Why doesnt God Reveal Your Problems to You?

[Redemption645]

Over the past 5 years I’ve pursued God quite heavily and still struggle with what I’ve read and what I continue to see. One of the things In the Bible that has always resonated with me is MAtthew 7:16. However, when I apply this to a lot of the Christians I’ve met it refudiates what they claim to be and know. If you can bare to read all of this I can explain.

I dated a Christian for two years during which time I was aggressively pursuing God. I was reading everyday, praying on my commute to and from work, attending bible study every week, and attending church service every Sunday. The Christian I dated, so I thought, was very devoted. This individual did devotions every day, read several hours everyday, always went to church’s , and always attended bible studies. They were probably one of the most biblically cognizants Christians I have ever met. However, as our relationship progressed I realized my love for this individual had blinded me to a lot of red flags. This individual was very needy, insecure, and constantly taking from me in an entitled manner. I think what really broke me out of the funk was when my family and friends met her and immediately called me on how controlling this person was and how something was off with this person. When I finally broke it off with this person I was physically assaulted (punched in the face several times). I managed to escape and ceased all contact only to have this person show up at my house wanting help moving their things. No apologies, no empathy nothing, just expectations.
It doesn’t end there. There is another Christian I know that leads worship and is a man after God’s own heart. However, he abuses his wife, has an extreme temper problem, and has a porn addiction. I know another Christian who gave me his testimony about how God saved him yet he is the laziest and least responsible person I know. He consistently takes from people around him and takes no ownership or responsibility for himself. I know another Christian, who after just 10 months of dating her boyfriend, told him she didn’t believe he loved her unless he married her right away. Even though this was the boyfriends very 1st relationship he proposed at month 11. The Christian he married was in her mid 20’s, unemployed and basically looking for someone to take care of her.

I know this is long winded but all these individuals I have mentioned truly and genuinely believe in God and immerse themselves in the word and the Christian community. Because of this I am completely confused as to how they remain completely unaware of their problems and how they hurt themselves and others and just carry on with life. I don’t blame them for their problems at all,
God knows I have plenty, but how are they completely unaware of their problems? Why in all their prayers and contact with other Christians have they not been able see what is going on in their lives? For someone that is on the fence about my faith how can I look at this behavior and convince myself that I’m the one who is “asleep” and they are the ones that are “awake”?

 

[Chinchilla]

Christian is saved by grace through faith not of works Ephesians 2:8-9
You can beat your wife , take drugs and watch porn and go to heaven but should you ? No

Also God promised to discipline you because you are his child for doing such things here on earth plus you reap what you sow at Judgement Seat of Christ and lose your rewards which are forever not for few years .

Other thing is that these people were never Christians (born again ) to begin with , thinking that God exist does not make you have relationship with him it only happens when you put faith in him and what he did .

Demons know who God is but they can't be saved because Christ did not die for them . James 2:19

 

[Tolworth John]

For someone that is on the fence about my faith how can I look at this behavior and convince myself that I’m the one who is “asleep” and they are the ones that are “awake”?

There are none so blind as those who will not see!

I would suggest carrying on with your search for God and to ask questions of Christians about how does their faith influence their behaviour?

Do bear in mind what Jesus said about a plank in our eyes!

May I also suggest researching on line your questions about Christianity. Sites like reasonablefaith and coldcasechristianity have a great many answers.

 

[Job3315]

Over the past 5 years I’ve pursued God quite heavily and still struggle with what I’ve read and what I continue to see. One of the things In the Bible that has always resonated with me is MAtthew 7:16. However, when I apply this to a lot of the Christians I’ve met it refudiates what they claim to be and know. If you can bare to read all of this I can explain.

I dated a Christian for two years during which time I was aggressively pursuing God. I was reading everyday, praying on my commute to and from work, attending bible study every week, and attending church service every Sunday. The Christian I dated, so I thought, was very devoted. This individual did devotions every day, read several hours everyday, always went to church’s , and always attended bible studies. They were probably one of the most biblically cognizants Christians I have ever met. However, as our relationship progressed I realized my love for this individual had blinded me to a lot of red flags. This individual was very needy, insecure, and constantly taking from me in an entitled manner. I think what really broke me out of the funk was when my family and friends met her and immediately called me on how controlling this person was and how something was off with this person. When I finally broke it off with this person I was physically assaulted (punched in the face several times). I managed to escape and ceased all contact only to have this person show up at my house wanting help moving their things. No apologies, no empathy nothing, just expectations.
It doesn’t end there. There is another Christian I know that leads worship and is a man after God’s own heart. However, he abuses his wife, has an extreme temper problem, and has a porn addiction. I know another Christian who gave me his testimony about how God saved him yet he is the laziest and least responsible person I know. He consistently takes from people around him and takes no ownership or responsibility for himself. I know another Christian, who after just 10 months of dating her boyfriend, told him she didn’t believe he loved her unless he married her right away. Even though this was the boyfriends very 1st relationship he proposed at month 11. The Christian he married was in her mid 20’s, unemployed and basically looking for someone to take care of her.

I know this is long winded but all these individuals I have mentioned truly and genuinely believe in God and immerse themselves in the word and the Christian community. Because of this I am completely confused as to how they remain completely unaware of their problems and how they hurt themselves and others and just carry on with life. I don’t blame them for their problems at all,
God knows I have plenty, but how are they completely unaware of their problems? Why in all their prayers and contact with other Christians have they not been able see what is going on in their lives? For someone that is on the fence about my faith how can I look at this behavior and convince myself that I’m the one who is “asleep” and they are the ones that are “awake”?

That’s why Christians need to have friends and be open to receive and give input. Always give close friends and family an open window and opportunities to speak to your life when they see something off and when you need to be corrected. I even ask my boss every few months if there’s something that I need to know, if he can give me his input and if there's something I need to correct and improve. It helps so much to strengthen the relationship and communication. I also keep in mind that just because others think I am doing something wrong doesn't necessarily means I am, I might have my reasons, and they might find a different perspective as well.

Just because we don't pay attention to God’s signs it doesn't mean He wasn't sending them.

By the way, the worship leader who is abusive, that shows theres a problem with the leadership of the church.

 

[Redemption645]

There are none so blind as those who will not see!

I would suggest carrying on with your search for God and to ask questions of Christians about how does their faith influence their behaviour?

Do bear in mind what Jesus said about a plank in our eyes!.

John, that is great advice. I try to not let my thought process wander into such areas because at the end of the day it’s not constructive or helpful.

And I reflect on Matthew 7:5 often, and tried to make a point in my OP that I do not judge others for their shortcomings. Rather, in keeping with the title of my post, I wonder why adherence and immersion in the lords word does not guarantee enlightenment of ones ways? Why is it that some people can just read self help books and never pray and be more generous and loving those that don’t? I have first hand experience with this and it’s difficult for me to legitimize the words of the Bible when I don’t necessarily see it bearing the best fruit. I know that might rub some people the wrong way, but if you could for a moment place yourself in the shoes of someone who may not have had the most powerful spiritual experience as others or brought up in a God fearing home. It makes for confusing and bizarre experience.

 

[Redemption645]

That’s why Christians need to have friends and be open to receive and give input. Always give close friends and family an open window and opportunities to speak to your life when they see something off and when you need to be corrected. I even ask my boss every few months if there’s something that I need to know, if he can give me his input and if there's something I need to correct and improve. It helps so much to strengthen the relationship and communication. I also keep in mind that just because others think I am doing something wrong doesn't necessarily means I am, I might have my reasons, and they might find a different perspective as well.

I really respect your approach to life and ownership of yourself. I have great admiration for people who are constantly trying to improve. And I hear you about knowing when you are right and when you are wrong. I have found with age that I have gotten better at knowing when a path Inhave selected is correct as opposed to what other suggest.

 

[Shempster]

Over the past 5 years I’ve pursued God quite heavily and still struggle with what I’ve read and what I continue to see. One of the things In the Bible that has always resonated with me is MAtthew 7:16. However, when I apply this to a lot of the Christians I’ve met it refudiates what they claim to be and know. If you can bare to read all of this I can explain.

I dated a Christian for two years during which time I was aggressively pursuing God. I was reading everyday, praying on my commute to and from work, attending bible study every week, and attending church service every Sunday. The Christian I dated, so I thought, was very devoted. This individual did devotions every day, read several hours everyday, always went to church’s , and always attended bible studies. They were probably one of the most biblically cognizants Christians I have ever met. However, as our relationship progressed I realized my love for this individual had blinded me to a lot of red flags. This individual was very needy, insecure, and constantly taking from me in an entitled manner. I think what really broke me out of the funk was when my family and friends met her and immediately called me on how controlling this person was and how something was off with this person. When I finally broke it off with this person I was physically assaulted (punched in the face several times). I managed to escape and ceased all contact only to have this person show up at my house wanting help moving their things. No apologies, no empathy nothing, just expectations.
It doesn’t end there. There is another Christian I know that leads worship and is a man after God’s own heart. However, he abuses his wife, has an extreme temper problem, and has a porn addiction. I know another Christian who gave me his testimony about how God saved him yet he is the laziest and least responsible person I know. He consistently takes from people around him and takes no ownership or responsibility for himself. I know another Christian, who after just 10 months of dating her boyfriend, told him she didn’t believe he loved her unless he married her right away. Even though this was the boyfriends very 1st relationship he proposed at month 11. The Christian he married was in her mid 20’s, unemployed and basically looking for someone to take care of her.

I know this is long winded but all these individuals I have mentioned truly and genuinely believe in God and immerse themselves in the word and the Christian community. Because of this I am completely confused as to how they remain completely unaware of their problems and how they hurt themselves and others and just carry on with life. I don’t blame them for their problems at all,
God knows I have plenty, but how are they completely unaware of their problems? Why in all their prayers and contact with other Christians have they not been able see what is going on in their lives? For someone that is on the fence about my faith how can I look at this behavior and convince myself that I’m the one who is “asleep” and they are the ones that are “awake”?

Each of those "problems" stem from one thing: a lack of love for God, self and others. Jesus DID show us how love works, but we just ignore it, hence all of our problems. The amazing part is if we just DO what Jesus did, that is, loving God and others, our problems would be few.

 

[Mountainmanbob]

Over the past 5 years I’ve pursued God quite heavily and still struggle with what I’ve read and what I continue to see. One of the things In the Bible that has always resonated with me is MAtthew 7:16. However, when I apply this to a lot of the Christians I’ve met it refudiates what they claim to be and know. If you can bare to read all of this I can explain.

I dated a Christian for two years during which time I was aggressively pursuing God. I was reading everyday, praying on my commute to and from work, attending bible study every week, and attending church service every Sunday. The Christian I dated, so I thought, was very devoted. This individual did devotions every day, read several hours everyday, always went to church’s , and always attended bible studies. They were probably one of the most biblically cognizants Christians I have ever met. However, as our relationship progressed I realized my love for this individual had blinded me to a lot of red flags. This individual was very needy, insecure, and constantly taking from me in an entitled manner. I think what really broke me out of the funk was when my family and friends met her and immediately called me on how controlling this person was and how something was off with this person. When I finally broke it off with this person I was physically assaulted (punched in the face several times). I managed to escape and ceased all contact only to have this person show up at my house wanting help moving their things. No apologies, no empathy nothing, just expectations.
It doesn’t end there. There is another Christian I know that leads worship and is a man after God’s own heart. However, he abuses his wife, has an extreme temper problem, and has a porn addiction. I know another Christian who gave me his testimony about how God saved him yet he is the laziest and least responsible person I know. He consistently takes from people around him and takes no ownership or responsibility for himself. I know another Christian, who after just 10 months of dating her boyfriend, told him she didn’t believe he loved her unless he married her right away. Even though this was the boyfriends very 1st relationship he proposed at month 11. The Christian he married was in her mid 20’s, unemployed and basically looking for someone to take care of her.

I know this is long winded but all these individuals I have mentioned truly and genuinely believe in God and immerse themselves in the word and the Christian community. Because of this I am completely confused as to how they remain completely unaware of their problems and how they hurt themselves and others and just carry on with life. I don’t blame them for their problems at all,
God knows I have plenty, but how are they completely unaware of their problems? Why in all their prayers and contact with other Christians have they not been able see what is going on in their lives? For someone that is on the fence about my faith how can I look at this behavior and convince myself that I’m the one who is “asleep” and they are the ones that are “awake”?

The Bible tells us to examine ourselves.

Some prefer not to do that and from what I have seen their sin usually catches up with them for God will not let us act too stupid for too long (if we are one of his children).

Not to forget what the Bible tells us in regards to removing the speck from our brother's eye. Usually we have a plank in our own eye that also needs to be removed.

As I often say as I get older I sin less but, my sin bothers me more.

M-Bob