hiding but it's discouraging when I see college students who call themselves Christians not acting like Christians. I'm not even talking about sex and partying but being very harshly judgemental and, for lack of a better word, two-faced. I know I act like that sometimes too, but I try not to as much as I can. They seem to think it's fun and see no problem with it. They say "It's just what girls do!" and many of the girls on my hall will stay up all night just to gossip about people. I think it's sad because no one wants to be talked about and they barely know most of the people they gossip about/make fun of. And it's been making me paranoid lately too because sometimes I walk up and they sudden;y stop whatever they were saying until I leave.

But no, God has been my only source of strength with a personal problem I've been going through since I started college. He really is so good.

To explain, I live in an all-female dorm because I go to a senior military college and all resident males are required to participate in the ROTC and live in the "barracks" while female residents can choose to do so but usually live in "civilian" residence halls.

 

[Seeker of the Truth]

I'm in my first semester at college right now, and I haven't felt like God is hiding but it's discouraging when I see college students who call themselves Christians not acting like Christians. I'm not even talking about sex and partying but being very harshly judgemental and, for lack of a better word, two-faced. I know I act like that sometimes too, but I try not to as much as I can. They seem to think it's fun and see no problem with it. They say "It's just what girls do!" and many of the girls on my hall will stay up all night just to gossip about people. I think it's sad because no one wants to be talked about and they barely know most of the people they gossip about/make fun of. And it's been making me paranoid lately too because sometimes I walk up and they sudden;y stop whatever they were saying until I leave.

But no, God has been my only source of strength with a personal problem I've been going through since I started college. He really is so good.

To explain, I live in an all-female dorm because I go to a senior military college and all resident males are required to participate in the ROTC and live in the "barracks" while female residents can choose to do so but usually live in "civilian" residence halls.

well, now that's where i'm at, i've came back to God, but now i really see who everybody is.. i've actually made different friends whom seem to be really good Christians, so for now, i'm just battling sins like everyone else!

 

[TheAntiLion]

well, now that's where i'm at, i've came back to God, but now i really see who everybody is.. i've actually made different friends whom seem to be really good Christians, so for now, i'm just battling sins like everyone else!

YAY! Welcome back! Yes, the transition back into God's love and path can be jaring. It demands a lot of change. I pray that you find good christians to talk to, to be honest with, and to be accountable to. Remember I told you I was suffering from some of the same stuff. Well, I was praying one day in church, and I discovered that there was something binding me and holding me back. It wasn't me, and when I asked God to revel what it was, that thing responded. I had a demonic attack, well it wasn't as much as an attack, but the demon vocalizing his existance to me. Rather dumb of the demon, but still frightening. I say dumb, because if I knew it was there, it should have known that I would have sought out help to eradicate his pressence since I am no fool, and pass it off as imagination. I turned to my Christian friends who I knew I could trust, and they got together with me, and prayed with me. During that time a lot of lies were exposed and rejected, and chains broken. I really feel like I'm a new man. Still have things to change, but God is still guiding me and changing me.

Don't get tired. Be strong. Fight back against those who want to hold you down. Just imagine what sort of a danger to Satan you would be as a man of God, of Character, and of Strengh.


Praise God for his unending faithfulness.

 

[Nakiah4Yeshua]

High school was for the past four years a good dream I didn't want to wake up from. I had become a Christian the last semester of Junior High and the next four years were a time of great love and power in my walk with G-d. I can't remember a time I have been more passionate with Him and heard from Him as often. Then I went to college. Even though it was a "Christian College", I felt like G-d had abandoned me. I tried everything. I would read the Word until I fell asleep, be in the prayer chapel until dawn, I got envolved in 6 or 7 different ministries at a time, pressing and pressing to no avail, until I wanted to give up.

I couldn't understand why here I felt so far away. I wasn't locked in sin or anything like that. I didn't feel like He was testing me. So Why?

Three years later, I moved in with a family as a nanny. I had no privacy and no time to exhaust myself as I had before trying to get G-d to come back. Then one day I the little girl smiled at me and I just knew that He had been there all along...I was out of the desert.

That night, I recalled a time in the lowest part at college when I had been walking and heard my (earthly) dad's voice behind me say, "I'm preparing you". I turned around but no one was anywhere around.

A year after that I am in the same boat again, but now, though I can't sense or hear Him, I know that He's here. I don't know exactly what He is preparing me for, but I know that I'll never find out if I give up, or forsake the Word. Even when I don't feel like it, I make myself. At the end there will be peace of spirit.

Seasons come and go... don't let that stop you from following what you Know!!


v4J

PS: One of my buddies has been asking for a sign for 5 years. He just got it two weeks ago. God had a lot of "quiet" work to do on him first.