Can You Get the Holy Spirit Back? How?

[~Anastasia~]

Welcome to CF.

Haven't read the whole thread.

There is much to understand and we learn more as we go.

Yes, there was a time when God was very close and I let myself get into doubt by reading things I shouldn't have (it pretended to be a Christian study but really was designed to attack Christian beliefs and I didn't realize soon enough - I was a babe in Christ with no knowledge) ... and that led to one of the darkest times of my life, when it seemed life had been torn away. It was blessedly short (well less than a month) though it felt a horrible eternity.

And then - we grow - and there are seasons.

There is almost always a "honeymoon phase" with the life in Christ - God seems close, prayers are answered, life is amazing. It lasts a different amount of time for each person - from very brief to years. But again in almost every case, God withdraws. We need to grow up, learn to seek Him, learn to trust even without our hands being held all the time, and so on. God draws nearer, and more distant - this part has many phases, and usually lasts much of the rest of our lives. It has a purpose.

And there are other things too.

I can promise you that God hasn't "permanently abandoned" you. But beyond that, I don't know what kind of phase you are in or what you're experiencing or why. We often don't know that about ourselves while we are going through it. But times like that are for persevering. However God responds and whatever comes after that, and even later after that - our place is to persevere. God knows how to grow us. And it's always based on what's good for us, not what we want right now.

I know this isn't much help probably. As much as we want answers, we often don't get them. But what we are supposed to do on the meantime IS laid out for us.

Prayers for you.

wondering if anyone has been through experience of grieving Holy Spirit to where the blessed Holy Spirit left them, and got back with Jesus Christ in fellowship somehow. there is more to this, but that is simplified version for now.

 

[this is not my name]

thank you for taking the time to reply.

 

[this is not my name]

God is great.

 

[worshipjunkie]

Just came back on here after a weekend of deliverence and prayers in London, I was feeling better the other day more free and I even felt like the holy spirit was back but since then I've felt that self-condemnation again and that its gone and I am not sure why? I understand people on the forum wont be able to answer and they'll just want to be positive about it but is there a point where God is like nah I'm just done..

I've been reading your threads on this, and I'm wondering if it's possible you're suffering from depression. Mental Health Screening Tools | Screening 2 Supports is a good quick "maybe". I have suffered from depression and I have got wierd spiritual fixations that don't seem to respond to any advice (i.e. God hates me, I'm condemned to never be in the will of God, etc). In fact, that's one of the lesser known symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. You've got great advice, with Scriptural evidence, and I just wonder if your difficulty in accepting it might stem from a less obvious cause.

 

[this is not my name]

don't let that get you down though. God is able to overcome. if you get fear, turn it to God. He gives the victory! our job is to believe in Him! trust Him completely, and surrender your life to Him. look to Jesus! in the desert, those who looked upon the snake that Moses raises up got healed. Look at Jesus! Oh, and don't just go for itching ears. If you know God is telling you to do something, just do it. don't make a mistake I did, and try to reason out of it, or allow someone else reason you out of it.

 

[this is not my name]

Welcome to CF.

Haven't read the whole thread.

There is much to understand and we learn more as we go.

Yes, there was a time when God was very close and I let myself get into doubt by reading things I shouldn't have (it pretended to be a Christian study but really was designed to attack Christian beliefs and I didn't realize soon enough - I was a babe in Christ with no knowledge) ... and that led to one of the darkest times of my life, when it seemed life had been torn away. It was blessedly short (well less than a month) though it felt a horrible eternity.

And then - we grow - and there are seasons.

There is almost always a "honeymoon phase" with the life in Christ - God seems close, prayers are answered, life is amazing. It lasts a different amount of time for each person - from very brief to years. But again in almost every case, God withdraws. We need to grow up, learn to seek Him, learn to trust even without our hands being held all the time, and so on. God draws nearer, and more distant - this part has many phases, and usually lasts much of the rest of our lives. It has a purpose.

And there are other things too.

I can promise you that God hasn't "permanently abandoned" you. But beyond that, I don't know what kind of phase you are in or what you're experiencing or why. We often don't know that about ourselves while we are going through it. But times like that are for persevering. However God responds and whatever comes after that, and even later after that - our place is to persevere. God knows how to grow us. And it's always based on what's good for us, not what we want right now.

I know this isn't much help probably. As much as we want answers, we often don't get them. But what we are supposed to do on the meantime IS laid out for us.

Prayers for you.

quick question, what was the study about? because I got tripped up by three different theologies.

one study attacked the divinity of Christ. Jesus is God, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
two, it attacked freedom in Christ. the truth, I found out later, all meat is clean, so long as it does not affect your conscience, and so long as Christ is your Lord.
three, that it matters what they say when you are baptized. It does to an extent, but not really. it is showing what happened in your heart. you believe in Christ, accept Him as your Lord and Savior, and then you get baptized, the Bible does say that it is for the remission of sins, but the words do not really matter. so long as they are in the right parameters. I personally believe it should be in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. but others say Lord Jesus Christ, and the truth, if you accepted Christ, and were baptized into Him, it is fine. if you keep doubting, ask if your heart is right. Choose to trust Him to save you with all your heart, and submit yourself fully to Him. follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit. if you were baptized, and then later come to a revelation of Jesus Christ, and feel like He is calling you to get baptized again, don't hold yourself back by saying, "I have already been baptized." but choose to make a new commitment to Him. choose to follow Him.

 

[~Anastasia~]

quick question, what was the study about? because I got tripped up by three different theologies.

one study attacked the divinity of Christ. Jesus is God, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
two, it attacked freedom in Christ. the truth, I found out later, all meat is clean, so long as it does not affect your conscience, and so long as Christ is your Lord.
three, that it matters what they say when you are baptized. It does to an extent, but not really. it is showing what happened in your heart. you believe in Christ, accept Him as your Lord and Savior, and then you get baptized, the Bible does say that it is for the remission of sins, but the words do not really matter. so long as they are in the right parameters. I personally believe it should be in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. but others say Lord Jesus Christ, and the truth, if you accepted Christ, and were baptized into Him, it is fine. if you keep doubting, ask if your heart is right. Choose to trust Him to save you with all your heart, and submit yourself fully to Him. follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit. if you were baptized, and then later come to a revelation of Jesus Christ, and feel like He is calling you to get baptized again, don't hold yourself back by saying, "I have already been baptized." but choose to make a new commitment to Him. choose to follow Him.

I have discovered very trustworthy sources and no longer run into these kinds of problems. But at the time I was very unsure of things and easily influenced. It was none of those. I can't remember what the exact "bait" info was but it ended up being various supposed connections between Christianity and paganism, and their end game was to claim that Christ was not divine, Christianity was a re-worked pagan sham, one could only be pleasing to God by going back to Noahide covenants, and it was connected to a Ba-hai faith.

I see the pseudo-history all the time now, which is usually designed to attack Catholicism or a certain period of Church history rather than Christianity altogether. I've never again seen an attempt to draw it back to a Noahide covenant. This was in the 1990s.

Yes, Jesus is God. And no, we are not under the sort of law that was put on Judaism (remember there is no need to become Jewish to be Christian - the Apostles discussed that).

As to baptism - there is "one baptism for the remission of sins" ... but if there is a question about the baptism it will usually be decided to do it again. The original form was Trinitarian and should be today. As long as one understands the Trinity AS the Trinity - for example there are a few denominations that teach things such as Jesus being just a creature - and such a baptism as that should certainly be repeated. But God is not limited, and while He has prescribed means by which Christians are supposed to follow, He is not nearly so concerned with legal technicalities as some denominations/believers can be.

It's always wise if we do have a real question to seek out the Truth. It is a means of growth and benefit to us when we find it.

 

[Rosesandthorns]

Also, every morning I wake up and I'm like "God.. I am alive, how? How am I still alive why are you keeping me alive?"

I genuinely can't describe the physical, spiritual and existential agony I am in as a result of going against the knowledge of the truth but I feel I have put myself in this position, I am sorry for the things I've done maybe only for the fear of the result of it.. and that's not true repentance, so maybe that's why I am in this state. I am in a state of obsession now with the afterlife because I feel as though that's my only hope now.

 

[Rosesandthorns]

God I pray you forgive me. I pray that it's just my conscience that is off, that there will be a way for me to be saved.

 

[this is not my name]

there is always hope. God returned His Spirit to Sampson. He also gave hope to the backslidden. He also has miraculously saved people from the jaws of death.

 

[this is not my name]

help me look for people who have been through similar experiences and came back.

 

[~Anastasia~]

help me look for people who have been through similar experiences and came back.

Jesus gave us the parable of the Prodigal Son so that we can know and trust God is always waiting on us to return to Him and will greet us with open arms and celebrate our return.

 

[Rosesandthorns]

Wow God is beyond good

 

[Ken C.]

This is my prayer for you and it comes straight out of the Word of God.

Ephesians 1:3-23 (KJV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath(has) blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:(underline mine)
4 According as he hath(has) chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,(underline mine)
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

God has given you everything that you will ever need to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus. That's Grace, His part. Our part is faith. Faith is what brings the unseen into reality.

 

[this is not my name]

thank you.

 

[James Kelley]

It might feel like it, but that's not the truth. Trust the promises of God.
What can happen though is that you might not be able to feel or hear the Spirit like you once this. Some reasons for this is that God has told you to do something or change something in your life, and you are still working on that. Another possibility is that you have ignored your conscience. When we do that, we become spiritually hard of hearing. Also, you might just be having a time of rest. God doesn't continually try to make us grow; he knows what we can handle.
Have you tried asking God through prayer?

i sinned while the spirit was convicting me for about 6 mos. Now, no conscience. I don't feel like reading the bible. I been looking everywhere for months what todo. My church shruggs their shoulders and prays for me, I've gone back into the world. Every youtube video says, once you lose that conviction and go off back which takes a period of time, not just a few sins, you've blasphemed the spirit. So I tried to be an atheist. yeah stupid..But I couldn't, because I had tasted the goodness and tugging, and convictingof H.S and atheists have no sense and they claim christians are dumb. I KNOW WHAT YESHUA DID! I FEAR LIKE I HAVE NO STRENGTH. AND IDK WHAT REPENTANCE MEANS. I'M TERRIBLY SUICIDAL, AND NEVER BEEN LIKE THAT. I TRY TO PRAY BUT IT'S SO WEAK......LOOKING UP HELP ONLINE, AND THERE IS NONE. NO HOSPITALS OR YOU KNOW, INPATIENT FAITH BASED TRANSFORMATION..JUST WEAKER AND WEAKER CHURCHES..SCARED.

 

[James Kelley]

I felt like He was ripped from me one day, and then the next day I felt terror, and verses kept coming at me that were about how I should be willing to die for my Savior, how He is worthy. How I should have submitted and done what I thought the Holy Spirit was telling me to do out of faith, and that I need to walk in obedience, but am wondering how to get the Holy Spirit back, so that I can have the strength and the faith to do what was asked of me, which might be impossible for me to do by my own strength. But all things are possible with God. it seems like food has now proven to be a stumbling block for me, and every time I eat, or at least when I overeat, I get guilt. and now I am not sure if the door will open up for me to do what I thought God asked me to do. I feel like I am walking around against God's will all day. He is perfectly just. I read people say to repent, but in order to do that I might need to do something that I am unable to do unless God is giving me power to do it. I am in a rut.

 

[James Kelley]

I THOUGHT THIS WAS ME! SAME EXACT STORY TO A T! I NO LONGER GET CONVICTED. HE KEPT WARNING ME BUT I SAID NO! AND TERROR STRUCK IN ABOUT 6 WEEKS OF CONVICTION WEAKINING, IT WAS GONE..I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO REPENT FOR EXCEPT SELL EVERYTHING I GOT AND GO PRACTICE BEING A MONK, AND THERE'S NO HELP OUT THERE. THEY HAVE REHABS THAT ARE CHRISTIAN BASED BUT NO SPIRITUAL HELP CENTERS ANYWHERE

 

[Tempura]

AND IDK WHAT REPENTANCE MEANS. I'M TERRIBLY SUICIDAL

Repentance isn't an act that we can say "here's how you do it". It doesn't even have to be a feeling, because for some of us, feelings come and go, and they're often deceiving, against us and even God. I'm not one who sees devil under every rock, but there's a reason why he's called the deceiver and the accuser, and why Jesus Christ is called the savior.

We can't conjure up any given feelings on a whim. Try to feel happy, right now. Try to feel surprised. Try to feel satisfied. No, it doesn't work that way. Repentance is what you're currently doing: you know you have done something wrong, and you want to be different. It's about something in you turning against what you have done, rebuking it. It's the spirit fighting against the flesh. The Spirit will win. Our flesh was crucified with Christ. It tries to tell us that it's still here and in power, but it's a lie. It's about you holding on to Christ against what your feelings tell you right now, instead of thinking that you have to perform a magic trick to get Christ back, when He's always there for the prodigal son. It's an exercise of faith. Believe that He has it under control, and that He will not abandon you, and that God is love. Christ is your rock, no matter what you feel, no matter how sure you might be that you have been abandoned. Hang on to Christ. The more you do this, the longer you do this, you will have more peace. We could never get anything by performing. We never deserved Christ. But His grace is great, and he knows our condition.

I believe it was CH Spurgeon, an old english minister, who struggled with it. Here's a few quotes from him:

"Do not sit down and try to pump up repentance from the dry well of a corrupt nature. It is contrary to the laws of your mind to suppose that you can force your soul into that gracious state. Take your heart in prayer to Him who understands it and say, "Lord, cleanse it. Lord, renew it. Lord, work repentance in it." The more you try to produce penitent emotions in yourself, the more you will be disappointed. However, if you believingly think of Jesus dying for you, repentance will burst forth.”

this is my favorite one:

"I hear another man cry, “Oh, sir my want of strength lies mainly in this, that I cannot repent sufficiently!” A curious idea men have of what repentance is! Many fancy that so many tears are to be shed, and so many groans are to be heaved, and so much despair is to be endured. Whence comes this unreasonable notion? Unbelief and despair are sins, and therefore I do not see how they can be constituent elements of acceptable repentance; yet there are many who regard them as necessary parts of true Christian experience. They are in great error. Still, I know what they mean, for in the days of my darkness I used to feel in the same way. I desired to repent, but I thought that I could not do it, and yet all the while I was repenting. Odd as it may sound, I felt that I could not feel. I used to get into a corner and weep, because I could not weep; and I fell into bitter sorrow because I could not sorrow for sin. What a jumble it all is when in our unbelieving state we begin to judge our own condition! It is like a blind man looking at his own eyes. My heart was melted within me for fear, because I thought that my heart was as hard as an adamant stone. My heart was broken to think that it would not break. Now I can see that I was exhibiting the very thing which I thought I did not possess; but then I knew not where I was. Remember that the man who truly repents is never satisfied with his own repentance. We can no more repent perfectly than we can live perfectly. However pure our tears, there will always be some dirt in them: there will be something to be repented of even in our best repentance. But listen! To repent is to change your mind about sin, and Christ, and all the great things of God. There is sorrow implied in this; but the main point is the turning of the heart from sin to Christ. If there be this turning, you have the essence of true repentance, even though no alarm and no despair should ever have cast their shadow upon your mind.”

I will pray for you, and I hope you get help. You need to rest brother. Let God be God, you don't have to run around in terror. This is not what God wants for us to do. Our own sinful nature, when we really understand it, it can and will scare us. We didn't know how deep it goes. We had no idea. And when we try to be perfect, we can't. But Christ shines ever brighter. That longing for Him, it's not your own idea. Got put it inside you. It's His work. He didn't put it there to mess with you. He is not like that. He knows what He's doing. God bless you.

 

[Chris35]

I went through something similar. I believed the holy spirit left. It wasnt untill 15 years later that i began seeing the truth.

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What your experiencing at the moment, i dont believe it comes from God. Satan hates God, and God loves people more then we can comprehend. Now satan cant do anything to God himself, so what does he do? Satan loves to attack his children, especially new ones that are yet to build a foundation. He tries to make us believe we have been seperated them from God's love any way he can.

I have been attacked many times in my life, i know he can bring in bad feelings, to the point of panic and fear. Satan found an opening and is using it, to make you believe God has left you

The good news is, nothing can seperate you from God. When Satan attacks, he is full of lies, gods word is truth. Rebuke the lies and stand firm on the truth. Keep moving forward, and it will pass.

Remember Jesus has conquered Satan, he can only hold you down for awhile, and put stumbling blocks on your path. In the end, your in gods hands and nothing can snatch you away. You will always find your way back to him.