Where Are You, God?

[Michie]

Have you ever felt that God just wasn’t interested in your problems? Have you ever felt God was distant and inaccessible? Have you ever thought maybe God is just a myth, because He just doesn’t seem to care?

I have.

I am sure that somewhere in the world right now, there are people that:

• feel alone
• are scared
• are unsure of God’s existence and love for them
• can’t figure out what God’s plan is for them and doubt He even has one
• hurt

Are you one of them? You are not alone. Others have felt the same way. I know I have and I know my sister, Simone, has while suffering through cancer for the last five years.

I remember growing up thinking that God would answer my prayers if I prayed hard enough, believed enough, or did enough good things. But, when I messed up, had little faith, or didn’t pray that God wouldn’t help me. This childish attitude about God’s love for me carried into my adult life, which meant my faith stayed small and I misunderstood who God really is and how He loves me. My perception of God was warped and this warped perception made it easy to keep God out of my life. But, some people never gave up on me. One of these was my sister, Simone.

Simone never stopped trying to help me know God’s love. She always wanted me to experience at a deep and personal level. Even when she was diagnosed with cancer five years ago it didn’t stop her from loving others. Even when it disabled her, she never stopped loving.

But, she also felt far from God through it all. She felt dryness and pain in her emotions, spirit, relationships, and her body. She threw every question she had at the feet of Christ:

• Where are you?
• Why won’ t you take the pain away?
• Do you hear me?
• Are you even there?
• Can’t you make this all stop?
• Don’t you care?
• Do you really love me?

My sister, Simone LeJeune, died on November 16, 2010, at the age of 45.

Continued- http://catholicexchange.com/2010/12/10/143624/

 

[Hairy Tic]

Have you ever felt that God just wasn’t interested in your problems? Have you ever felt God was distant and inaccessible? Have you ever thought maybe God is just a myth, because He just doesn’t seem to care?

## All the time LOL. But there's no point in moping about it, nor in self-pity Life goes on.

I have.

I am sure that somewhere in the world right now, there are people that:

• feel alone
• are scared
• are unsure of God’s existence and love for them
• can’t figure out what God’s plan is for them and doubt He even has one
• hurt

Continued- http://catholicexchange.com/2010/12/10/143624/

## That probably describes most people, or all.

 

[Nickieb03]

I think we all at some point in our life feel like this with God. I know lately I've been questioning if God will ever answer my prayers and have become extremely mad at him at times and yelled at him. I started praying my rosary and asked the Holy Mother to inter-seed in my prayers and ask God to just answer them and for some odd reason when I was praying the rosary the other day something came over me of a "Just Wait Nicole, within time he will answer them. Keep having faith that it will get answered." Maybe that was the Holy Mother speaking to me who knows? But I think we all get to the point with God where we ask him where is he and why doesn't he care. He does...He just wants it to take time I guess.

 

[ProScribe]

[<.>]

 

[princess_ballet]

I've gone through this sometimes. And I honestly think that it is God's way of strengthening your faith and helping you along.

I mean, if you always feel Him with you and you always feel His presence, then its easy to believe. It isn't so easy when He lets go of your hand and you have just keep believing and trusting.

Of course, He has never left me feeling this way in times of true need and I always pray that He will let me feel His presence, and that the people that really are in need of it will feel it as well, even if they don't know who He is.

The first time this happened to me things got really, really bad.... so, I'm always praying for a stronger faith.

But anyway....

 

[princess_ballet]

BTW...


that article made me all teary-eyed. Thanks for posting it.

 

[Michie]

BTW...


that article made me all teary-eyed. Thanks for posting it.

Glad you got something out of it. That is the goal.

 

[WarriorAngel]

I know when i feel this way - it is more like having a tantrum rather than disbelief.
Simply because He has many times over showed me His miracles... His answers.

And i think sometimes, He just has to let me get through the pain in order to see He really was there all along... i was just being a brat.

Days come and go - and some days He is really helping and others - maybe He just has to put my call on hold for some reason. Maybe I am not as grateful as i should be and should be more mindful of the many Blessings.

Sitting down and counting the blessings in life - can really change your life.

 

[JourneyToPeace]

Glad you got something out of it. That is the goal.

I got a lot out of that, too. Thank you, Michie!

And WarriorAngel, you're very right. Counting your blessings does change your life.

 

[benedictaoo]

I strongly disagree that we are just tantruming.

I do not believe for a second we should feel like "bad" children becuase we feel this way. We are victims of this world.

Some people go through some serious stuff and I mean serious stuff and to say the way you feel is just a tantrum, is really ridiculous.

You are going through some really serious stuff and now you have to heap guilt on yourself? Really? yeah, ah no.

So all I conclude is one thing, life is not fair. Life sucks and we have moments that are joyous and happy and moments that really suck.

Sometimes we can't understand 'why' bad stuff happen when all God has to do is make it stop.

No one has the full answer to that and I know that it's not God's fault. He made us, yes, and knows what we all will have to endure.

I'm not so sure anymore that it is some test to make us better people and more faithful or whatever. I think it is just the way life in this valley of tears is.

Sin is what caused all this and sin must be really, really horrific that it would cause all this... and we just can't see how horrific it is, but it must be bad.

And all I can say is, on the other side, it must be something fabulous to be worth all this.

 

[JourneyToPeace]

I strongly disagree that we are just tantruming.

I do not believe for a second we should feel like "bad" children becuase we feel this way. We are victims of this world.

Some people go through some serious stuff and I mean serious stuff and to say the way you feel is just a tantrum, is really ridiculous.

You are going through some really serious stuff and now you have to heap guilt on yourself? Really? yeah, ah no.

So all I conclude is one thing, life is not fair. Life sucks and we have moments that are joyous and happy and moments that really suck.

Sometimes we can't understand 'why' bad stuff happen when all God has to do is make it stop.

No one has the full answer to that and I know that it's not God's fault. He made us, yes, and knows what we all will have to endure.

I'm not so sure anymore that it is some test to make us better people and more faithful or whatever. I think it is just the way life in this valley of tears is.

Sin is what caused all this and sin must be really, really horrific that it would cause all this... and we just can't see how horrific it is, but it must be bad.

And all I can say is, on the other side, it must be something fabulous to be worth all this.

I totally understand what you're saying. Everyone has struggles and sorrows to bear. I've heard two sayings or ideas that have helped me a lot, in terms of my perspective on life, and on sorrow.

The first is this, bolded emphasis mine:

We are not citizens of this world trying to make our way to heaven; we are citizens of heaven trying to make our way through this world. That radical Christian insight can be life-changing.

We are not to live so as to earn God's love, inherit heaven, and purchase our salvation. All those are given to us as gifts; gifts bought by Jesus on the cross and handed over to us. We are to live as God's redeemed, as heirs of heaven, and as citizens of another land: the Kingdom of God...

We live as those who are on a journey home; a home we know will have the lights on and the door open and our Father waiting for us when we arrive. That means in all adversity our worship of God is joyful, our life is hopeful, our future is secure. There is nothing we can lose on earth that can rob us of the treasures God has given us and will give us. --

quote found in "Patches of Godlight", a book of quotations compiled by Jan Karon. Quote originally from/attributed to The Anglican Digest

The second is from Mark Buchanan's book, "Things Unseen". Finding the exact quote is worthwhile as he speaks so beautifully and eloquently about eternity and what we're actually created FOR. I'll find it later, gotta run for now.

 

[benedictaoo]

To despise this life. To want to be in heaven.

This life is a life of pain and suffering and we should not want it to be perfect becuase we should not want this to be what we want.

I guess for some people, showing them how sucky this life really is, is a gift, so you won't want this to be all there is.

I like what St Theresa of Avila said... "God, if this is how you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few..."

I dunno- I dunno why, or rather HOW God can watch us from what seems like afar and just watch us be in so much pain... but He did send Jesus down to the pit and He suffered it to in order to show us the way out.

He's the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the only way out of this pain.

 

[JourneyToPeace]

The small section in Mark Buchanan's book, "Things Unseen: Living In Light of Forever" is from page 43 of the softcover Multnomah edition. It's been a huge comfort to me lately.

Marshall Shelley, an editor for Leadership magazine, had a child that lived only two minutes. Toby. Toby entered the world at 8:20 PM on November 22, 1991, and departed the world at 8:22. "My wife Susan and I," Marshall writes, "never got to see him take his first steps. We barely got to see him take his first breath. I don't know if he would have enjoyed softball or software, dinosaurs or dragonflies. We never got to wrestle, race, or read... What would have made him laugh? Made him scared? Made him angry?"

Toby was born with a rare and severe genetic disorder. Three months after he was born and died, Marshall and Susan Shelley's two-year-old daughter, Mandy, died. In the wake of these two devastating losses, the Shelleys wrestled with God. Why God? Why did You do that? What was that all about? "Why," Marshall asks, "did God create a child to live two minutes?" He answers:

"He didn't. And He didn't create Mandy to live two years. He did not create me to live 40 years (or whatever number He may choose to extend my days in this world). God created each one of us for eternity, where we may be surprised to find our true calling, which always seemed just out of reach here on earth."

Powerful words. Because we live in a fallen world, with so many things going wrong, the occasional glimpses of hope, kindness, gentleness and love we see in this world are evidence OF the world we were created for-- and it's NOT this one. Whenever I see all of the hurt in the world, it helps me to remember that we WERE created for eternity. While we're here, in the meantime, we're called to do all of the good that we CAN do. But it's my greatest comfort to know that this isn't all there is. We aren't here in vain.

 

[Christian-Catholic]

I am going through a dark night of the soul (scrup unbelief thoughts), and it has been the most agonizing year of my life. I have cried and begged for God to take these thoughts away from me, been close to suicide a few times etc etc. My problem is that I had scrupe thoughts even years before this (of a different variety) but never this bad. Even though most of the time I feel in total darkness I have never stopped praying.

I also made a promise to God about 4 months ago that I would either say a divine mercy chaplet or rosary and so far I have kept that promise and I dont intend to ever break it (even one day). The crazy part of it is that during this dark night episode I have actually almost let go of a vice in my life (porn) and my prayer routine has never been stronger.

When I pray to God for me , instead of asking for material success and accomplishments, now I only ask that he takes this dark veil away from me and my greatest desire is to one day have a serene peace when I pray.
One of my friends keeps telling me that im being cleansed for another purpose.
I just hope the cleansing doesnt last long because I would rather be stuck in a washing machine then go through this

 

[xTx]

The thoughts and experiences shared here is so meaningful to me.

Come Holy Spirit we need You.
​

God is wonderful. He is just waiting for us to open our hearts to Him.
​

Our God, is the only God who comes looking for us.


Cry to God for help and He comes running. God will send someone.


This is true. Experienced it.


Believe in God.

Jesus is true, He is come.

Despite all the troubles we face, life is worth living because of Jesus.

Like someone said earlier.

Do as much good with our time here, bring many to Jesus.

God bless you all. Peace.
​

 

[xTx]

Hang in there for Jesus.

 

[xTx]

Just wanted all of you here to know, I really needed to read what you guys wrote.

You might not know it, but to me, God have/has? used you all to send messages to me.

God, you are solid as rock.

 

[AMDG]

I know when i feel this way - it is more like having a tantrum rather than disbelief.

I know that feeling too. And that's when our awesome God does something to comfort the tantruming child in me. Then after a rest, it's like "get back to the work I have planned for you and know that even though you don't see Me, I am always with you. I will not leave you orphaned. You are never alone."

 

[JacktheCatholic]

I am going through a dark night of the soul (scrup unbelief thoughts), and it has been the most agonizing year of my life. I have cried and begged for God to take these thoughts away from me, been close to suicide a few times etc etc. My problem is that I had scrupe thoughts even years before this (of a different variety) but never this bad. Even though most of the time I feel in total darkness I have never stopped praying.

I also made a promise to God about 4 months ago that I would either say a divine mercy chaplet or rosary and so far I have kept that promise and I dont intend to ever break it (even one day). The crazy part of it is that during this dark night episode I have actually almost let go of a vice in my life (porn) and my prayer routine has never been stronger.

When I pray to God for me , instead of asking for material success and accomplishments, now I only ask that he takes this dark veil away from me and my greatest desire is to one day have a serene peace when I pray.
One of my friends keeps telling me that im being cleansed for another purpose.
I just hope the cleansing doesnt last long because I would rather be stuck in a washing machine then go through this

We had a priest leave us over a year ago to be with God. He was an awesome priest for confession because when you went in to the confessional and were feeling like you were terrible, the priest had a way of making you see that God loves us and is in joy that we are there trying to be good and do His will. He would say it is the devil that makes us feel bad and scupulous. I miss father Val at times but believe he is in heaven praying for us now, that is a good thought too.

 

[WarriorAngel]

I am going through a dark night of the soul (scrup unbelief thoughts), and it has been the most agonizing year of my life. I have cried and begged for God to take these thoughts away from me, been close to suicide a few times etc etc. My problem is that I had scrupe thoughts even years before this (of a different variety) but never this bad. Even though most of the time I feel in total darkness I have never stopped praying.

I also made a promise to God about 4 months ago that I would either say a divine mercy chaplet or rosary and so far I have kept that promise and I dont intend to ever break it (even one day). The crazy part of it is that during this dark night episode I have actually almost let go of a vice in my life (porn) and my prayer routine has never been stronger.

When I pray to God for me , instead of asking for material success and accomplishments, now I only ask that he takes this dark veil away from me and my greatest desire is to one day have a serene peace when I pray.
One of my friends keeps telling me that im being cleansed for another purpose.
I just hope the cleansing doesnt last long because I would rather be stuck in a washing machine then go through this

Darkness is frightening..
The one prayer [goal] we should seek is the grace of the Holy Spirit to help us overcome.
Pray often to the Holy Spirit. Daily.
He will help you put on the new man.