Why is God tormenting me?

heron · Jan 25, 2011

I went back to an earlier thread of yours, where you said you had attended a church that turned out to be cult-like. Pardon me for digging like that. But I am wondering if this time for you is like a sabbatical or retreat -- that you really need the grounding at home to gather yourself, before you head out into the world in full force.

Similarly with a love interest ... it might take a while to get your head back in balance, and know what kind of person you are looking for.

It can feel like limbo, and humiliation... but probably over the long run you will be stronger for this famine.

papaJP · Jan 25, 2011

Originally Posted by papaJP

Having lost many millions 3 times in my life

Wow! You must be doing something really right, and then something really wrong.

Lol. Millions of souls? Good ideas? Millions of Whoville Whos? Pennies? Sorry, just rubbing it in. by Heron
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I was good at creating things needed in the economy. I was destroyed by collapses caused by outside sources. Oil industry falling, real estate market falling, ect. The one that upset the most was the failure of the Savings and Loan. The government used that to steal many viable real estate ventures.

Cannot lose souls as God is incharge and only those individuals can loose faith.
Am not interested in money anymore as now I am called to help those who seek God and a deep walk with God.
God is good and He continues to pick me up and guide me.

I am finally at peace even with those who question my faith and my walk. God knows where I am and I know who I am in God.

Therefore, God does not torment any of us.

critical3 · Jan 26, 2011

lone, i think its time to get off your pity party.

i am much like you.

-ill be 25 in march
-im divorced
-a 20 month old daughter i see every other thurs-mon.
-barely have any money
-a job (self-employed) in construction and we all know construction is in the dumps

God isnt going to torment you.. God does allow us to go through trials, but its only to better us.

Are you Saved?

IF so....Where are you with God? Are you fully following and trusting HIM?

NoBama2012 · Jan 26, 2011

lone soldier said:
Why is God tormenting me?

Are you sure it is God who is doing the tormenting?

pnordman · Jan 26, 2011

Please read the Book of Job. When my son committed suicide I had already read Job twice that year (deaths of loved ones), but when my son died this book became even more important. It occurred to me that God trusted Job to come through these horrors in his life. I held on to that thought in moments that I felt I was losing my mind.

God bless you! Believe me, He does love you!

NoBama2012 · Jan 26, 2011

But God did not torment Job. He merely did not intervene when Satan tormented Job. Not the same thing.

lone soldier · Jan 26, 2011

Job was definitely tormented by God, if you take the story as literal and factual. Which I don't. My understanding is Job either brought his suffering upon himself through fear and / or it was simply a parable, most likely written by King Solomon or someone else wise, posing the difficult question as to why bad things happen to good people. The writer could not come to a real conclusion, hence why the end of the book simply says to trust God because he knows best.

Here, in the 21st century, that explanation lacks substance for many, including myself.

I believe God loves me, for sure. The bible seems to indicate such, and even if it said completely contrary-wise, I would still choose to believe I am beloved by God because of my personal history with the Creator.

CDMartinJr · Jan 26, 2011

lone soldier,

With all due respect, you seem to have missed the point of God's speech at the end of Job. We don't trust God because He knows best, we trust Him because He is best.

Your name is an interesting one. May I ask a personal question? Why did you select "lone soldier"?

UpTheWaterfall · Jan 26, 2011

Lone Soldier have you ever listened to any of the teachings by Joyce Meyer? I was watching one this morning that made me think of your post and I really think it could help you out alot. You can go to her website Joycemeyer.org and watch her teachings there I think her teachings The Lord our Provider and An Attitude of Trust would really help you out alot.

God does not torment He may allow things to happen and maybe if you dig a little deeper you may see that God may be allowing things into your life to weed out something in you. God is Love He does not torment. I will be praying for you.

heron · Jan 26, 2011

I was good at creating things needed in the economy. I was destroyed by collapses caused by outside sources. Oil industry falling, real estate market falling, ect. The one that upset the most was the failure of the Savings and Loan. The government used that to steal many viable real estate ventures.

Am not interested in money anymore as now I am called to help those who seek God and a deep walk with God.
God is good and He continues to pick me up and guide me.

Sorry to prod, I was just intrigued and figured others might be as well. Thank you for explaining.

God will certainly use you in great ways, to improve the lives of many. Also times you will never hear about. I have found that when people give out, the attention it draws and trustworthiness it reflects, makes people want to connect. The advancement comes from the giving, instead of the years of established credibility.

It doesn't always pay off predictably, but presents an example of generosity that spreads in thousands of small ways. May your work have impact.

supersoldier71 · Jan 26, 2011

Don't believe in Job as literal? I think I may see the problem. The Book of Job is likely one of the oldest in the Bible, predating the Hewbrew State. If you believe in the Christian God, the Bible is His primary means of communing with us, and thus, granting us the means to understand.

And no, Job didn't bring anything on himself, whether you view it as literal or not.

Job 2:3
Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”

So, my advice as a Christian would be to read and pray on the book of Job, and ask the Lord to fix YOU.

My secular advice would be to own your issues, figure out whatever culpability was yours, and work on fixing it, accepting that it will take time to fix you, and further time to see the result.

As I said, I've prayed that prayer.

lone soldier · Jan 26, 2011

supersoldier71 said:
Don't believe in Job as literal? I think I may see the problem. The Book of Job is likely one of the oldest in the Bible, predating the Hewbrew State. If you believe in the Christian God, the Bible is His primary means of communing with us, and thus, granting us the means to understand.

And no, Job didn't bring anything on himself, whether you view it as literal or not.

Job 2:3
Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”

So, my advice as a Christian would be to read and pray on the book of Job, and ask the Lord to fix YOU.

My secular advice would be to own your issues, figure out whatever culpability was yours, and work on fixing it, accepting that it will take time to fix you, and further time to see the result.

As I said, I've prayed that prayer.

No, Job definitely did. And I don't believe in the "christian god" or whatever that means - I believe in the only God who exists. Which does happen to be the God that most christians claim to believe in. The only one who actually exists.

I accept what I was taught in school (a christian school) regarding Job. It makes perfect sense. Job, even according to Jews (who wrote the book, remember) believe that it was an assembly of elders most likely, who wrote Job, so it is definitely NOT the oldest book in the bible. That would probably be Exodus. Even some conservative Jews, who believe Moses may have written Job, are not inclined to say it was the oldest book. Where some christian groups get that idea from is entirely beyond me.

Job offers very little to anyone suffering, unless one tries to somehow extract meaning from it. The typical secular person would read Job and say "What a monster God is!" I however would not. And I've already given several reasons why that is. My walk with God is not dependent on ANY book, which certainly includes Job. Why christians appeal to a book that doesn't overtly offer any real reason for suffering or any solution to it is beyond me. But whatever gets you through the day, I suppose right?

I'll ignore the fix "ME" comment, because it was rude, inaccurate and nonsense.

Advice is a free commodity and anyone can give it. Unfortunately, free things are seldom of any real value. That said, I don't think you'll get far insinuating to anyone that they need to "fix themselves". One's situation is not one's person. One's circumstances are not one's person. One's behavior is not one's person. You would do well to learn and internalize that truth.

Also, you may want to change your status. If you're still a sinner, then that means you sin, yes? Sure, we all do. But why add fuel to the fire. You'll never stop sinning if you keep referring to yourself as such. As we know, sin cannot enter heaven (another reason why Job could never have literally happened) so if you're still a sinner, then how would that work for you? If you're saved by Grace, then you are no longer a sinner, but a saint. You can't be both, not in God's eyes anyway.

lone soldier · Jan 29, 2011

Anyhow, I basically answered my own question for why God is punishing me. As I eluded to in my first post, there are things in my life that are not perfect yet and have warranted some form of divine retribution from God on me, so I know full-well that I have, in some manner or another, brought judgment down on myself. I'm not trying to accuse God of being unjust or unfair and just tormenting me for no reason whatsoever. He has his reasons and I accept them.

Believe me, I was not in any way trying to say God is unjust. He can certainly be very harsh at times, but it is definitely warranted and deserved on our (my) part.

Gregory Thompson · Jan 29, 2011

Hebrews 12:7-9 (King James Version)

7If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye b astard s, and not sons.
9Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

lone soldier · Jan 29, 2011

Exactly.

lone soldier · Jan 29, 2011

I don't know why so many were alluding to Job. I have lost a lot, but I still retain my physical health, thankfully. God has mercifully decided to keep me in excellent physical health. So that's one good thing, I suppose...

CDMartinJr · Jan 30, 2011

Lone,

Please don't misunderstand the allusions to Job. The point was not that you are losing your physical health, like Job. The point many of us are trying to remind you of is that sometimes bad things happen to good people, and it isn't necessarily God's judgment on you.

Having said that, if there are things in your life that are detracting from your witness, then with the Scriptures, prayer, and support of other believers, you can work through those hang-ups. Which is part of why we have a forum like this.

Praying for you, brother.

SportsJunkie25 · Jan 30, 2011

lone soldier said:
Listen to my story…

God won’t stop tormenting me. He brings much evil upon me and I can’t stop him. Yes, he also does some good to me, for which I am thankful. He blesses me with some food, a little money, a roof over my head, a vehicle that works well and a few nice clothes. He has also made me reasonably attractive, given me good parents, family and friends and lots of other enjoyable things in my life. He has also blessed me with extraordinary wisdom, charisma, communication skills and so on. For these things, I am thankful. In fact, it feels good just to reflect on the few blessings I actually *do* have!

Nevertheless, there is much evil that God brings on me as well. Perhaps it is deserved. Like all human beings on earth, I am not perfect. Of course, no one is. Anyhow, God brings evil upon me in that he will not give me a job. I cannot get a job, no matter what I do. I’ve been unemployed for ages now. I want to start my own business but he will not allow me to. God allowed my finances to be destroyed, too. I went from having excellent credit, to enormous debt – and I was even tithing too! (I realize that tithing does not guarantee he will be happy with me, now.) He has also caused me to desire a wonderful relationship with someone of the opposite sex, yet he refuses to answer that prayer. It is clear he has no intention of fulfilling such a desire, unfortunately for me. I assume this may be related to the fact that I have made it a practice to look at things he may not approve of. I also use profanity at times, which some Christians believe may be a sin. So this is my punishment. Even when I repent, he does not change his punishments. Sometimes I’d prefer it if he would just kill me instead and be done with it. But that would alleviate my pain, so naturally he won’t do it.

So, I have a simple request. Please go to God and pray for me that he will STOP tormenting me with poverty, failure and a lack of a mate. That is ALL I ask. I’m sure he has his reasons and all that. I imagine my suffering is amusing to watch. But nevertheless, I am growing very tired of it and would like it to stop. Please pray for him to stop doing this to me and I will be happy.

Thank you.

*Blind post*

Ok. Serious LOL @ your OP. I couldn't read past the first paragraph, sorry. You listed like 5 million things God has blessed you with...but you want to say He is tormenting you? Ha! You're funny. All I am going to say is that whatever you are struggling with, is probably not due to God "tormenting you"...it probably has to do with the choices you are making.

So, to sum it all up--It's not God...IT'S YOU!

Fyi: I can tell you that, straight up, because I've been through the EXACT same thing; that's why I started laughing when I read your OP. I thought, "Hhhmmm...did I post this?" (The only difference is that I said I was extremely good-looking...not reasonably good looking. Ha! Just kidding. ) Anyway, I blamed my life struggles on God (and often yelled, "God!! Why are you torturing me!! I'm a good person; I'm trying to live my life for you and this is how you're going to treat me!?) and now that I look back on those years, God was there, trying to help me, the entire time. I was just too picky, wanted what I wanted and made bad choices. Don't be me three years ago--get your choices together!

Also...read this: http://www.askrealjesus.com/divinefemin/abundantlife/acceptnurturance.html

P.S. I also had to learn to accept what God was giving me. All b/c you want something, doesn't mean it's what God wants you to have. So, eventually, I had to learn that if God really wanted me to have ____ (trust me. He hears our prayers), I would have it. If I don't have it, I do not need it right now. So, no matter how many temper tantrums I throw, I'm not going to get it. Therefore, I might as well learn how to live with what God has already blessed me with. Then...and only then...will God change your situation...and maybe give you what you so strongly desire.

perrfekt · Jan 30, 2011

as far as Job, the entire book is based on the premise that bad things are not Gods doing, that we should praise and glorify Him in the worst of times, and that He will bless us with the strength to suffer any situation, and can also restore to us that which was once lost.

as far as your troubles go, scripture is CLEAR that all things good are of God. throught out the new testament, it is clear that as a christian we are no longer under judgment nor wrath, but that we are "chastised" (meaning loving discipline) by our Father in heaven. when my daughter does something that warrants a spanking, if it is something severe like throwing the ferret, she gets a swift spanking. then she goes on my knee and i tell her what she did and why she was spanked, and i without fail every time tell her it is because i love her and want to correct her. sometimes if it is something less severe, but still warranting, i hold her and tell her what she did, and that i love her, but this is the consequence. at other times its just a time out to calm down.

i don't "punish" my daughter, i discipline her with love. i don't spank when i get mad because she tore something apart, i calm down first if she needs a spanking, but most of the time she just needs timeout. i never punish her, because i love her, and to punish her would be to do it vindictively or in anger, and not in love.

as far as God goes, the God of the bible, meaning the God who revealed Himself to the jews, and sent His Son to die for sin, is the one God. to say that you don't rely on a "book" to know God, then you are disregarding His own revealed words.

FaithPleases · Jan 30, 2011

Stop looking at YOUR issues and look to God. Count it all joy when you have trials for this produces patience. I think you need some perspective on the lifes of people in other countries. Stop blaming God. Be content with what you have. God's grace is sufficient for you.

Why is God tormenting me?

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