Losing faith, In need of help and advice

[LovesOurLord]

I just which I good feel God, but I just feel disconnected from everything. I just feel empty and as if God is not there.

Don't take that very seriously. That's part of the grieving process. Losing a loved one is a shock to the system and you have to reset so to speak. I experienced that when my mother died when I was 16. It's natural so realize it's your healing and processing and it'll improve as time goes on. I found that resuming my daily routine was very therapeutic and reassuring to me.

We often don't "feel" His presence but He's there regardless and he makes himself known in a myriad ways, such as folks counseling you here. You could always pray and ask Him for some comfort and reassurance. I've done it and gotten it.

God bless.

 

[SW501]

Thank you all so much for your kind words. I am doing much better at the moment but I am up and down, I just try to take every day as it comes.

I am still struggling with not feeling like God is there but I do believe and I suppose that's what is important. I just hope one day I will feel he's with me again. My emotion are a little dulled I think because of meds but I can't work out if that is a good or a bad thing. My partner thinks its good as she has seen a difference but I hate depending on something other than myself to be ok.

I really do appreciate all of your responses, the gospel song was really lovely.

 

[LovesOurLord]

Thank you all so much for your kind words. I am doing much better at the moment but I am up and down, I just try to take every day as it comes.

I am still struggling with not feeling like God is there but I do believe and I suppose that's what is important. I just hope one day I will feel he's with me again. My emotion are a little dulled I think because of meds but I can't work out if that is a good or a bad thing. My partner thinks its good as she has seen a difference but I hate depending on something other than myself to be ok.

I really do appreciate all of your responses, the gospel song was really lovely.

Oh He's always there. Ask him to make Himself known to you and you'll get something in His time, and it may make you laugh and feel embarrassed you ever doubted. Up and down is part of life. We often don't "feel" him in our daily lives. Sometimes He reminds us in His own way He's there, sometimes He lets us go about our business. Bottom line is to not take it seriously if you don't feel something at any given moment. He's there. Always.

Here's a wonderful song I felt inspired to post on this forum. I think it speaks to all of our souls.

 

[Rescued One]

Long ago I read a quote that has come back to me at times:

"If you don't feel close to God, guess who moved."

 

[Bro.T--2]

Hi all,

I consider myself a Christian for a while now but I suffered a tragedy last year.

October last year my sister was diagnosed with terminal cancer and she passed away on December 5th. I prayed and talked to God every day and I believe he told me she was going to be healed and I had received words which seemed to me that he was telling me it was going to be ok. Now earlier that year I had really started to grow in my faith and started to feel his presence.

When she passed on it felt like I had been cut off from God and I have never felt the same, I didn't feel angry with God but just sad that he didn't keep his promise. My mother flat out refused to believe anymore but I can't blame her. It was not the same for me. I still believed and want to believe but it's getting harder and harder I feel no connection whatsoever anymore.

To make matters worse I pretty much had a breakdown and even considered doing the unthinkable, I would have gone through with it if not for my boys. I had to go to the doctors to get help which was really hard because I was brought up to believe depression is a choice and you just have to pull yourself together. I feel pretty pathetic that I can't function as a normal person without help anymore.

I just can't shake this feeling now that there is nothing and, perhaps we are just here and then we are gone and what is the point...

Not sure what to do.

Salvation, what would you trade fore it? This is a question you should ask yourself. The answer should be nothing.

As you read through this you will see people that would not trade their salvation for anything. If you can get to the point where these brothers and sisters were, you are standing on solid ground. In this class there are also brothers and sisters putting "the face of man"on God and they lost their life. Keep in mind, the same God back then is the same God today.

In this set of scriptures the LORD chose the tribe of Levi to execute the service of the LORD. Before he did that he had Moses clean them up. This should let you know when you come before the LORD you must be clean. Clean your act up first, and then go to the LORD. You cannot come to HIM as you are. We are no longer under the laws of sacrifice, Jesus is our sacrifice once and for all, and the water you must be cleansed by is His word. Here in Numbers, actual water was used to cleanse the Levites. The Lord does something physical to let you know later there is a spiritual side also.

Numbers 8:5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. 7 And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean. 8 Then let them take a young bullock with his meat offering, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin offering. 9 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together: 10 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites: 11 And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the LORD.

12 And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, unto the LORD, to make an atonement for the Levites. 13 And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the LORD. 14 Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine. 15 And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering. 16 For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me. 17 For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself. 18 And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel. 19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.

Here we have two of Aaron's sons, keep in mind that they knew the law, they are sons of the high priest. Look what happened.

Leviticus 10:1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. 2 And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

Think about this. You have been given understanding of the scriptures and you know how dangerous the God Of Israel is, and you disobey his commandments anyway. You saw what happened to Nadab and Abihu, this could happen to you, me or anyone that truly understands the word of God.

Let's take a look at the commandment that was given. Keep in mind the LORD is giving the law.

Leviticus 6:8 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 9 Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it. 10 And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. 11 And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place. 12 And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. 13 The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.

Look at verse 12, And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out. The fire on the alter shall never go out. Where did the two sons get the fire? It wasn't from the altar. Verse 13, The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out. That is real clear.

Check out what Moses tells Aaron.

Leviticus 10:3 Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace. 4 And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp. 5 So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said. 6 And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled.

7 And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses. 16 And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron which were left alive, saying, 17 Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the LORD? 18 Behold, the blood of it was not brought in within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded. 19 And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin offering today, should it have been accepted in the sight of the LORD? 20 And when Moses heard that, he was content.

Here is a requirement of the ALMIGHTY. Look at verse 3, Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.

How is the LORD sanctified in you today? By keeping his word (commandments, laws, statues).

Notice this in verse 6, And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled.

This also goes for us that serve the true and living God. Perhaps you have a family member that breaks GOD'S laws, would you side with a family member or with the one that holds your breath. Moses told Aaron and his sons not to mourn, let your brethren bewail the lost. Can we handle something like that? If not, we are not worthy to attain salvation.

Look at verse 19, And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin offering today, should it have been accepted in the sight of the LORD? Aaron did everything he was suppose to do but his mind wasn't right.
He just lost 2 sons, but the service of the tabernacle must continue.

 

[Unqualified]

You have to grieve these feelings and your loss and give toGod. Let God hear it let them grow and they will form a net to catch you. God loves you He is there let Him get to know how you feel. Let him put them in place in your garden where you walk with Him.

Get right with God!

 

[aiki]

Hi all,

I consider myself a Christian for a while now but I suffered a tragedy last year.

I'm sorry to hear of the tragedy you've endured.

On what basis do you consider yourself a Christian? I ask, because what help I might offer is anchored to the fact that you are a genuinely born-again disciple of Jesus.

October last year my sister was diagnosed with terminal cancer and she passed away on December 5th. I prayed and talked to God every day and I believe he told me she was going to be healed and I had received words which seemed to me that he was telling me it was going to be ok. Now earlier that year I had really started to grow in my faith and started to feel his presence.

What do you mean you "received words"? From God? How, exactly? A voice in your head? A "prophetic word" from someone? A verse from Scripture?

If your sister was a born-again believer, she is now forever healed of all physical disease, living in joyful communion with the Creator of the Universe and her Saviour. She is not the least bit unhappy.

When she passed on it felt like I had been cut off from God and I have never felt the same, I didn't feel angry with God but just sad that he didn't keep his promise.

God makes no promises to us in His word that He will keep death from us. In fact, death is inevitable for every one of us. God in His word makes this very plain. For the born-again believer, though, death is not an end so much as it is a beginning. Really, death is just a change of location from the sin, misery and pain of this world to a place of eternal joy, and peace, and light.

My mother flat out refused to believe anymore but I can't blame her. It was not the same for me. I still believed and want to believe but it's getting harder and harder I feel no connection whatsoever anymore.

To make matters worse I pretty much had a breakdown and even considered doing the unthinkable, I would have gone through with it if not for my boys. I had to go to the doctors to get help which was really hard because I was brought up to believe depression is a choice and you just have to pull yourself together. I feel pretty pathetic that I can't function as a normal person without help anymore.

I just can't shake this feeling now that there is nothing and, perhaps we are just here and then we are gone and what is the point...

Not sure what to do.

Losing someone you care for deeply, hurts. Very much. We can get to thinking, though, that the depth of our care for someone obliges God to protect them for us. And when He acts like God and takes the life He has given - on His schedule, not ours - it is frightening. We like a God we can control, that we think we can bind with obligation. "Is He not a good God?" we ask and by which we mean, "Isn't God supposed to act to please me and protect me from harm?" To our horror, God acts as God, allowing death and sorrow to fall upon us, fulfilling His will rather than ours, even when we can't understand or want it.

But, you know, God doesn't just take our loved ones and leave us broken and hurting. He offers comfort to us in Himself and in His promises of eternal joy and glory in the hereafter. Death is not the end for the Christian believer.

Psalm 18:1-6
1 "I love You, O LORD, my strength."
2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.
4 The cords of death encompassed me, And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me.
5 The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

God's comfort is greatest for those who know and love Him. Not because He withholds comfort from those who don't love Him, but because it is love of God that propels His children to Him; they know that, whatever tragedy they face, the love of their Heavenly Father has not receded or grown cold. He is still their Rock, and Fortress, and Deliverer who hears the cry of His children and says to them, "Trust me. I am working out all things together for good. I love you and will never leave you nor forsake you." (Romans 8:28; Hebrews 13:5).

There is little comfort that can be found in a God you don't know or trust, however. His great promises ring hollow in the ears of those who doubt His goodness and love, who have lost sight of the awesome demonstration of His incredible love made for the world at the cross of Calvary. But, the person who has seen and believed - really believed - the love God has for them, finds enormous comfort in His promises of a future where all who know and love Him are raised up together in glorified bodies into God's eternal kingdom.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-17
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them who are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also who sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not precede them who are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Revelation 21:1-4
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

If God does not exist, there really is no point to life. Without God, we are all just "moist robots" or "meat machines" whose chief purpose is to replicate DNA. That's it, without God. What, then, of our losses, our tragedies and sorrows? They are utterly purposeless - except to cull out the weak from the population. We can weep all we like, but in a universe without God, no One is listening; the universe cares not a whit about your pain and loss. You are merely molecules in motion; just reproduce and die.

Is taking this perspective truly preferable to spurning God because He has allowed suffering into your life? Isn't this a sort of "cutting off your nose to spite your face"?: If God won't treat me as I want, I'll reject Him, forsaking meaning and divine comfort for an empty, pointless existence. Seems like it to me. There is nothing but darkness and despair in this direction, however. And, in the end, it isn't true.

 

[Steve Husting]

Give yourself time. It's always hard in live after losing a loved one. As for getting more faith the Bible tells us, "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." In other words, when we keep reading or hearing the Bible taught, we expose ourselves to the Lord and His voice. When we are attentive to the Word because we want to be guided by God, we start "hearing by the word of God." Hearing His voice, such as when a verse pops out with unusual force, or you sense the Lord speaking to you according to His Word. With that hearing, you get faith again, or maintain it.

Ask yourself this: does the enemy want you to pray? Does the enemy want you to be exposed to the Bible? Ask yourself why. It's because they are so powerful in a believer's life.

I suggest you pray the promises of God in order to get more prayers answered. Why would you get more answers? Because this way, you'll be praying for things God has already promised to give you! I received more answers to prayer doing this than praying for all kinds of things that I or other people need. Continue to intercede for others, but build up your faith by staying in the Word yourself and praying according to what He teaches you there.