What is your biggest struggle in your walk with God?

[penNpaper]

I got the idea for this thread while talking to my friend.

We all have our own person struggles in our walk, somethings that are easy for some people are extremely hard for another. So I figured why not start a thread where we can help each other not only through our current struggles but as well as our long term struggles.

From my first post, some of you may already know my hardest struggle is being single. (hense why it is this is in the single forum) I find no enjoyment out of it at all. It's not about the physical aspect of being in a relationship. I love having a closer connection with someone, making plans, just watching a movie with a special someone. I miss having someone in my life like that. I don't like making plans for myself, I feel very selfish when I do, I don't like spending the extra money that I have on myself, again I feel selfish. I don't like reading blogs about when people say all they have is Christ; but they talk about how their husband/wife was there for them. My biggest desire in life is to have a loving and Godly marriage and bring two or three more faithful followers of God into the world with my children.
If anyone has any advise to help me improve my walk through this struggle, I will be very thankful.

God Bless.

Probably the biggest issue in my walk would be - purity issues. Actually for the first time in my adult life - I'm actually dealing in defeating issues regarding to purity problems...sure I ain't perfect. I was tired of being a slave towards something that has really controlled me for the past 4-5 years and in some cases most of my life. I rather be set free - and it takes time for some wounds to heal I know this now.

I'm really focusing on building my relationship with the LORD each and every day - He has given me an Second Chance and Forgiven me my past decisions. I thought about writing a book on purity, addictions, and other issues that all people deal with to tell my own story as well as help others to realized that you ain't alone in dealing with this alone. That is the big problem that I've seen...so many people that are dealing with "issues" always think - it is only them dealing with this alone - so many other people are dealing with issues.

God Bless,
Drew

 

[broken_one]

Self-fulfilling prophecy.

Also why the Act of Contrition prayer says "to sin no more AND to avoid the NEAR OCCASION of sin."

Castration then? I don't see how you could avoid the "near occasion" since there are so many lovely women around in our world.

(And no to other people, lust does not mean that you are some sicko. We all do it, which only adds to the fact that this sort of thing is a bit on the impossible side.)

 

[ChristoEtEcclesiae]

Castration then? I don't see how you could avoid the "near occasion" since there are so many lovely women around in our world.

(And no to other people, lust does not mean that you are some sicko. We all do it, which only adds to the fact that this sort of thing is a bit on the impossible side.)

Keep your eyes up and don't look at porn. I have no problem with it.

If you surrender yourself to sin, don't be surprised about where you end up.

 

[broken_one]

Keep your eyes up and don't look at porn. I have no problem with it.

If you surrender yourself to sin, don't be surprised about where you end up.

Honestly, I'm just unsure about a God who puts these sort of extremely strong urges inside us and yet in the same sentence criminalizes them to all but a select few.

 

[ChristoEtEcclesiae]

Honestly, I'm just unsure about a God who puts these sort of extremely strong urges inside us and yet in the same sentence criminalizes them to all but a select few.

Are you sure that it's God and not Satan who tempts you to sin?

 

[broken_one]

Are you sure that it's God and not Satan who tempts you to sin?

God permits Satan to exist, if you want to get technical.

But my last statement is something I, underneath it all, am struggling with it the most. Everything regarding sexual sin stems from that thought.

 

[iambren]

This is pretty generic/common to the Christian male but my struggles:

1 Not looking at women, but looking too long where it objectifies ie lust.

2 Not being disciplied to pray and be in the Word ie When I act as if God isn't important.

3 When I say yes to sex outside of marriage and let Him down.


Comment: IMHO, I have noticed in my life that women are VERY reluctant to let their guard down to answer this openly, like our culture that tends to think men are the bad guys.

 

[Howard Cneal]

Honestly, I'm just unsure about a God who puts these sort of extremely strong urges inside us and yet in the same sentence criminalizes them to all but a select few.

That's his nature.

 

[ChristoEtEcclesiae]

God permits Satan to exist, if you want to get technical.

Nice non sequitur.

Matthew 5:29-30

And if thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. For it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than that thy whole body be cast into hell. And if thy right hand scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than that thy whole body be cast into hell.

That's his nature.

Nonsense.

Mark 7:21-23

For from within out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile a man.

 

[broken_one]

This will be a bit different of a response here, bear with me...

Nice non sequitur.

Matthew 5:29-30

And if thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. For it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than that thy whole body be cast into hell. And if thy right hand scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than that thy whole body be cast into hell.



Nonsense.

Mark 7:21-23

For from within out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile a man.

How is it a non sequitur? Are you to say that they are equal and opposed forces, such as in the Manichean heresy? Where are you going here?

@scripture verse: hence the castration jab.

@Howard: his nature is to make people miserable, to deny them of their human potential?

@other scripture verse: this makes a lot of sense, but I don't understand how it fits in with what we're talking about other than I think I'm being painted as someone who I do not wish to be portrayed.

 

[Hailehetes]

I've struggled intensely with depression, a mix of low self-esteem and arrogance to compensate for it, insecurities about my abilities to attract girls, and self-image, especially when it comes to looks and masculinity. It's been mostly these things that had kept me from God for a while, and they still threaten to drag me down, even though I've accepted Jesus again.

 

[Howard Cneal]

@Howard: his nature is to make people miserable, to deny them of their human potential?

My understanding of christianity, the words of christians themselves and a literal reading of the bible would be a yes.

Now, that is NOT my belief, however. But it is commonly taught amongst the religious.

 

[ChristoEtEcclesiae]

This will be a bit different of a response here, bear with me...

How is it a non sequitur? Are you to say that they are equal and opposed forces, such as in the Manichean heresy? Where are you going here?

@scripture verse: hence the castration jab.

@Howard: his nature is to make people miserable, to deny them of their human potential?

@other scripture verse: this makes a lot of sense, but I don't understand how it fits in with what we're talking about other than I think I'm being painted as someone who I do not wish to be portrayed.

It does not follow that if God permits Satan's existence that God is responsible for Satan's temptations of humans. The second verse I posted from Mark shows that it is not God who corrupts, which both you and Howard previously suggested (by saying "I'm just unsure about a God who puts these sort of extremely strong urges inside us and yet in the same sentence criminalizes them to all but a select few").

Yes, maybe self-castration could help prevent you from being thrown into Hell, but if you do your best to avoid the near occasion of sin it's easy to see how much harder it is to avoid those sins without the need for such a drastic measure. If your Internet use tempts you to look at porn, then avoid using the Internet so that you don't look upon people lustfully or have the urge to touch.

 

[broken_one]

It does not follow that if God permits Satan's existence that God is responsible for Satan's temptations of humans. The second verse I posted from Mark shows that it is not God who corrupts, which both you and Howard previously suggested (by saying "I'm just unsure about a God who puts these sort of extremely strong urges inside us and yet in the same sentence criminalizes them to all but a select few").

Yes, maybe self-castration could help prevent you from being thrown into Hell, but if you do your best to avoid the near occasion of sin it's easy to see how much harder it is to avoid those sins without the need for such a drastic measure. If your Internet use tempts you to look at porn, then avoid using the Internet so that you don't look upon people lustfully or have the urge to touch.

In a sense, it does follow. The Book of Job is an obvious example. God allowed the Devil full rein to do his bidding, so He was responsible for whatever occurred.

I did not mention a corruption, either. I simply stated that there were urges that were created by God (sexual attraction is universally accepted as a good thing), but at the same time the sole outlet is so small that a large majority of people, especially men (who are afflicted the most), do not fit within these parameters. Therefore we are either to suffer with sexual urges and no outlet, or to "break the rules" and do what we naturally are to do. This very cruel problem is the reason why I made my statement, and it is the crux upon my where my sinfulness lies.

Why can't we just have sex? Or get married when we're younger so that it's not a criminal action? I honestly don't believe that waiting until almost two decades of your sexual life passes by before you can "do your thing" is the healthiest or most prudent way to go about things.

 

[Howard Cneal]

Why can't we just have sex? Or get married when we're younger so that it's not a criminal action? I honestly don't believe that waiting until almost two decades of your sexual life passes by before you can "do your thing" is the healthiest or most prudent way to go about things.

It's not.

In the old days, people got married very young; say early teens. Not like the mess our society is in now.

 

[ChristoEtEcclesiae]

In a sense, it does follow. The Book of Job is an obvious example. God allowed the Devil full rein to do his bidding, so He was responsible for whatever occurred.

Job is a long poem.

I did not mention a corruption, either. I simply stated that there were urges that were created by God (sexual attraction is universally accepted as a good thing), but at the same time the sole outlet is so small that a large majority of people, especially men (who are afflicted the most), do not fit within these parameters. Therefore we are either to suffer with sexual urges and no outlet, or to "break the rules" and do what we naturally are to do. This very cruel problem is the reason why I made my statement, and it is the crux upon my where my sinfulness lies.

You're going to suffer sexual urges if you look at porn or preoccupy yourself with lustful thoughts. Think about other things, look away from women if necessary, give up the Internet. Don't make excuses for your sins, this is how Satan wins souls. I was a teenager too, and while it can be difficult, it's not impossible if you are willing to have a relationship with God and endeavor to avoid sin as best you can.

Why can't we just have sex? Or get married when we're younger so that it's not a criminal action? I honestly don't believe that waiting until almost two decades of your sexual life passes by before you can "do your thing" is the healthiest or most prudent way to go about things.

You can have sex with your wife.

If all you want to do is sleep around, look at porn, and jack off, then why wait for marriage? Surely God isn't going to send you to Hell for disobeying Him, right?

In the old days, people got married very young; say early teens. Not like the mess our society is in now.

The marriage age of 18 is really quite sufficient in these modern times. In America, children are guaranteed a primary school education, without which it becomes very difficult to advance oneself in the job market. How hard is it to get a job without at least a high-school diploma?

America today is not an agrarian society where most people live off the land. A younger marriage age was acceptable here and in other countries when a teenager was able to make a decent living and support a family by working on his farm, and he didn't need to have twelve years of public education to do it.

The age of 18 rule ensures that people who marry will be educated enough to get a job in an economy which demands an increasingly educated workforce so that when they have kids they do not burden social services and become impoverished because they weren't able to support them.

I'm convinced that a lot of teenagers and young adults have great difficulty in avoiding sexual sins and think that chastity is impossible is not just because sex is heavily marketed and has become incredibly frank, but also because parents do not do enough to ensure that their children have sound moral and spiritual growth or know the difference between right and wrong.

 

[Gilbert 61]

I've struggled intensely with depression, a mix of low self-esteem and arrogance to compensate for it, insecurities about my abilities to attract girls, and self-image, especially when it comes to looks and masculinity. It's been mostly these things that had kept me from God for a while, and they still threaten to drag me down, even though I've accepted Jesus again.

I have a huge problem with self confidence. I do a very good job of acting like it's not a problem but it is. I wish I could give you advise on how to help it, but I really don't know. But I will tell you this, I workout and after my workouts I feel good. My biggest problem with that is I put on muscle really fast, and well a lot of girls don't like really big guys. I'm already pretty big. (6 ft 255 pounds. 34 inch waist) but I still have very low confidence when it comes to women.

 

[Apollo Celestio]

Apathy.

 

[Thunder Peel]

I think my biggest struggle is just understanding who God really is. Obviously the Bible gives us some clear indications but I still struggle with knowing His will and understanding why He does what He does. I think it all boils down to wishing that God would give me less free will so that I might do His, which I don't seem to do enough of when left to make my own decisions. I hope that made some kind of sense.

 

[Hailehetes]

I have a huge problem with self confidence. I do a very good job of acting like it's not a problem but it is. I wish I could give you advise on how to help it, but I really don't know. But I will tell you this, I workout and after my workouts I feel good. My biggest problem with that is I put on muscle really fast, and well a lot of girls don't like really big guys. I'm already pretty big. (6 ft 255 pounds. 34 inch waist) but I still have very low confidence when it comes to women.

I work out too, both for my health and to make myself look better. Don't understand why girls wouldn't want you if you're that muscular though. But I ask myself similar questions, since people consider me "fit and good-looking" as well. And then when I think about those questions, I get all arrogant and act as though I'm God's gift to women in order to make up for my insecurities, which usually come back to slap me in the face.

Glad I found someone who's in the same boat though; not that I actually want you to be in that boat. It's a nasty place, honestly.