I'm sorry but I'm finding it really difficult to believe anymore. It seems like all the bad people are winning in life, life itself is a bad hellhole, and its all about money. I've been a good person and done good things, and guess what? Got me nowhere in life, I still suffer, while the ';ungodly'; people around me are living the time of their lives.
the only thing believing has done for me was gave me the power of discernment and the ability to really see clearly what's going on around me, and great, but even non-christians can do that.
It won't make this life any easier.
So why believe, when all the evidence around us, points to that this world is a hellhole, and believing won't get you an easier life whatsoever?God has forsaken me, and he never stops the bad people in life. Christians, why promote false hope?
You know...you aren't alone.
A lot of we Christians feel the same way.
Psalm 37:Psalm 37
1Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
2For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
3Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
7Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
8Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
9For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
10For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
11But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
12The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
13The LORD shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.
14The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
15Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
16A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
17For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.
18The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
19They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
21The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
22For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.
23The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
24Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
25I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
26He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.
27Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.
28For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
29The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
30The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.
31The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
32The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.
33The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
34Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
35I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
36Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
37Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.
38But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
39But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
40And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.God has forsaken me, and he never stops the bad people in life. Christians, why promote false hope?
God is NOT a Puppet Master.
I am very sorry that you are having such a difficult time. You seem very discouraged at how little God seems to be doing in your life. Even David from the Old Testament wrote psalms about how it seemed that the evil people would flourish. You are not the only person to have these feelings.
It is good to read that you have been a good person; not too many of them to be found.
I am curious to know what your relationship to God had been. Was it based just on being a good person and expecting Him to honor that? The core of the Gospel message is not that we should be good people because we are all sinners. Sin is offensive to God, but repentant sinners are not. Jesus paid the penalty that we sinners should have to pay. If Jesus is your personal Savior, then the peace and salvation He offers outdoes all the stuff that is bothering you now. His love for you is not conditional. God does not say that He will love you only if you are a kind person. He loves you because He sees you as forgiven because of what Jesus did. THAT is the core of the Gospel. ';Gospel';, as you know, means good news. I call that good news, because I cannot earn God's favor through what I do.
God never said it would be easy when we choose a life to serve him. If you've read the bible, many of Jesus's deciples were put in jail, stoned to death, rejected and the city gates...etc...
All God promised us was eternity with Him. Not an easy life.
Somtime God lets bad things happen because he is trying to get our attention, if God has seemed to move from your life....guess who's fault that is?
God is always here, everytime and everywhere...its you/us that push Him away from our lives...not the other way around.
No, your life will never be easy, but are you saying that if you stop believing in God its going to become eaiser? I don't think so.
I could go on, but i doubt you're going to listen to what i have to say, right now no one can do anything to change your mind except yourself.
Your really angry and I`m sorry for that but I think you do believe in God and somehow you feel cheated. God is still on his throne . This world is just a passing thing and when we do make it over to the othere side then we will see the complete picture and the glory that awaits us. Don`t give up hope. We all have hard times some it seems worse then others but the sun will shine again, hang in there.I`ve often heard it said that this world is a testing ground. It can really be tough.But God loves you and he will bring you through the fire.
oh ye of little faith?
you are absolutetly correct! and praise God you have come to realize it!
there is nothing you yourself can do... you yourself have no power to combat sin or resist it. but thank God that He does and is willing to come to your aid.
the just shall live by faith. yes there may be people all around us living wildly and lisciviously and without any caution. but just wait, God's timing is His own... and the word of God testifies unto itself that they have NOT gotten away with it. they are just putting wrath in the bank against the day of wrath. VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL RECOMPENSE saith the Lord.
ill tell you as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ... take delight in this misery, for this is where the battle is, and this is where the glory is, and this is where the victory is, and this is exactly where Christ Jesus wants you to be... so that you might not enter into the kingdom empty-handed. do you think paul was disheartened when they were about to lob his head off? No! he said for me to suffer is gain, because he was doing it in the name of the Lord.
if all you do is please God, then it doesn't matter whom you've displeased. and if all you do is displease God, then it doesn't matter whom else you've pleased.
a person who can bow a fearful knee to the Lord of the universe, need not fear anything or anyone. feel free to laugh in the face of death, that is the gift Christ Jesus has given you.
Ps 73
1 露 A psalm of Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.
3 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.
5 They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence.
7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.
8 They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression.
9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth.
10 Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance.
11 They say, ';How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?';
12 This is what the wicked are like鈥?always carefree, they increase in wealth.
13 Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.
14 All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning.
15 露 If I had said, ';I will speak thus,'; I would have betrayed your children.
16 When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me
17 till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.
18 Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin.
19 How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!
20 As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.
21 露 When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,
22 I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.
23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
28 But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.
This is what I believe; I hope it will help you.
I believe that God is love, and only love. This means that God can only do what the emotion of love can do--nothing more.
God cannot stop people from doing bad things. People have free will, and God can only influence people who act with love. God cannot influence people who have no love in their hearts or who shut love out.
God does not exist to make life easy for us or even fair. God exists to help us find the strength to get through the bad times. Love gives us moral courage and the strength to stand up to injustice, to fight or oppose those who would harm us, and to risk our lives for others. Without love, we could not do any of these things. With love, we are stronger than we would believe.
Believe that. Cherish the ones you love, cherish love, and you will find God, even if you don't realize it is God.
PS: What Zachary B. said is beautiful. Listen to him.
My friend, while I myself am not a Christian, I am still spiritual. You are going through something that I went through a few years ago or atleast something similar. Mine was September 11th.
You're not finding difficulty with God's teachings, you're having difficultly seeing them put into action.
This world is full of good and evil. Sadly, it all has to be taken in stride. We don't hear enough about the good. But there is some out there. The media only portrays the bad.
I don't know if you read Yahoo! News often, but there was a thing about starbucks the other day where the lady said she bought the car's behind her's drinks. The lady who had recieved the gift was honored and bought the next cars drinks. This went on for two hours.
People are killed, but we honor their lives and we donate to charity and support cancer research and such. We donate toys to ';toys for tots'; and many people do our best to right the wrongs done in the world.
I won't tell you to forget God. But as they say, God helps those who help themselves. This might not be true, but if you're helping the world, that is all that matters right?
In the end, forget faith. If you have it, great. But if you can't find it, just remember that you can make a difference in this world. Even if it seems insignificant, its worth it to make someone smile.
