Starting to get tired in trusting God

[ndaskungelu]

Hi guys
i've been a christian for quite a while. I lead bible studies on campus, doing 1 to 1 ministries with younger christians. However lately i feel tired in trusting God for my personal problems. I know this is wrong and i know He does care as He says from His word in the bible. But in reality when you prayed a lot, hoped a lot, and things turn out to be unfavourable to me, it really affects my personal relationship with God. Start to questioning Him for everything.
Do you have any ideas of how to overcome this?

 

[Beige Panda]

I learned long ago that many Christians make the mistake of assuming God will cause everything to fall into place. He won't.

The truth - in my experience - is that He sometimes opens doors for you, but YOU'RE the one who has to walk through it. If you have trouble with that, prayer can give you some strength, just don't expect everything to be happy happy joy joy. You WILL have trials that you will have to overcome. God can help, but He won't do it for you.

I ran into the same thing you're currently experiencing until I shifted my perspective a little bit.

 

[ModestGirlsRock]

I agree with the above. When you obey Him, He gives you the opportunities to walk through doors you wouldn't been able to open yourself. Also, remember God's answers don't come at the times we expect/want them to either. If you're really feeling tired, perhaps you should question yourself. Are you really holding back even though you're saying you're not? Perhaps that is why you're tired. Lastly, it's okay to question God and examine your relationship with and to Him. I would say it's necessary for growth.

 

[Urban Monk]

Man, I know it seems like God doesn't care about u sometimes but u got 2 stay strong for real. I been through several tough situations in my life where it seemed like my life was going to be destroyed socially and financially but I stayed strong and trusted in God and because of my loyalty he got me through the darkness. Always trust in God

 

[1usul1]

"My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" JC in the garden of Gethsemane,

Jesus knows what you are going through man and how tough it is. Keep seeking to find God.

 

[Kol]

Two things come to mind.

First of all, you may not know it, but when Paul tells us to "hope" for something, he was talking about something we had already been promised. In that sense (I personally think), you can't "hope" for something God hasn't given you a definite answer for. Wishing he would save you from your sinful habit of lying isn't on par with wishing he really will give you eternal salvation. We've already been promised salvation, thus (in Paul's greek sense), we *can* hope for it. So when you say you have personal issues, pray about them, then hope for (whatever), you're only setting yourself up for hurt. Hope doesn't mean to pick what you think God, in all his grace and love, will likely do, and then have faith that he will do that. That sets you up for heartache and disappointment with him.

Secondly, I find it much more effective to not micromanage his responses. For example, instead of saying "Lord, my sister needs to leave this guy she's with," I will simply pray, "Lord, my sister is in a bad relationship. Please turn your attention to her." Let him do things in his own way-his mind and his options are much more open than ours. When you ask for specifics, you're limiting him in what you allow him to do in your life: only what you want.

You might also want to think about how failure and pain can draw us closer to him. Maybe he's allowing this recent problem so that you can examine your relationship with him.

 

[TanteBelle]

Great one Kol!!! I went through this one in a huge way when my bro announced that he was running away from home to live with his then girlfriend. My whole family were asking God to not let it happen and it got me thinking. God isn't here to just swoop down and save the earth from anything bad that would happen. His job is not to create a perfect world for imperfect beings; His job would never end! His promise is that He will be there with us when the stuggles and bad times come. So, rather than ask God to do something that I want Him to do, I had to say, 'Father, I don't know why this is happening. I can't forsee what lies ahead. I know that Satan will attempt to have his way with us all and perhaps you are letting him become the prodigal son. I just ask that You watch over him and open his eyes to Your truth!' We can't do anything more than surrender our weaknesses to His great strength!

 

[Luther073082]

Lets not forget that you like the rest of us carry the shortsightedness of being human.

Occasionally we can look back on those things and realize that had we gotten that thing we wanted or desired so bad it would have been bad for us in the long run.

Try to keep your faith in God's long term vision. And remember, you don't always get what you want. A comfortable life was not one of God's promises. Just ask Peter, Paul, Stephen etc etc etc.

 

[jean84]

i know i went through this myself. then God really opened my eyes to how i was praying. it was always, "God help me with this, answer this prayer, provide this, i want this to happen" etc. i was concerned with what i wanted. look back to Jesus's example of prayer. he started with praising God. "our father who art in heaven, hollowed be thy name." once i remembered that and started praying for what God wants and seeking his face, my perspective was dramatically changed. my circumstances didn't move, but my perception of them, even their importance, did change. if you seek God with all your heart, you will find him. once i found him, i mean daily found him, "unanswered" prayers didn't shake me because i realized that God isn't a magic genie only here to grant us wishes. He's the most high God whom we serve. we are here to serve him, not the other way around. and you're right, he does care for you. he sees the big picture, not just your current circumstance. so when he says "no" and doesn't give you what you prayed for you have to understand that he actually does know what he's doing and even better, he's working everything out for your good. God knows how to take care of you. it's hard to trust when you can't see what he's planning, but praying daily isn't just benificial, it's a must if you want to trust him. -- i don't know if this helped you at all with where you are, but it's from where i was. don't give up hope in God. remember, God cannot lie (numbers 23:19), He will never leave or forsake you (hebrews 13:5), He's the same yesterday, today and forever (hebrews 13:8), God has good plans for you (jer. 29:11), God will give you joy in hardships (james 1:2), God loves you with an everlasting love (romans 8:37-39), God will give you peace that passes all understanding (john 14:27) be blessed, brother!

 

[Holypeta]

Hi guys
i've been a christian for quite a while. I lead bible studies on campus, doing 1 to 1 ministries with younger christians. However lately i feel tired in trusting God for my personal problems. I know this is wrong and i know He does care as He says from His word in the bible. But in reality when you prayed a lot, hoped a lot, and things turn out to be unfavourable to me, it really affects my personal relationship with God. Start to questioning Him for everything.
Do you have any ideas of how to overcome this?

Well lets start off with this...

What are you doing to stray away from the Lord?

Do you have a good prayer time with the Lord everyday?

When you do pray how do you pray? Do you pray in the wrong mindset? Like are you negative when you pray? Or are you filled with the holy spirit when you pray and absolutely KNOWING God will work this out in His will?

If these few things relate to you then here you go

*Remove the things in life that are keeping you from God.
*Get yourself a prayer journal. Write your prayers in it everyday. Wow you wouldn't believe how the Lord can work through prayers being written down.
*Take walks and just pray.

 

[visionary]

Have you laid your life, and all your "stuff" on His altar. What you are describing is someone not in harmony, as they should be, with God. God gives the "peace that passes all understanding" to those who are not "working" in the salvation realm, but who are living it.

I believe you think you have given your life to God, but I am reading how much you have given your life to the church, and it has worn you out. God spiritually feeds his children, and it does not all come from the church. It comes from a personal bible study with His Spirit working on your heart, changing you, transforming you, and opening up your eyes to the world of sin everywhere, and how important is the need to be dedicated to Him.

I would take a sabbatical from active church work to go climb that "mountain" to be with God. Let nothing beset you from coming into His Presence, not even your favorite spiritual understanding. Get real with God, earnestly seeking Him like your life dependent on it. This is a one on one without outside influence. You need to push everything in this world aside including preconceived notions, and with just the bible study to know God and His Kingdom. Your purpose will be to have a Rev 3:20 experience of "sup" ing with Him. He is the only one who can tell you the truth and the whole truth. It is the only thing that will truly satisfy this hunger you have.

Presently you are starving, and the hash you are being served no longer is filling to your soul. It is ready for more. Seek to be fed manna from heaven and drink from the living waters. God bless you and keep you until He returns.

 

[E.C.]

Hi guys
i've been a christian for quite a while. I lead bible studies on campus, doing 1 to 1 ministries with younger christians. However lately i feel tired in trusting God for my personal problems. I know this is wrong and i know He does care as He says from His word in the bible. But in reality when you prayed a lot, hoped a lot, and things turn out to be unfavourable to me, it really affects my personal relationship with God. Start to questioning Him for everything.
Do you have any ideas of how to overcome this?

Means you need some humility.

What we want for ourselves in life and how we want things to turn out is not always what is best for us or sometimes what God knows we need.

Remember that God works on His time and not always on ours. Do not pray asking for a result of something that you want or desire, rather pray that God will help you to accept what the outcome may be.

I saw somebody else said not to micromanage. That is true. One of the greatest sins, in my opinion, that many commit is holding God to some schedule and expecting this and that and that and this. If that is you, quit it.

 

[MoNiCa4316]

Hi guys
i've been a christian for quite a while. I lead bible studies on campus, doing 1 to 1 ministries with younger christians. However lately i feel tired in trusting God for my personal problems. I know this is wrong and i know He does care as He says from His word in the bible. But in reality when you prayed a lot, hoped a lot, and things turn out to be unfavourable to me, it really affects my personal relationship with God. Start to questioning Him for everything.
Do you have any ideas of how to overcome this?

try to surrender to His will, as Christ did in the Garden of Gethsemane. Ask Him for strength. Remember, we trust Him in His goodness and to always be there with us.. not necessarily that He will answer all our prayers the way we want, because often we dont know what's best for us. We should trust that He knows, though. God bless

 

[stephanieamber]

Hi guys
i've been a christian for quite a while. I lead bible studies on campus, doing 1 to 1 ministries with younger christians. However lately i feel tired in trusting God for my personal problems. I know this is wrong and i know He does care as He says from His word in the bible. But in reality when you prayed a lot, hoped a lot, and things turn out to be unfavourable to me, it really affects my personal relationship with God. Start to questioning Him for everything.
Do you have any ideas of how to overcome this?

I think that our faith in God cannot lie in how we are feeling. It also can't lie in how he responds to us.

Prayers and hoping are good, but remember that God knows what is best for us; better than we know and could ever understand.

CS Lewis wrote about it in Mere Christianity, about how it is IMPORTANT to remind ourselves daily of what we believe in, even when we don't "feel" it. It's hard, though. Sorry you are feeling like this.

 

[God4Gives]

I don't believe God puts his fingers in every aspect of life. Only things in which is important to his plans... but I don't think everything is.
So, like I don't believe God cares if I eat a peanut butter sandwich instead of a tuna sandwich tomorrow, he also might not care if I chose to be a fantasy author instead of a minister. Though, he might care if someone ELSE isn't being a minister because, for him, it is important for God's plan... that doesn't mean God's plan for me has anything to do with what career I chose, who I love, where I live, what I do or what kind of sandwich I eat.
I choose to live life as it goes with logic, love and an open heart and soul for what God has to say. If somewhere in my life God tells me to make a choice then I will listen but that doesn't mean he will always be whispering into my ear to tell me every decision I should make.
Sometimes if not most of the time, that's up to me.

 

[Philip22]

I learned long ago that many Christians make the mistake of assuming God will cause everything to fall into place. He won't.

The truth - in my experience - is that He sometimes opens doors for you, but YOU'RE the one who has to walk through it.

I would agree with that. Well said.

 

[SmileAndAHandshake]

I learned long ago that many Christians make the mistake of assuming God will cause everything to fall into place. He won't.

The truth - in my experience - is that He sometimes opens doors for you, but YOU'RE the one who has to walk through it. If you have trouble with that, prayer can give you some strength, just don't expect everything to be happy happy joy joy. You WILL have trials that you will have to overcome. God can help, but He won't do it for you.

I ran into the same thing you're currently experiencing until I shifted my perspective a little bit.

Great post, I agree (and so did I... shifted my perspective, that is)