Please Help! Struggling to Hold on to My Faith. Need Wisdom and Encouragement

[tcalde00]

Can Anyone Help Me Calm These Doubts?!

I know this is quite a long post, but I really want to thank you for taking a moment to hear my cry. I am a little ashamed to admit these doubts I'm experiencing, but I just can't seem to shake them, and I'm scared to discuss them with my parents or my pastor yet. I really need to get this off my chest, and I earnestly hope that someone can provide some insight.

Huge thanks again.

Here goes nothing...
______________________________________________________________________________

First of all, my name is Taylor, and I'm a college student from a small town in Tennessee. I am 20 years old, have been a believer all my life, and have even completed a minor course of study in religion. However, I have recently encountered a snare that has caused me to doubt the very truth of the Gospel.

The problem is that it has occurred to me that the sole reason I believe in God in the first place is that my parents believe in Christ and have taught me their beliefs, presenting them (and naturally so) as absolute truth. Had I been born into a Muslim family, I would surely have been taught their views and observe their religious customs as devoutly as they do.

It disturbed me to realize that I believed in my religion for precisely the same reasons many followers of other religious traditions believed in their own. I had "known" Christianity to be correct practically from birth in the same way others "knew" my belief system to be a lie. Shaken and feeling a little simple-minded, I decided that I needed to evaluate my beliefs and attempt to take personal ownership of my faith.

I don't want to be a Christian by happenstance; I want to be a Christianity because Christianity the correct world view. I crave to know beyond doubt that Christianity is the only absolute truth. I desperately desire the kind of confidence and conviction that casts away fear and concern for oneself in pursuit of the things of God's Kingdom, but I find it difficult to have faith in what I do not "know" objectively.

I am a rational and analytical thinker, and it is incredibly frustrating to me that it seems virtually impossible to "prove" God logically, scientifically, or philosophically.

You would think that merely looking back on my short lifetime of studying, believing in, speaking to, God would yield enough evidence to renew my hope, but I can't seem to recall ever experiencing God in a distinct enough way to independently serve as evidence for the validity of Christianity.

For instance, over the years, I've felt fairly intense pangs of guilt when I've made mistakes, but some brand of moral values and their accompanying emotional consequences are inherently present within all cultures and traditions. In my days, I've attributed numerous advantageous coincidences to such things as God's provision and love, but coincidences--whether helpful or harmful--seem to happen to everyone. I even experienced certain "visions" once, but I have since discovered strikingly similar things to be a common side effect of a medication I was taking for respiratory issues.

Please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that God couldn't have been in any or all of those things. It just seems infuriatingly easy to attribute these experiences to other more "earthly" causes, a fact that renders them incapable of satisfying my craving for assurance of the validity of my views. I'm confused about what to believe anymore and even why to believe it.

Essentially, I am forced to acknowledge that the depth of my understanding and personal experience is insufficient to serve as convincing evidence that Christianity is correct; Therefore, I am confronted with what seems to be the very real possibility that Everything I believe in is as a Christian is false.

Clearly, I'm currently experiencing a great deal of doubt, and I'm finding it extremely difficult to progress in my walk with the the Lord without some sort of reassurance. I feel like a heretic for asking myself these questions, but is it so wrong for me to desire some sort of confirmation that the very guiding principles of my life are legitimate?
Maybe I just suck at faith.
______________________________________________________________________________


Please Help!


Have you or has anyone you know ever struggled with similar doubts?

What gives you the strength to believe no matter what?

Is there some secret to culturing a consuming and relentless faith?


Incredibly grateful for prayers and advice,
sincerest thanks,
Taylor C.

 

[Angelina]

Hi Taylor!
Welcome to CyB... :)

What I am understanding from your post...is that you have never had a personal relationship with God....that you have never asked Jesus into your life on a personal level eg: to be your Lord and Savior. Is that correct??? :huh:

Bless you!

 

[tcalde00]

Thanks for your reply! I actually asked Jesus into my heart at the age of six or seven at my parents direction. Though I'd be lying if I said I understood what was happening at the time. Throughout my upbringing, I suppose I saw God more as a set of rules, requirements, and punishments than anything else. Now, I just want to see Him or feel Him or know him in some way that let's me know he's there and he is who the Bible says he is.

 

[Angelina]

^_^ I can understand that...

Perhaps it may be time for you to rededicate yourself back to the Lord...this time, as an adult rather than a child who had no real concept of the commitment they were making before God. He already knew these things were going to happen btw: his timing is always perfect... :)

Shalom!!!

 

[veteran]

Thanks for your reply! I actually asked Jesus into my heart at the age of six or seven at my parents direction. Though I'd be lying if I said I understood what was happening at the time. Throughout my upbringing, I suppose I saw God more as a set of rules, requirements, and punishments than anything else. Now, I just want to see Him or feel Him or know him in some way that let's me know he's there and he is who the Bible says he is.

Taylor, this is what you're facing...

James 1:5-8
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, That giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
(KJV)


We cannot listen to the world and to God at the same time. We must choose who we listen to.

And it is the world you're listening to, because that's what has the idea of other options for Salvation swaying your mind to cause doubt.

And as far as religious studies at some university that happens to cover Christianity, I wouldn't give an empty paper sack for their instruction on Christianity and The Bible. Even courses on religion in some Christian seminaries have been Socialized to the point that they treat other religions as equal to Christianity.

It's easy to study prophecy of old in God's Word and verify whether or not it came to pass as written, vs. the wanderings of other religions which dwell on philosophical reasonings instead. There's no real comparison between God's Word and their philosophy.

 

[Faithful]

Can Anyone Help Me Calm These Doubts?!

I know this is quite a long post, but I really want to thank you for taking a moment to hear my cry. I am a little ashamed to admit these doubts I'm experiencing, but I just can't seem to shake them, and I'm scared to discuss them with my parents or my pastor yet. I really need to get this off my chest, and I earnestly hope that someone can provide some insight.

Huge thanks again.

Here goes nothing...

Honest Thomas..... He had to see Jesus and put his hand in his side to believe.
You are in a similar position because now you have found crux where you need answers.

I am going to ask you two questions:-

!) What has changed?
(by that I mean, what difference would you not having faith in God make to your life?)

2) Was it something someone said that brought this on?

______________________________________________________________________________

First of all, my name is Taylor, and I'm a college student from a small town in Tennessee. I am 20 years old, have been a believer all my life, and have even completed a minor course of study in religion. However, I have recently encountered a snare that has caused me to doubt the very truth of the Gospel.

The problem is that it has occurred to me that the sole reason I believe in God in the first place is that my parents believe in Christ and have taught me their beliefs, presenting them (and naturally so) as absolute truth. Had I been born into a Muslim family, I would surely have been taught their views and observe their religious customs as devoutly as they do.

If this was true, then why have so many Christians and Muslims fallen away from their faith when living their own lives in the world? Do you know why you have faith? Because of Gods promises to your parents and anyone who believes.


[sup]6 [/sup]And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

God is just keeping his promise to your parents. You don't believe because of what your parents taught you.
You believe as a child would by simply believing what they are told. No greater faith than that which is God given and received by a promise. Isn't that enough truth and enough evidence for you to know your belief is real and God given?



It disturbed me to realize that I believed in my religion for precisely the same reasons many followers of other religious traditions believed in their own. I had "known" Christianity to be correct practically from birth in the same way others "knew" my belief system to be a lie. Shaken and feeling a little simple-minded, I decided that I needed to evaluate my beliefs and attempt to take personal ownership of my faith.

They did not know or even believe your faith system to be a lie. You had your heart circumcised to know the truth.
But those who do not know the truth cannot understand the way the true God works. There is no evidence that other religions like Muslims know their religion to be correct. There are no promises to them from their God in the Koran to circumcise their hearts and their childrens to know the truth. But your God kept his promise to you. You believe because it is Gods will and his promise to your parents. How could you not believe if he is real. So you have to evaluate your faith by the truth of Gods words.
God himself evaluates your faith by his own words. Next time someone asks you and tells you believe because of your parents.
Tell them it is correct because God promised your parents that he would, Neither they or God would mislead you.

I don't want to be a Christian by happenstance; I want to be a Christianity because Christianity the correct world view. I crave to know beyond doubt that Christianity is the only absolute truth. I desperately desire the kind of confidence and conviction that casts away fear and concern for oneself in pursuit of the things of God's Kingdom, but I find it difficult to have faith in what I do not "know" objectively.

Satan plants seeds of doubts and lies against God and the truth. He told Eve she would become like God.
What has changed? Christianity is not a world view it is the word of God made flesh and then as you have seen today a God who keeps his promises. Why when Satan offered Christ the Kingdoms of the world if he would bow down and serve him, did Christ refuse? The truth always sets you free. Christ knew the truth he answered Satan with Gods word.

I am a rational and analytical thinker, and it is incredibly frustrating to me that it seems virtually impossible to "prove" God logically, scientifically, or philosophically.

Then use your rational and analytical thinking to explain how we and the world came into actual existence in a lifeless void where apparently in an infinite universe no other life can be found? GOD is the only answer. Or do you believe your r and a to be perfect and without fault?

You would think that merely looking back on my short lifetime of studying, believing in, speaking to, God would yield enough evidence to renew my hope, but I can't seem to recall ever experiencing God in a distinct enough way to independently serve as evidence for the validity of Christianity.

How do you validate God? We can validate Christs existence. Think of all he did then find me a scientific way for him to walk on water and to raise the dead and heal the sick of leprosy and such.
Have you forgotten what you believe about who you believe?
What is the prize you will gain in the world if you leave the LORD behind?

For instance, over the years, I've felt fairly intense pangs of guilt when I've made mistakes, but some brand of moral values and their accompanying emotional consequences are inherently present within all cultures and traditions.

That isn't true. I have known the LORD since I was a very small child even before I started school. Tell me why you felt guilty when you let your parents down as a child. Who taught you those feelings of remorse and feeling bad about letting them down?
You were not taught them, your love for them made you feel bad. Just as letting my parents down would make me feel really
sad. If you didn't have a relationship with God then you would not be feeling this way about things. Just as with your parents.
Have you really thought about these things. Do you love your parents because it was taught you? Were you taught to feel guilty.
Since Adam and Eve we all know right from wrong.

In my days, I've attributed numerous advantageous coincidences to such things as God's provision and love, but coincidences--whether helpful or harmful--seem to happen to everyone. I even experienced certain "visions" once, but I have since discovered strikingly similar things to be a common side effect of a medication I was taking for respiratory issues.

Please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that God couldn't have been in any or all of those things. It just seems infuriatingly easy to attribute these experiences to other more "earthly" causes, a fact that renders them incapable of satisfying my craving for assurance of the validity of my views. I'm confused about what to believe anymore and even why to believe it.

Essentially, I am forced to acknowledge that the depth of my understanding and personal experience is insufficient to serve as convincing evidence that Christianity is correct; Therefore, I am confronted with what seems to be the very real possibility that Everything I believe in is as a Christian is false.

God doesn't just provide crops for good people. He waters the land and provides for all mankind good and bad alike.
Christ didn't just die for sinners who would repent or who had not committed serious sins. He died for the vilest sinner too.
It is not about your belief but how you value the truth which you have.What good does it do a man if he gaineth the whole world but loseth his soul. Why would your parents whom you love and trust teach you a lie? Maybe you need to think about the people you trust and especially your parents. I loved my parents and they would never have lied about God. As I grew up my relationship with God strengthed to such an extent I learned more from him than my parents did in their youth and more than they knew in their adult years. I believe in your heart you know God is real as you know he kept his promises to your parents.
A lover of truth will never go far wrong or give up on God.

Clearly, I'm currently experiencing a great deal of doubt, and I'm finding it extremely difficult to progress in my walk with the the Lord without some sort of reassurance. I feel like a heretic for asking myself these questions, but is it so wrong for me to desire some sort of confirmation that the very guiding principles of my life are legitimate?
Maybe I just suck at faith.
______________________________________________________________________________


Please Help!


Have you or has anyone you know ever struggled with similar doubts?

What gives you the strength to believe no matter what?

Is there some secret to culturing a consuming and relentless faith?


Incredibly grateful for prayers and advice,
sincerest thanks,
Taylor C.

You are suffering self-doubt. That is the truth but what I want to know is what the prize is for walking away from faith?
I know people whose children, and family have died and been murdered who walked in despair for a while but found the immense strength in God to pull through because they knew he loved them and their loved ones were safe with him.
Fear not those who kill the body but rather fear God who has the power to cast both body and soul into hell.
It isn't lack of faith but fear of losing you faith because of self doubt.

Now you know the truth that God was keeping his promise to your parents by giving you their seed a heart to believe and know him. Can you muddle through now and see the truth you needed?

 

[Couppy]

Can Anyone Help Me Calm These Doubts?!

I know this is quite a long post, but I really want to thank you for taking a moment to hear my cry. I am a little ashamed to admit these doubts I'm experiencing, but I just can't seem to shake them, and I'm scared to discuss them with my parents or my pastor yet. I really need to get this off my chest, and I earnestly hope that someone can provide some insight.

Huge thanks again.

Here goes nothing...
______________________________________________________________________________

First of all, my name is Taylor, and I'm a college student from a small town in Tennessee. I am 20 years old, have been a believer all my life, and have even completed a minor course of study in religion. However, I have recently encountered a snare that has caused me to doubt the very truth of the Gospel.

The problem is that it has occurred to me that the sole reason I believe in God in the first place is that my parents believe in Christ and have taught me their beliefs, presenting them (and naturally so) as absolute truth. Had I been born into a Muslim family, I would surely have been taught their views and observe their religious customs as devoutly as they do.

It disturbed me to realize that I believed in my religion for precisely the same reasons many followers of other religious traditions believed in their own. I had "known" Christianity to be correct practically from birth in the same way others "knew" my belief system to be a lie. Shaken and feeling a little simple-minded, I decided that I needed to evaluate my beliefs and attempt to take personal ownership of my faith.

I don't want to be a Christian by happenstance; I want to be a Christianity because Christianity the correct world view. I crave to know beyond doubt that Christianity is the only absolute truth. I desperately desire the kind of confidence and conviction that casts away fear and concern for oneself in pursuit of the things of God's Kingdom, but I find it difficult to have faith in what I do not "know" objectively.

I am a rational and analytical thinker, and it is incredibly frustrating to me that it seems virtually impossible to "prove" God logically, scientifically, or philosophically.

You would think that merely looking back on my short lifetime of studying, believing in, speaking to, God would yield enough evidence to renew my hope, but I can't seem to recall ever experiencing God in a distinct enough way to independently serve as evidence for the validity of Christianity.

For instance, over the years, I've felt fairly intense pangs of guilt when I've made mistakes, but some brand of moral values and their accompanying emotional consequences are inherently present within all cultures and traditions. In my days, I've attributed numerous advantageous coincidences to such things as God's provision and love, but coincidences--whether helpful or harmful--seem to happen to everyone. I even experienced certain "visions" once, but I have since discovered strikingly similar things to be a common side effect of a medication I was taking for respiratory issues.

Please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that God couldn't have been in any or all of those things. It just seems infuriatingly easy to attribute these experiences to other more "earthly" causes, a fact that renders them incapable of satisfying my craving for assurance of the validity of my views. I'm confused about what to believe anymore and even why to believe it.

Essentially, I am forced to acknowledge that the depth of my understanding and personal experience is insufficient to serve as convincing evidence that Christianity is correct; Therefore, I am confronted with what seems to be the very real possibility that Everything I believe in is as a Christian is false.

Clearly, I'm currently experiencing a great deal of doubt, and I'm finding it extremely difficult to progress in my walk with the the Lord without some sort of reassurance. I feel like a heretic for asking myself these questions, but is it so wrong for me to desire some sort of confirmation that the very guiding principles of my life are legitimate?
Maybe I just suck at faith.
______________________________________________________________________________


Please Help!


Have you or has anyone you know ever struggled with similar doubts?

What gives you the strength to believe no matter what?

Is there some secret to culturing a consuming and relentless faith?


Incredibly grateful for prayers and advice,
sincerest thanks,
Taylor C.

I believe you gave your life to Christ when you were young but did not have the full understanding of what you did. As a child you did not question your faith or what you were taught. You believed in everything your parents and your pastor taught you. Now, you are an adult with an eye to critically look at what you do and believe in. Somewhere along the line you changed focus and shifted your eyes off God.

You have to get yourself back on track with God by re-dedicating your life to him and let him give you the assurances you are looking for. You have just experienced a problem many adults who were saved when they were very young experience. As an adult the doubts kick in because they can't really say how they came to follow God wholeheartedly, and therefore conclude it must be because their parents were religious. Some of them backslide and some of them get confused. Some of them continue in the faith.

Couppy

All you need to do understand why Jesus died for you and re-dedicate your life to Christ.

 

[Arnie Manitoba]

You are not alone Taylor C.

Your parents , pastors , Christian friends , and some of the most solid scholars have doubts too.

I think we are built that way for good reasons.

You portray a rare honesty about your doubts , most of us keep them hidden.

God has an admiration for honest people like yourself. You are the opposite of a hypocrite.

A healthy doubt allows Your Lord opportunity to provide occasional proofs.

Then you will know for sure. Our opinions are not required , nor parents or preachers .

The part you play is in recognizing when he proves Himself to you.

Keep your eyes open for every little thing authored from above.

i thank you for your pure honesty Taylor C.

it is refreshing

Arnie.