For save folk only...I am in a strange place in my walk with God, can u give some advice?

Question

Im 31 years old and have been in the church all my life. I committed my life to God in 1998. I was walking directly into my destiny and I knew it. I had passion for God and His ways that was amazing. But I decided things were not moving fast enough so i got discouraged and slacked off. I soon found myself almost completely back to where I began.
I re-dedicated my life in 2005 but I have doubts about my future in God. There is a strong sense of hopelessness in my daily walk-my prayer life, my studying, everything. I feel real empty inside as if i'm disconnected from God and just going thru the motions. The prophesies that were spoken over my life seem so far from me now. I feel invisible in church like God blesses those around me but not me. Its a very strong sense of hopelessness. Im not depressed or even sad.God healed that. Im just not sure what direction to take. Can anyone relate/ give advice? I want to connect with this awesome move of God and have the passion i once had.

Answer 1

Welcome to God's justice and the dark night.

If you got discouraged because you were not moving as fast as you had liked, and did not seek God's direction, guidance, and pace, then you were discouraged because you wanted your walk with God to look or feel a certain way...so, you and your desires were at the center, not God. If you place your own desires ahead of God's will, you will stumble. This is the way it goes. If you know people who have accepted God into their lives, you know to expect a lessening of fervor and passion as time wears on. This is for many reasons, but one reason is so that faith may be strengthened even when it doesn't feel good and when contemplation of God is not as sweet as it used to be. St. John of the Cross details this in exactitude in his book "Dark Night of the Soul." I suggest that you read that book so that you come to understand that the withdraw of sweetness of contemplation is not a curse nor a punishment but is something necessary to temper the passions of the faithful. If the only reason one seeks God is so one's feelings are pleasing, then that is a paltry and threadbare basis of faith...and one will not be able to do God's work or encourage others in their dark night if one does not go through it faithfully and with gratitude and humility oneself.

If you used to feel ardor and are now "dry" and/or "empty," you should consider it a sign of progress and should be grateful that God has taken your life and is doing with it what he does with the lives of his servants: conforming it to his will, so that you may be a prolific, steadfast servant, not a fair-weather one who only seeks feel-good-ism.

Also, if you turned from God, it shows that you either lost trust in him or else thought that what he offered you wasn't good enough, didn't meet your demands. Expect, as a matter of course, that God allow you to endure the consequences of your pride and hubris now that you have returned to him. Again, a faithful servant of God knows that God's justice is perfect and essential to one's soul...and God's allowing you to seek him in the desert is a gift.

I suggest to you to seek God's will for your life and the power to do it once you find it. If you are attached to an outcome--"passion"--then you will probably again get discouraged and give up. If you are single-minded and come to love God's will as the only will that is of value, then your search will be fruitful.

Again, I suggest that you read St. John's book. I also suggest that you ask God to teach you how to seek his will and his alone, and teach you how to love it. Ask God to remove any side agendas or benefits that you are seeking. Ask him to give you insight into how your will and your desires are not the best things there are. (For, truly, if you wish your will to be done instead of God's, why seek God at all?) I also suggest that you seek counsel from a person who has been through the dark night and endured it with faith, grace, humility, and fortitude.

Answer 2

Through no fault of your own, I'm sure, it sounds lik you're motivation is a bit misplaced. God is not a "get rich quick" scheme or someone that you turn to because you want material prosperity. God is also not there so that we can have good warm and fuzzy feelings.

We choose to worship God not only for what He does for us (which may not seem like much right now for you, but His mercy and protection are infinite) but also for who He is.

Your personal relationship with Him is just that. It has absolutely nothing to do with other people, what other people are doing, and what other people have "prophesied" over your life. It is a dangerous thing to look at other people and envy those aspects of their lives that they have chosen to reveal to you. It is also dangerous to consider any specific "prophesies" of other humans who only tell you what you want to hear.

The bottom line is this: Jesus always instructed that His followers would suffer. Jesus Himself suffered. He, Paul and other New Testament writers gave several words of encouragement for this suffering. Being a Christian is hard. And it's work. There are times when we walk in the wilderness, but just like walking in the wilderness, real Christianity is a personal journey, whose destination is eternity. Do not expect constant reassurance and ease just because you profess Jesus. The natural question would be: "Why follow Him, then?" The answer is something that you should dig deep from within yourself. When you do, make sure that your reasons are those consistent with the spirit of the Scripture - not the motivations of greedy men that appeal to your desire for things that you can touch and see.

Every good wish.

Answer 3

I've gone through some of the same things. Actually, just recently I was feeling really disconnected, even though I know the reality of God.

I think usually when this happens, we are the ones who are responsible for it, and we don't always realize it. Sometimes it is a spritual attack as well. The advice I've been given, is no matter how you feel, praise God anyway. Just worship and praise Him, even if you feel disconnected. I believe as you do this, you will begin to feel His presence in your life more than you have been.

Also, if you feel this way because you're questioning your beliefs (I have been through that), pray and ask God to help you see the truth. He will help you through your struggles, in whatever way you need help.
But above all, remember to pray, worship, praise, study the Word, no matter how you feel. The effort is really worth it! I'm going to pray right now for God to really bless you, and speak to your heart today, and to give you a new excitement for spiritual things!
Grace and peace.

Answer 4

James 4:8a says it all: "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."

Because you backslid, God needs to see proof of your faith before He will become a strong presence in your life again. Return to your first love: begin your studies all over again, as if you were a new believer. Read the Gospels; watch films, such as the Gospel of John and the Passion of the Christ, that stir your emotions and challenge you spiritually. Each Sunday at "witnessing" time (hopefully your church does this) stand up before your congregation and tell everyone what God has done for you over the past week. Praise Him where ever you go, with the full understanding that He is your Lord and your God who has promised to save you.

Remember, too, that God has told us from the earliest days of the OT that He wants us to have a personal relationship with Him. So get to know Him again and you will begin to feel the Holy Spirit moving within you.

Peace and blessings.

EDIT: I just have to say that I feel SO BLESSED by most of the answers given here! Bravo, brothers and sisters!

Answer 5

Sounds familiar. Can I remind you of the Isrealites journey out of Egypt?? They went a bit off course and ended up wandering in the desert for 40 years. That journey should've only taken them a couple weeks I've heard. They made some bad choices, got sent to the wilderness, and then continued to complain. It didn't have to take 40 years. This summer I heard a message on this - the end of your wilderness may be just around the corner. You know the right things to do. Stick with the disciplines of Bible reading and prayer. Don't neglect worship. Just do these things out of obedience. My pastor's pastor always says "If you're going through hell, don't stop." Keep pessing forward.
I hope this is encouraging in some way.

Answer 6

I think your main problem is that you are expecting more than what God is giving you. You said that things were not moving fast enough and you were getting discouraged. It seems like you were trying to be in control of your destiny instead of following Christ. It seems like you are saying that Christ was not moving fast enough, so you stopped following Him and set out on your own.

Even now, you seem discouraged because you see God blessing those around you but not yourself. You are expecting something out of God. You are walking your own walk and not God's.

You feel disconnected from God because you are not serving him, you are serving yourself. You want blessings, you want passion, you want connectedness. You want. You want. You want.

Forget about the prophesies that were spoken over your life. They are probably just words of empty promise. The purpose in life is to love god and love others.

Walking with God is not about wanting, it is about being with God. You can be with God by serving others. You need to forget about what you want in life and look to see what you can do for others. Just look around you. Keep your ears, eyes and heart open to opportunities to serve others, even if it is a kind word and an smile.

E-mail me or instant messenger me on Yahoo (screen name everydaycatholic) and let's talk about this.

Answer 7

We all get discouraged on our walks with God. Remember the story of Job. He had everything, then in the blink of an eye it was gone. It was only after Job realized that God was still sovereign and real that his life was restored and surpassed its former glory. Remember to stay in fellowship with other believers, join a Bible study, and/or find an accountability partner. When I have been in low spots in my life, I have found the most helpful thing to me was to get back to a point of awe and worship. Even though God is so holy and righteous, and I am so the opposite of Him, that He still desires a personal relationship with me. As sinful and selfish as I am, I am still a precious jewel in His eyes and you are too.

Answer 8

Read the passages about the different places the seed was sown and what happened to it then get yourself to a Catholic Church on a day when there is Adoration. Nobody has to know who you are or anything. There is usually just a few people there at a time. Nobody speaks they just sit in the presence of the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament on the alter. He will take it from there. You do not have to join the Church (although you may want to later) but, just sit with him. If you doubt what I am saying--just try it because it sounds like you are about to lose your faith anyway. You have EVERYTHING to gain.

Answer 9

The hindrance you suffered is the hands of the enemy. You need to get books from the library, these books tell you that you will suffer rejection, humiliation, insults, intimidation, persecution and pain basically. You need to be prepared and your paster should have told you this. The church say that we do not need teaching as we know from the beginning and do not need a teacher. Do as much research as you can via the internet and the library also buy books from christian shops. Living for Jesus is never easy but you will be rewarded if your heart is with him. I believe you was going in a speed, slow down no one is judging you. Read the gospels and psalms and talk to Jesus and I mean Jesus when you talk to him keep calling his name, you can call it in full, ask him to send you the holy spirit to direct you and comfort you, he is already with you (holy spirit) but I am reminding you, Jesus like when you ask him and he really will give it to you, you must start depending on him. Remember Christianity is not all lovey dovey, it brings pain, the pain that Jesus experienced. Try to get hold of the book "The Wounds Of JESUS". It should be in the library, I do know how comforting it will be to know what Jesus suffered. Be strong and have courage and do ask Jesus calling out his name in your mind for the holy spirit to guide you and take it easy no more rushing. May The God of Peace Be With You.

Answer 10

big country,not enough space for complete answer,come to my 360. I experienced simular.there is a very big movement taking place,you must be part of it. I prayed directly to GOD,Please send me a teacher,he sent me Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa this saint taught the same as jesus except with much more clarity. AS of now i believe you have a lot of confusion because the bible scripture, though true, are very veiled. for instance "once one has been removed from sin, they will go back into sin with the christ leading the way" this is same as rubbing a pups nose in its mess. YOU NEVER BACK SLID, NO SIN IS ATTRIBUTED TO YOU. www.stephen-knapps.com/articles_to_read will give you many answers.LOVE