Negativity and crisis of faith

[ToBeLoved]

Do you lead your family spiritually? In Bible study, worship and prayer?

This may be a good time to begin these things in your family. Put aside one night of the week and pray with your wife regularly.

 

[Solomons Porch]

My brother in Christ, blessings to you and your home.
It sounds as if a "spirit of fear" has come upon her and is attacking her.
Pray against it, come against it in your prayer closet.
Replace the spirit of fear, with a "spirit of peace".
Take away the bad spirit, replace with Gods spirit, which is a spirit of peace.
Sometimes our greatest weapons are done in prayer alone with God.
Instead of confrontation, frustration, and anger.
Because it sounds like that is what will happen should you approach her about it.
Do this alone in prayer with God.
Then allow HIM to open the door for you to step through to speak to her heart.

 

[GirdYourLoins]

Matthew 24:12 in the NIV says "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold"

Sounds exactly like your wife. She needs to decide if she will be one of the ones in verse 13 - "but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved." Or of she will give up because sinful people who do not know God and do not want to know God are fulfilling the prophesies about them in the Bible?

 

[LadyCrosstalk]

My wife has become a bit despondant due to the state of the world. She is having a bit of an existential crisis.
We have recently had a spate of horrific murders in my country. A guy killed his parents and siblings with an axe, a young girl of three was raped and murdered etc.
She is quite depressed and fearful due to this and has begun to verbalise doubts on the goodness of God, even said she is struggling with faith in His existence even.

This has largely come as a shock to me as she has always had an unshakeable faith. She has been my rock when I struggled into the Truth from my previous atheism.

Now I don't know how to help her. I tried to discuss the ways to solve the question of Evil, but ended up in a long sidetrack on how depraved and evil men are. I was trying to get her to remember that all goodness is ultimately of God, but she says I just made her feel worse. She says I am too negative, my view of man too dark. She says she believed in man, had hope for humanity, which she has now lost. I can't help but think that we are too sinful to get anywhere without God, without divine Grace, but this seems to only drag her downward and worsen the situation. She hates my bleak view of the world and my attempts to stress reliance on God have largely failed on account of how I seem to agree with her estimation of the blackness of the world. I just can't seem to lift her spirits, but my tendency to try and intellectualise everything seems to be driving her away.

I am really at the end of my tether. Prayers would be appreciated and any advice?

Remind her that, "Perfect love [which is what God has for His children] casts out fear." Jesus told us that, in this world, (ruled by Satan) we would have trouble, but that He would be with us through the trouble. In the end, all mortal humans will die, but that enables the children of God to put on immortality. What she fears is the suffering that the followers of Satan inflict on the innocent but Jesus told us to fear not those who can kill the body but only Him who can kill both body AND soul in hell. What we need to think on is the giants of the faith who faced severe persecution (and do so today as well, in many countries). God never gives any of us anything more than we can bear--that is our promise to cling to. He knows what we can bear.

 

[Bluerose31]

My wife has become a bit despondant due to the state of the world. She is having a bit of an existential crisis.
We have recently had a spate of horrific murders in my country. A guy killed his parents and siblings with an axe, a young girl of three was raped and murdered etc.
She is quite depressed and fearful due to this and has begun to verbalise doubts on the goodness of God, even said she is struggling with faith in His existence even.

This has largely come as a shock to me as she has always had an unshakeable faith. She has been my rock when I struggled into the Truth from my previous atheism.

Now I don't know how to help her. I tried to discuss the ways to solve the question of Evil, but ended up in a long sidetrack on how depraved and evil men are. I was trying to get her to remember that all goodness is ultimately of God, but she says I just made her feel worse. She says I am too negative, my view of man too dark. She says she believed in man, had hope for humanity, which she has now lost. I can't help but think that we are too sinful to get anywhere without God, without divine Grace, but this seems to only drag her downward and worsen the situation. She hates my bleak view of the world and my attempts to stress reliance on God have largely failed on account of how I seem to agree with her estimation of the blackness of the world. I just can't seem to lift her spirits, but my tendency to try and intellectualise everything seems to be driving her away.

I am really at the end of my tether. Prayers would be appreciated and any advice?

Praying for your wife and you.

 

[Waggles]

Now I don't know how to help her. I tried to discuss the ways to solve the question of Evil,

You and your wife need to understand that we are truly in the very last of days and there is much
Bible prophecy in the NT about the signs thereof.
The wickedness of people being one of the chief indicators.
Your faith in Christ Jesus is not just about choosing to do good over bad, but also the promise that you
will not die and be lost as the un-Godly are.

Get into a Bible reading program with your wife and start reading gospels, Acts and the Epistles,
after a while you will gain much understanding about your relationship and salvation in Jesus, and
how this separates you from the fate of this world.
Faith is about hope.

2 Timothy 3:
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those
that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God
upon the children of disobedience.
Ephesians 5:6
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
1 Thessalonians 5:9

 

[Questore]

A big part of the problem is God's sovereignty. My wife cannot seem to understand why such evil is allowed. I tell her that man begets evil, sin begets sin, but she thinks many such criminals must be soulless and this has led her to doubt the actual sovereignty of God.
She is very intelligent, so I think she understands the implications of various solutions of the problem of evil, but it seems as if this is a more visceral doubt. It is more gut than head. If I try and discuss it, I am met by the fact that I am "so negative" and worsening her depression. She sees man as evil, but does not want me to completely affirm this. I don't know, I am a bit lost where to head here.

The point of this broken world was not to give mankind a nice life, but to allow him the ability to choose for himself how he would live this life, and learn from his mistakes. No guarantees were made to mankind except of difficulty in this life because our first parent's freewill choice was to do things their own way.

Nothing has changed in mankind since Adam was booted out of the Garden. Only as G-d increasingly interacted with mankind have we been able to slowly develop into a society that attempts to be civilized, and only by following his way of doing things. When we don't, people get hurt.

Freewill is automatically dangerous because every action, every choice affects someone else, and the closer we live to one another, the more it affects us. G-d's sovereignty is not in question.

G-d could stop everything now by sending Yeshua, but chooses not to. He is waiting for the very last soul he knows can be saved before he has to terminate the majority of the population, and move into the Kingdom phase of his plans for this race. A lot of people are going to suffer for that. For all of his love for us, he has been very clear in the past that this life is transient, and brief, subject to much trouble.

G-d's design has been to allow all this choice to enable us...to see if we will choose to follow his ways of thinking and doing things. Those that do not choose to follow him are chaff, inconsequential on the eternal scale. Their hurts and the hurts they cause others are simply a part of G-d's winnowing process, just as their joys and the joys they cause others is simply a part of the winnowing process.

While the winnowing process G-d created, and that Adam complicated, is horrible and painful, G-d actually suffers all of it with us, and came to this planet as Yeshua to save us from it being a total loss to us, and to G-d. And it is necessary to go through this process, because G-d doesn't want automatons for family members. Everyone that is born has a set of genes, and a set of circumstances, and only those that survive the setup spiritually are moving onward in G-d's economy.

Yet in his sovereignty G-d still chooses to intercede on a regular basis. With the amount of chaos on this planet, if there were not innumerable invisible hands protecting us all from most of what goes on, no one would make it to adulthood, and in the past, many often have not. But we are entering the final period where all the protections will be lifted except for those that G-d chooses to protect, and most people are left pretty much on their own. It is not going to be pretty, and certainly not safe for anyone.

We have to be firm in our beliefs...on what we will do under what circumstances, because civil unrest and war and disease and famine are going to erratically and wildly increase everywhere. Any assumption that civilized behavior is going to stand up to what is coming is unwarranted. We really are going into a chaotic mess, and no one is able to be completely safe except spiritually.

Physically, people are going to be under attack emotionally and psychologically in ways that will far exceed the day to day problems of survival, and the warnings in the Scriptures are primarily about people failing due to fear. The people who do not accept this will take the Mark, and receive a short space of peace on this planet in exchange for no future life...no living beyond this body, and facing only a brief resurrection, and a sentence of the second death. The Lake of Fire is for the Devil and his Angels, and even death is eventually thrown into it.

All of us have to choose with every action to rely upon what we know in Yeshua, and from the scriptures, and from our history, that this life is temporary, and might be forfeited, but that another one awaits us if we die because we choose G-d and G-d's ways.

Yet it is never the dying that troubles us...just how we die, and how we have to live until that point. Only a remnant is going to survive to see Yeshua come in mortal form, and it's going to be difficult, and terrifying to see all that will come on the earth as the next years pass.

Watching all of it on purpose is self-torture, because it will happen whether we watch or not, and this time is only unusual for being able to watch all of this trial by day-to-day combat happen in some places while it happens not at all in others...for a time. We cannot stop what is happening, but there will be periods of calm, and even times of joy, but only if you rest in the knowledge that Abba will enable us to get through whatever lies in front of us...even the fear, and the pain, and the losses...even death.

You wife will have to choose, as all of us do, to trust G-d, and stop focusing on what cannot be helped. Prepare for trouble just as if for war, and learn to defend yourself…it will be necessary. Spend time enjoying the good times that are left as they occur, but do not close your eyes to the truth that I see, because it’s not just on the TV your wife is watching, or the events she is following, but in prophecy.

 

[Kit Sigmon]

My wife has become a bit despondant due to the state of the world. She is having a bit of an existential crisis.
We have recently had a spate of horrific murders in my country. A guy killed his parents and siblings with an axe, a young girl of three was raped and murdered etc.
She is quite depressed and fearful due to this and has begun to verbalise doubts on the goodness of God, even said she is struggling with faith in His existence even.

This has largely come as a shock to me as she has always had an unshakeable faith. She has been my rock when I struggled into the Truth from my previous atheism.

Now I don't know how to help her. I tried to discuss the ways to solve the question of Evil, but ended up in a long sidetrack on how depraved and evil men are. I was trying to get her to remember that all goodness is ultimately of God, but she says I just made her feel worse. She says I am too negative, my view of man too dark. She says she believed in man, had hope for humanity, which she has now lost. I can't help but think that we are too sinful to get anywhere without God, without divine Grace, but this seems to only drag her downward and worsen the situation. She hates my bleak view of the world and my attempts to stress reliance on God have largely failed on account of how I seem to agree with her estimation of the blackness of the world. I just can't seem to lift her spirits, but my tendency to try and intellectualise everything seems to be driving her away.

I am really at the end of my tether. Prayers would be appreciated and any advice?

Have you spoken with your minister about this situation?

 

[tturt]

Maybe you could remind her of Psa 91 or encourage her to replace her fearful thoughts with Scripture such as: "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." Isa 41:10

 

[ToBeLoved]

Maybe you could remind her of Psa 91 or encourage her to replace her fearful thoughts with Scripture such as: "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." Isa 41:10

I agree that she must not have the faith that God is in control.

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

Have you spoken with your minister about this situation?

No, she has only recently started feeling this way or at least verbalising it to me. Her stepfather is a minister, so I think I'll approach him. My mother-in-law married him later in life in her widowhood, so the relationship with my wife is not the odd one stepfathers sometimes have with their new stepchildren. I'll discuss it with her though whom she wants us to approach.

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

Maybe you could remind her of Psa 91 or encourage her to replace her fearful thoughts with Scripture such as: "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." Isa 41:10

My wife likes the Psalms. This is a good one. She used to use Psalm 23 as a sort of personal motto when struggling at work. She used to say that it was so popular for a reason.

 

[tturt]

Agree Psa 23 is great for a reason. I love Psalms especially 145. Like listening to it on audio Bible such as at Biblegateway.

 

[joinfree]

.....failed on account of how I seem to agree with her estimation of the blackness of the world. ....

Here is all the problem your family has:

.....I... agree ....

Take this collection of videos as solution of your problem:
The True Religion is Proved - YouTube

 

[stealthsaint]

With like mind, my wife fears travel to other places like Mexico, Europe, except for return to Scotland (family roots is motivation).
My solace in the events of the world as disarming is given solution in OUR Bible, to think of things above. When we focUS on the GODness of God we will lose focUS on things of the world. Take all thoughts captive unto that GODness.
It is not easy but takes persevering to CONSTANTLY REMEMBER WE inhabit a cursed earth. We must find connection, relationship by waiting on OUR Lord. Listening in a quiet place for His voice to HEAR it and follow His leading. Lord is the Prince of Peace. in that quiet time waiting on Lord we will rise UP with His teaching, in assurance Lord Spirit is with US never to leave US or forsake US. Our journey is to pray for all saints at all time this is the will of God to unite US to the unity of the faith to the measure of the fullness of the stature of Christ JesUS. As we think so are we are not idle words.
Ep 6:18 By means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time inspirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints,
1Ti 2:1 I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men;
1Ti 2:2 On behalf of kings and all who are in high position, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all godliness and gravity.
Give a blessing to receive a blessing

2Co 9:6 But take note of this: He who sows sparingly shall also sparingly reap; and he who sows with blessings shall also with blessings reap; THIS is a UNIVERSAL law.
Lord bless OUR body with revelation of the peace we find when we pray concerning all saints and all man. ALL the world needs NOW is love AMEN. THANK YOU LORD HALLELUJAH. ALL prayer should be a celebration of heaven touching down. as we cheer in football. WE pray until touchdown.

 

[D2wing]

My wife has become a bit despondant due to the state of the world. She is having a bit of an existential crisis.
We have recently had a spate of horrific murders in my country. A guy killed his parents and siblings with an axe, a young girl of three was raped and murdered etc.
She is quite depressed and fearful due to this and has begun to verbalise doubts on the goodness of God, even said she is struggling with faith in His existence even.

This has largely come as a shock to me as she has always had an unshakeable faith. She has been my rock when I struggled into the Truth from my previous atheism.

Now I don't know how to help her. I tried to discuss the ways to solve the question of Evil, but ended up in a long sidetrack on how depraved and evil men are. I was trying to get her to remember that all goodness is ultimately of God, but she says I just made her feel worse. She says I am too negative, my view of man too dark. She says she believed in man, had hope for humanity, which she has now lost. I can't help but think that we are too sinful to get anywhere without God, without divine Grace, but this seems to only drag her downward and worsen the situation. She hates my bleak view of the world and my attempts to stress reliance on God have largely failed on account of how I seem to agree with her estimation of the blackness of the world. I just can't seem to lift her spirits, but my tendency to try and intellectualise everything seems to be driving her away.

I am really at the end of my tether. Prayers would be appreciated and any advice?

The key is hope in humanity. This is the downfall of all things liberal. The ideal that man is basically good and does not need redemption. The Bible says we are all sinners and need Jesus Christ to redeem us from our sins. We will be disappointed if we rely on mankind to do good. Sure God put in us a sense of good and evil. and most people try to do good. But as the end times approach and the public turns openly against God, God is removing his restraint so the true nature of man without God is revealed. Expect to see evil abound as predicted in the Bible. But our hope is in Christ, that at some point he will return and set things right. Our job is to hold on to out faith.

 

[Bird of the field]

My wife has become a bit despondant due to the state of the world. She is having a bit of an existential crisis.
We have recently had a spate of horrific murders in my country. A guy killed his parents and siblings with an axe, a young girl of three was raped and murdered etc.
She is quite depressed and fearful due to this and has begun to verbalise doubts on the goodness of God, even said she is struggling with faith in His existence even.

This has largely come as a shock to me as she has always had an unshakeable faith. She has been my rock when I struggled into the Truth from my previous atheism.

Now I don't know how to help her. I tried to discuss the ways to solve the question of Evil, but ended up in a long sidetrack on how depraved and evil men are. I was trying to get her to remember that all goodness is ultimately of God, but she says I just made her feel worse. She says I am too negative, my view of man too dark. She says she believed in man, had hope for humanity, which she has now lost. I can't help but think that we are too sinful to get anywhere without God, without divine Grace, but this seems to only drag her downward and worsen the situation. She hates my bleak view of the world and my attempts to stress reliance on God have largely failed on account of how I seem to agree with her estimation of the blackness of the world. I just can't seem to lift her spirits, but my tendency to try and intellectualise everything seems to be driving her away.

I am really at the end of my tether. Prayers would be appreciated and any advice?

Dear Brother,

I would like to share with you Philippians 4:8-9
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice and the God of peace will be with you.

I think this may help, remind her to Focus on Jesus, NOT the world, Focus on beauty and love and not sin, Thank and praise God together, point out to your wife the small miracles all around, the miraculous beauty of creation, the endless variety of colors of flowers, the fact the flavors of food, and the amazing mercy that God showed us by sacrificing HIS son for us because he loved us, every event will not reveal its reason to us, but we know that Gods will WILL prevail. Keep the faith, Stay strong, and keep praying. God loves you!
In Christ, ~ Kathi

 

[Jan001]

My wife has become a bit despondant due to the state of the world. She is having a bit of an existential crisis.
We have recently had a spate of horrific murders in my country. A guy killed his parents and siblings with an axe, a young girl of three was raped and murdered etc.
She is quite depressed and fearful due to this and has begun to verbalise doubts on the goodness of God, even said she is struggling with faith in His existence even.

This has largely come as a shock to me as she has always had an unshakeable faith. She has been my rock when I struggled into the Truth from my previous atheism.

Now I don't know how to help her. I tried to discuss the ways to solve the question of Evil, but ended up in a long sidetrack on how depraved and evil men are. I was trying to get her to remember that all goodness is ultimately of God, but she says I just made her feel worse. She says I am too negative, my view of man too dark. She says she believed in man, had hope for humanity, which she has now lost. I can't help but think that we are too sinful to get anywhere without God, without divine Grace, but this seems to only drag her downward and worsen the situation. She hates my bleak view of the world and my attempts to stress reliance on God have largely failed on account of how I seem to agree with her estimation of the blackness of the world. I just can't seem to lift her spirits, but my tendency to try and intellectualise everything seems to be driving her away.

I am really at the end of my tether. Prayers would be appreciated and any advice?

God created mankind "good" and then Adam sinned and his sin made it impossible for any human to enter into heaven to be with God. Romans 5:9-11

BUT, God so loved us and the world that He sent His own Son Jesus to redeem us and thereby make it possible for all humans to become saved now and to enter into heaven later after they died. If Christians are faithful to God at the time of their death, Jesus will then approve them worthy to inherit/enter eternal life. John 3:16, Revelation 3:4, 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12

The earth is a testing ground to determine if a person is worthy to inherit eternal life. 2 Corinthians 13:5-7

First of all, Jesus will save every person who truly repents of his sins. To repent means to turn away from sin (stop sinning) and to imitate Jesus' obedience to His Father.

If a Christian does commit sin that leads to death (mortal sin), if he repents of his sin, God will forgive him and He will restore His relationship with him again. 1 Corinthians 6:8-10, 1 John 5:16-17, 1 John 2:1

Every person must choose one of these for himself.
Serve God?
Serve Self?
Serve Satan?
Serve the world?

I do not choose to watch or hear about all the horrible things that are done daily in the whole world and so I limit my exposure to them. I choose instead to spend most of my free time reading Christian literature, both fiction and non-fiction; watching wholesome movies and TV shows; and meeting weekly with my Christian friends to play games and to visit. About once a month my husband and I meet for breakfast with other Christian friends and relatives. We do tremendously enjoy life in fellowship with God and with our Christian friends and relatives.

There will always be evil in this world. We should all therefore use good sense so that we can prudently avoid most of the things and places that can cause us harm. If evil still finds us and harms us, God will definitely hear our prayers and He will help us to get through these trials/tribulations. He will also bring good out of these evil things if we continue to abide in His love. Acts 14:21-23, Romans 8:28

The sincere prayers of faithful Christians can change what is going on in our countries and in our world.

If all Christians lived daily like Christians should live and if they also prayed fervently each day for the conversion of our countries and of the whole world, God would then indeed change our countries and the whole world.

2 Chronicles 7:14
if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. rsv

​

 

[ToBeLoved]

I agree with many of the other posters. Living in fear is a choice. And watching the news and stuff that is negative is a choice too. Motivated by fear.

Maybe she needs a good Christian friend to talk to. I would be happy to talk to her on the phone if she wants to. Just start a conversation with me if she wants to and let me know.

 

[writewords]

Pray for her. Go into the closet, as our Lord says. The Father hears what is said in secret. Try not to use explanations, etc with your wife as she is non receptive.