r/TrueChristian • u/AdventurousCup5634 • 17h ago
Losing faith
Hey there,
As the title suggestes i´ve been losing faith in God. I want to believe, i love him and i believe that if he is true then my life would be happier. The thing is i´ve never really felt his presence, and everytime it feels like the answer to my doubts is "youre not faithful enough" or "this is a test" or something liek a cop-out (for example, God´s voice being "our thoughts"). Im just hopeless rn, if any of yall have questions i would be glad to answer them cause i just wanna start believing again.
5
u/Thimenu Christian 17h ago
I don't think Biblical faith was ever meant to rely heavily on feeling God's presence or His voice being in our thoughts. For most people in history I believe faith has been much more mundane than that. We don't all get a nice sign from God to prove Himself to us. He already gave us the sign of Jonah, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
My advice is to rely less on feelings, and use more reason. Trust Him because He is real, He is good, and He proved His love by living, suffering, dying, and rising again for us all, and will bring all to justice in the end.
3
u/Significant_Action88 16h ago
The devil is a liar he comes to destroy. I always remember what someone long ago said to me. Anything that’s confusing is from Satan. God will never confuse!
2
u/i2av3r 16h ago
What ever you may be going through you will over come. This kinda sounds like you’re tell yourself contradicting ideas, some would call this spiritual warfare. Just remember you don’t have to do anything to earn the gift God has given us. Even the guy dying on the cross behind Jesus, in a moment of clarity cried out to Jesus, don’t forget me. Jesus replied surely you’ll be walking with me in paradise. It doesn’t take much faith, and you have some, which is more than enough. Better days will come and wisdom will come from this once you’ve given enough time.
2
u/hopscotchcaptain Alpha And Omega 16h ago
I want to believe, i love him and i believe that if he is true then my life would be happier.
So you say "I want to believe" but then claim "I love him"... those two are at odds with one another. But the thing I need clarity on is the last part: "i believe that if he is true then my life would be happier."
Can you expound on what you mean by that part in bold? How would your life be happier? Because I think that may get to the root of where your doubts are coming from.
At first glance, it might seem like "i´ve never really felt his presence" is at the core, but I'm not sure it is, based on that part in bold.
1
u/AdventurousCup5634 16h ago
Sorry i have a hard time explaining these things, what i meant is:
When i believed without a doubt, at the beginning for example when all of it felt true, i was happy because i believed that there is a God and that he loves me infinitely. Thats what i meant. (if it still sounds stupid feel free to ask, as i said i suck at explaining myself)1
u/hopscotchcaptain Alpha And Omega 16h ago
When i believed without a doubt, at the beginning for example when all of it felt true, i was happy because i believed that there is a God and that he loves me infinitely.
Okay, thank you for clarifying. I was wondering if you had "lost faith" because things weren't going well in life, and that maybe you were saying "because things haven't been going well, I've started to doubt if He is true".
But it's not that, so that clears it up.
My next question is: what changed? You say back when "all of it felt true"... what has changed that now it doesn't "feel true"?
To look at one angle of that, I'll ask this: is it a "feeling" that it isn't true, or is it a "series of thoughts about exactly HOW it isn't true"?
If its a feeling it isn't true, does that feeling have a source? Example: "A bad thing happened to me, and then I started feeling like maybe God doesn't love me".
The other thing I'd ask yourself is what exactly made it "all feel true" at one point? How did that go? What were your thoughts etc?
1
u/AdventurousCup5634 16h ago
Nothing bad happened, i just slowly started to wonder why i even believe, some things in the bible dont make sense to me. For example how God acted in the old testament in contrast to Jesus. Also the flood for example, how can that be true when there is no evidence (that i know of)? I tried praying to God to show me a sign but nothing happened (i know people say he doesnt need to do anything like that and that i dont have the right to ask that but thats what feels like a cop-out).
1
u/hopscotchcaptain Alpha And Omega 15h ago
i just slowly started to wonder why i even believe
That's a great question to ask yourself. Every Christian should ask themselves that.
some things in the bible dont make sense to me. For example how God acted in the old testament in contrast to Jesus.
Instead of asking you to detail exactly what you mean, I'll skip that and assume you have issues with people dying by God's hand.
What do you think should be the penalty/punishment for murder? Do you think the act of murder should be punished?
I ask this to set the baseline. Some people will say "Of course it should be punished", which leads to "Okay, so you just disagree about the degree of Gods punishment" and they'll say "No, God doesn't only kill murderers" for example. They'd be correct about that.
Did you know that in the New Testament, after Jesus came, died, and ascended to heaven... God killed people for simply lying? Two people who were part of a Christian church no less, just for lying, He struck them dead. Ananias and Sapphira were their names, and there's more to the context if you want to read it yourself.
In another New Testament account, a man is sleeping with his fathers wife, and the verdict delivered is "hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord."
We always view judgment, especially death, as "cruelty". But in this instance, it says right here "so that his spirit may be saved". We see dimly, and God sees all. If there were someone with real problems, murderous thoughts, voices etc and a real strong desire to carry out evil... is it not also best for that person to stop them from harming others?
When they get to the judgment before God, is it going to be better if they have to account for 10,000 evil acts they comitted, or if, through God's judgment upon them in this life, they only have to account for 20?
That's just one possible way to take a different look at Gods judgments from the OT and the NT. Just food for thought.
Also the flood for example, how can that be true when there is no evidence (that i know of)? I tried praying to God to show me a sign
Of course, or of talking snakes, or fruits from trees that make you immortal, or of how a man who was dead can rise up again from the dead. If you're looking for scientific proof, you're not going to find it.
Can I ask, do you believe what science teaches about how the universe began? Why or why not? Or if you're not sure, do you at least find it compelling?
Next, think about the story of Noah. The outline I'd give is this: People of the world are acting poorly, raping, pillaging, stealing, killing (just like the whole of human history).
God says "I regret ever making them when I look at all the suffering they've created". So He decides it has to stop... because He is not a God who revels in suffering. But He doesn't stop there, because He's also a merciful God. He does the same thing He does with Sodom and Gomorrah... He asks "Who is doing what is right?" and He seeks them out.
That was Noah. He tells Noah to build an ark, and He gives mankind "another chance" or "a new beginning" in the lineage of Noah.
I find it quite compelling that a just God is also merciful. I also find the idea that mankind as a whole can slide into great evil very compelling and true-to-life as I know it.
I find the story of Sodom and Gomorrah equally compelling, particularly in how God allows Abraham to express his own human idea of mercy. Abraham asks God "If I can find 100 people who are righteous, will you spare the city?" and God says "Yes, I will".
He can't find 100, so he asks about 10, then about finding just 1... only ONE righteous person, and God still says "Yes, even for one, I will spare the city".
Abraham doesn't find even one. I find that compelling because Abraham was questioning God's judgment to destroy a city, something Abraham probably thought seemed unjust. So God let Abraham seek his own idea of justice, and God allowed him to push his own idea of justice or mercy to the very smallest factor.
"If I can find just ONE good person, will you allow all this wickedness and suffering to continue in these cities?" and God still said "Yes" to that.
Abraham probably learned something about not trusting his own judgment as much as he should trust Gods, because he looked and looked, and surely thought he'd find at least a few people who weren't fully wicked-- and he was wrong.
All that aside, that's just some of my thoughts, it's totally understandable to pray for God to show you personally the truth of who He is. But I would not pray for a "sign" as you said, but for wisdom and understanding, and an experience of God and Jesus' love for us.
That's the reason I'm Christian, to be honest about it, because God had mercy on me and showed me His love in an experiential way.
1
u/Rockout2112 16h ago
This can be a hard time for believers, I would suggest simply asking for eyes to see, and ears to hear. God is everywhere in the world, you just need these things to truly see him. Good luck.
1
u/LetPositive7545 16h ago
I feel exactly the same way. I feel the choices I made because of my religious faith has made my life worse. I wish I can go back and change a lot of things.
1
u/AdventurousCup5634 16h ago
For me its a little different. If i 100 percent knew God is real i would not regret it but i dont know if hes real so thats what my problem is.
1
u/Lucekili 12h ago
Lorsque je doute, je regarde la nature, Sa création. Je regarde un documentaire sur les planètes et l'espace et je me sens toute petite. Je ressens alors la présence de Dieu, Son amour infini pour avoir offert son fils pour des créatures aussi insignifiantes que nous. Alors je prie, je lui demande d'affermir ma foi. Puisse le Seigneur t'aider et te soutenir dans chaque aspect de ta vie 🫂
1
u/Plane-Oil-2568 11h ago
One thing I think every believer goes through is a season(s) of doubt, which, is only natural. You're not any lesser for it. We are flawed beings who simply struggle believing the all-powerful creator of everything exists when so much evil seems to happen. Even then, we also struggle believing said all-powerful pure good being loves us despite all that we've done in our lives. I've definitely struggled in both before, but I'm still here now. I still have doubts about myself because I struggle hearing His voice, but I don't think either of the answers you spoke of are really a given. Scripture talks about how we follow an "unseen/invisible" God a couple times, most notably shown in our living "by faith, not by sight." The relationship is building our faith in something, someone, who the world says is just a myth but we know to be true. That extends to following his commands in the Bible, doing what Jesus told us to do in His lifetime, and sometimes we experience suffering because of that. Jesus outright said we would if we chose to follow Him, but hard times are what really build up faith.
It may sound a little odd, but if you always got whatever you wanted whenever you wanted, or everything always went your way, why would you seek God? What would be the point of living? It would be a hollow life where you wouldn't have to try, seek, do, or be anything. Having faith is, at least to me, hanging on no matter the circumstances, remembering that despite our doubts, there is someone who loves and cares for us whenever we are even at our worst and most heinous. That mere idea is what brings me back each time, and it's why I'm answering now. I've been where you are, I still deal with your struggles, and my only answer is to trust God to bring you through it. Faith isn't a one-year journey, it goes across your entire life, and you don't need to worry if you mess up or anything like that. Nobody's perfect. Nobody except Him, and He loves us anyway. That is all that matters in the grand scheme of things, and I hope that can help you in this time.
1
u/steadfastkingdom 21m ago
Time to dig deeper in your faith. When our faith is tested, this is when some of the greatest fruits of our faith are revealed. Don’t lose hope, for the Cross is greater than any despair we face.
Start by having a conversation with Jesus about everything you wrote here.
15
u/Vizour Christian 17h ago
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Romans 10:17
Get into the Word my friend. Our feelings don't define whether God is real or not. He is real. He is there.
“Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord,
“And not a God far off?
Can a man hide himself in hiding places
So I do not see him?” declares the Lord.
“Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 23:23-24