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Also, I would add, Taylor, that sometimes the Lord allows certain trials in our lives and helps us overcome in order to do a work in us personally. The following are two scriptures concerning this. Kaykay does NOT have these scriptures posted on her refrigerator door but maybe she should!
"...but we glory in tribulations also knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience, experience, and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed." Romans 5: 3 and 4. KJV
and also
"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations, know this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." James 1: 2-4 KJV
it sounds like you gave your life to him on the premise of expecting good things in return. dont know if that is why you should become a christian.
i dont know if it is safe to rely upon god for help and good things. maybe it is but it seems pretty risky. anyhow, just tough it out and know that things will get better with or without god. hang in there!
No, when I gave my life to him, things were already good. I was already a Christian, I just wasn't a good enough one, in my own eyes, so I've been trying to improve on it. I didn't rely on him to make my life perfect, but I never expected it to make a complete turn around. If God can't help me, then who can, when I can't help myself?
Romans 8:28 "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them".
God works in everything not just isolated incidents. This does not mean that all that happens to us is good. Evil is still around, but God is able to turn every circumstance around for our good. God is not working to make us happy but to fulfill His purpose. And this promise can only be claimed by those who love God and are called by Him.
No, when I gave my life to him, things were already good. I was already a Christian, I just wasn't a good enough one, in my own eyes, so I've been trying to improve on it. I didn't rely on him to make my life perfect, but I never expected it to make a complete turn around. If God can't help me, then who can, when I can't help myself?
I for one am of the belief that God can help me, and I shouldnt doubt that he can, sometimes some valleys in our life last longers than others. I have found that when I quit questioning Can God help me
and when will he help me and start praising God for what he has already done for me that maybe my situation doesnt change..but the way i handle it does, and that makes all the difference.
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You've received some excellent replies. The only things I can add are prayer, thought life, and thanksgiving.
Pray, pray, and pray some more. Get specific in your prayers, telling God exactly what you're thinking and what you'd like to see accomplished. Back up the prayers with Scripture whenever possible. Believe you've received what you've prayed for even if there isn't any evidence; act as though God has answered your prayers. It's amazing what this will do for the negative thinking!
Philippians 4:8 says to think about things that are true, right, noble, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. So often we get caught up in all the negativity, and it ends up taking over our minds. Take the things that are going wrong in your life and find the kernels of truth and good that are hiding there. Concentrate on that. If you can't find anything good about the situation, concentrate on the things in your life that are good.
The Bible tells us to give thanks for everything. That's awfully hard to do when our lives are falling apart. You may have to get creative! However, if you're obedient in this, you will find your thinking turning around. I was reminded of this once when the toilet had backed up. Give thanks? Are you nuts?OK, enough with the grumbling. . . . Thank you Father, that I have indoor plumbing. Thank you that my toddler doesn't think this is a game. Thank you I have the tools to make this job easier. Thank you ... (You get the idea.) It didn't take long before I was singing praises rather than grumbling. This kind of goes along with the "count it all joy" verse Kaykay quoted.
I think that has a lot to do with. I'm frustrated, upset, angry, sad...you get the picture. I think I'm just in the negative and I have to get myself out of it. I have found myself not giving thanks, or not feeling like I have something new to be thankful for when I've been praying. I felt like I was just thanking Him for the same things over and over, and thought, well, he's heard that already, he probably doesn't want to hear it again.
I think that has a lot to do with. I'm frustrated, upset, angry, sad...you get the picture. I think I'm just in the negative and I have to get myself out of it. I have found myself not giving thanks, or not feeling like I have something new to be thankful for when I've been praying. I felt like I was just thanking Him for the same things over and over, and thought, well, he's heard that already, he probably doesn't want to hear it again.
When Im distressed..heres what I do..I get by myself..turn on some worship music and just start singing praises to God, sometimes down on my knees, I lift my hands. The Bible says that God inhabits the praise of his people. Worship is like connecting to God in a very deep way, Let the world around you go, make a time for just you and God.
Taylor400 said: Hi, your post confuses me. Please don't take this as sarcastic or argumentative. I'm just trying to understand what you are saying. Are you saying the problems I'm facing are because I haven't taken responsibility and been accountable for mistakes I've made? The things that are happening to me right now I cannot possibly think of what I've covered up (so to speak) to make them happen. I've asked for forgiveness for my sins, I've never said I haven't sinned. I have always tried to "do the right thing" but I know maybe the decisions I've made maybe weren't the right ones. Believe me, I am a thinker, and with everything going on, I sit and unpeel layer after layer trying to figure out what I did or what I need to do to make things right.
I'm gonna subdivide your questions....
Quote:
Are you saying the problems I'm facing are because I haven't taken responsibility and been accountable for mistakes I've made?
No... not at all. However, forgiveness does not mean the consequences go away.
I wasn't speaking to specifics in your life. I hope I did not covey that... it was not my intent. If I did, I apologize. What I would ask, in light of my poor analogy, is to look at life within the context of where you are, how you got there, and what has transpired along the way. What we did years ago still has a role in what happens today or tomorrow.
Example: Let's say divorce was part of my life, and it was. I can be forgiven for my divorce, but the consequences still remain. How it affected my children, my finances, my relationships, etc. These problems may manifest themselves much later in life, AFTER my forgiveness. I hope this makes sense?
Even though we are a new person in Christ, we can not escape our choices. That was my point. The good news is... we are forgiven... and now, we are knowingly accountable to God, while before..... we were accountable to ourselves.
Having God's love sometimes reveals itself in correction. Any parent who loves their children would admonish a child for walking into traffic, and that is love at work. God whispers to us in pleasure, talks to us in daily life, and screams to us in pain... or the prospect of pain (if we're listening).
Quote:
Believe me, I am a thinker, and with everything going on, I sit and unpeel layer after layer trying to figure out what I did or what I need to do to make things right.
God never wants us to check our brain at the door, but if we rely only upon ourselves "to make things right" we will be disappointed with the results. Doing the right thing is good, but faithfully relying on God will produce his will.
Our happiness is a product of our faithful obedience. God doesn't promise happiness here on earth, in fact... the most faithful sometimes live the saddest of lives. Mother Theresa is a prime example in modern times.
I hope my words are edifying. Each of us need encouragement, and I applaud you for reaching out. You have chosen the "narrow way" that leads to life, stay the course.
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but maybe she should!
