It sounds like you’re looking for some encouragement and reassurance that God still loves you and cares about what happens to you. Regardless of your circumstances, here are some things you can know about God:
• God will never leave you. If you were once a genuine believer, you are still a believer. You cannot lose genuine faith, because God is the one who saved you. Read the words of Jesus in John 10:27-30.
• God has forgiven you. If you are truly saved, then you are truly forgiven. God does not count your sins against you. Read 2 Corinthians 5:19.
• God will continue to forgive you. If you have sin in your life, you need to ask forgiveness. This sin doesn’t affect your eternal standing before God, but it does impact your ongoing relationship with Him. Read 1 John 1:9-10.
• Forgive those who have offended and hurt you. Don’t wait for them to ask forgiveness. Just do it. An unforgiving heart can feed bitterness. Read Colossians 3:13.
• Seek to restore your broken relationships. They may never be the way they once were, but trust God to heal what is broken. You may have to go the “second mile” (Matthew 5:41). Trust God to restore your relationships in His time and in His way.
• Forgive yourself. Your unforgiving heart may be directed to you. Self-punishment is the same as unbelief. If God can forgive you, you can forgive yourself. Read Psalm 32:1-2.
• If you are truly repentant, see yourself as God sees you—a new creature in Christ Jesus. Read 2 Corinthians 5:17.
• Forget what lies in your past and press on toward Jesus Christ. See Philippians 3:13-14.
We would also like to suggest that you find a local church where you can be around other growing believers. Pray and ask God to help you, even if you don’t feel like it. Oh, and immerse yourself in God’s Word. The Bible is God’s personal message of hope, encouragement, and instruction for you. If you’re on a rough road, it won’t go on forever. You are going to make it. God will make sure of that!
Just what I needed, when I needed it.
I was really looking this morning really feeling down and discouraged. This has helped
I wish I could say this helped but at this point in my life where prayer and tears has brought no relief, and I have truely been looking, waiting, hoping for some sign of relief from my problems only to find more around the corner. I have not been able to find encouragement in the bible or words from my christain friends etc…. I’m living proof that when you think nothing else bad can happen it does. I have been faith raised all my life and part of me doesn’t want to believe there is no God, but the practical part of me knows there is no actual proof and the only proof is manifestation and when there is no manifestation and your faith has been tested to its absolute limit, what do you do??? I have no faith left to dig out to lean on. My mother always uses the term when things goes wrong that it’s Gods will. If God truely exists how can it be that it’s his will to allow his child to be so torn and miserable to feel so hopeless, my physical father would never allow that. I am not suicidal, I don’t belive in that, but I see no reason to continue to pray or beleive and that hurts my heart, I truely want to know is there something else out there or am I wasting my time? When we die do we just go in a hole???
There are no easy answers to your questions. I don’t know your situation, and even if I did, I probably couldn’t give you much in the way of specifics. I do know from reading your reply that you are a survivor. Whatever your difficulties, you have come through them. You may see that as your own effort, but it may very well be that God has been there even when you didn’t see Him working. When you say you have no faith left to lean on, remember that faith is a renewable resource. The prophet Jeremiah, who saw great suffering around him, wrote: “The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day” (Lamentations 3:22-23). Just when you think your faith has run out, a new day will bring you a new perspective. Don’t give up on God, because He hasn’t given up on you, even if you don’t “feel” Him in your life. Remember the definition of faith from Hebrews: “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see” (Heb. 11:1) It’s common to stop at that verse, but go ahead and read the entire chapter. You will see a record of people who had faith, even when they didn’t see the results of their faith. Your life is far from over. Trust God–have faith–that your life will count for something, and that you will see the things you hope for. But even if you never see them in this life, you can have the confidence that God has prepared an eternal place for you in heaven. May God comfort you with these words!
–Stan
There is a scripture that says, “When our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows all things.” This speaks to false guilt. I would urge you to come before God in complete transparency and tell Jesus anything that bothers you about your life and behavior. He can help you unravel the things that are producing false guilt or genuine guilt, and sort out the differences. Those things that come to mind that are sinful need to be confessed and repented of.
In our day of moral relativism it is easy to be led astray. I know of a Christian personality who was plagued by a sin that caused him problems. I don’t know whether it was addiction to drugs or pornography. But, he resolved that if he were to continue to be a Christian leader and have the holiness God desired for him, he would have to die out to this sinful thing. He immersed himself in God’s word, fasted and prayed for deliverance and after nine months of this discipline God gave him the victory. God’s Word should speak to your heart in very distinct ways so that you are able to discern what is going on in your heart. Then you can have a “clear head” to confess your attitudes to the Lord and receive his forgiveness/restoration of joy and affirmation that all Christians should have.
Thankyou, this is just what I needed in a dark time for myself.