To believers in God, if God is available to all who seek him, why wasn't he available to me when I sought him?

Question

I used to believe in God, I really did. I was raised in a christian family and there was once no doubt in my mind that God was real and concerned about my life. I had a lot of problems in my life and I prayed to God to help me and my family deal with them. I prayed that we wouldn't get evicted. I prayed that my mother would stop being suicidal. And I prayed that the group of kids that harassed me on the way home from school for no apparent reason would just leave me alone, among other things. I went to church, talked to the elders and read the Bible and books on theology all in an attempt to seek and understand God. But after my family was set out on the street, my mother attempted suicide twice more, I was beaten to a bloody pulp by my bullies, and I started to read and watch the news to see how many people are unjustly suffering in the world, doubt came into my mind, which eventually lead me to agnosticism. I sought God and it didn't work, so why should I believe?

Thanks if you read all this.

I was a child when I believed in God, so perhaps I trivialized it a bit, but it was the best reasoning I could muster at the time. And if we have to help ourselves, which is what I do now, and God doesn't respond to our concerns, what is the point of believing in an impotent and apatheic God?

Answer 1

You may not believe this, but God was there through all of that. If He hadn't been, you'd be dead. Great men of God have gone through the same or worse things. What about Job in the Bible? I was abused 11 years by my own dad and step mom and often wondered what i did to deserve such cruelty and I can look back now and see that what i went through has made me a stronger person, and advocate against abuse, mental and physical and actually lead to a job of 28+ years that i probably wouldn't have done had it not been for being abused. Don't stop seeking God. He's still there waiting.

Answer 2

Sorry to hear about such bad things happening in your life. We've all been there. It's pretty much like a few people are already saying, God isn't someone you call upon when things get bad. Yes, you can call on him during those times but, you can't expect him to magically fix your life. You have to do those things yourself. You'd be better off asking for strength to deal with these things instead of asking Him to fix them. He just doesn't roll that way.

I'm not a Christian but I do believe in God. I won't tell you that you didn't have enough faith or you must've been bad before or any hooey like that. I will say that God didn't make this world bad, humans did. Humans choose to fight, kill and cause misery. Yes, God could intervene and He does. He doesn't always do so in a demonstrative way. There's always a reason for things happening whether you like that reasoning or not.

As unfair as it may seem, you can't expect to have an easy life just because you believe in God. If that were the case, everyone would believe in God and that's not how He wants your faith or belief in Him. Don't look to a higher power to "fix" your life. Fix it yourself. Ask for strength or for options to present themselves more clearly.

There's no reason for you to believe though. None at all. It's a personal choice and if it works for you, great. I can tell you that far more people have had worse lives and didn't blame God and remain devout. I don't know if that's better but I do know that you can't blame God for the bad things in life. Rely on yourself. Rely on your brain. That's really all you can do.


Edit: To answer what you added on, you just said yourself that you believed in God as a child. I don't know how old you are now but, if God really didn't play a huge role in your life, why would you ask him for help? That's sort of fairweather friend behavior. You can't come around only when times are bad. It's either 100% or 0%. Like I said, if you believed because God was a genie and helped you out of jams everytime you asked, that wouldn't be real belief. That would be you wanting something from him and nothing more. The same way you don't want someone using you for money or say your iPod, God doesn't want you to believe in Him for what He can give to you.

Answer 3

I am so sorry you have suffered so much in your life. I have suffered much too. Most people have. I don't know why we are left to suffer so much. Some think it's so we can learn. Some think it's because there is no God. I think it's because we have free will. Without free will, we would not be us would we? We'd be avatars. No life within us. It's horrible that people use their free will to harm others. Maybe we are here to learn. To be the best, most loving people we can be, even though we have suffered so much at the hands of others. You are hurting so badly. I'm sorry. Try to be the best person you can be, be there for others who are also suffering. Think about the things that give you joy, whatever that is. Sunsets, waterfalls, snow. There is a God, one day you will feel heaven, all your pain will be forgotten, your familys too. You will all rejoice in your souls. I don't think you need to be a certain religion either. Just be a good person, a label doesn't make you a good person. God knows this. And if there is no God, in your heart you will still find happiness. If there's anything I can do for you, you just email me or IM me and I will be there for you. Take care, it's going to be ok. OK?

Answer 4

Your question made me think why such things happen to good people. I must admit that there are really times when God seems to be far away especially when we are suffering.
Let me try to answer your question. Where was God when his only begotten son was dying on the cross? Where was he when Christians were being fed to wild beasts? Where was he when 6 million Jews were being slaughtered by Nazi Germany? It is really a mystery. We will never know until we see him face to face and ask him those questions. We just have to keep on believing and trusting just like his son Jesus Christ.
Sometimes God allows us to suffer in order to bring something good. In the case of Jesus, he gave humanity a reason to hope, to believe that there is another life after this one. In the case of the early Christians the Church would not be what it is now if not for those martyrs. And in the case of the Jewish people, the holocaust opened the eyes of the world to the evils of Nazism and racism. It also enabled them to return to their homeland. That's the only way I can explain it.
Have a grace filled day

Answer 5

just replace the fairy tale god with the real thing "good" and tell the narrow minded illiterate and misinformed each to their own.
you will see in the next fifty years or so this stance is becoming respectable and may be last ditch attempt in this millennium for an honest honorable world by the secular humanist and the atheist if they put their minds to serious work while the few express the logic of new thinking over old problems.Science is the future . And how many Christians Jews and Muslims etc. will throw out their TVs Central Air and Transportation and Abundance of food and Education in order to fit through the eye of the needle while on their beasts of burden bound for heaven ?
Some of course resort to childish name calling and character assassination but my skin is thicker than that and my integrity is unshakable. keep trying people and I don't need censorship because I place my faith in the good nature and intelligent character of mankind not the mediocre mind of those in a fools paradise

Answer 6

God loves you. He has given you all that you posses. He has given you people to help you thru all these problems and the scriptures to give you strength to keep moving forward!
He has given us all free agency. He will not force his will on any one. Unfortunately some use that free agency to cause others pain and injury and your mother obviously didn't have the spiritual strength to keep going. But over time, have these experiences had any impact on your life? Are you and your mother, better people because of the things you've been thru? Are you in a better situation now. When you were evicted did you end up in a better neighbor hood with better opportunities?
Some times it takes time to see the answer to your prayers.
If you look back now, and see where these things have led you.
I'll bet you can see how your prayers were answered. Don't give up on God. He doesn't ever give up on us!

Answer 7

This world is not the kingdom of God. That is the kingdom within us. Satan's job is to cast doubt. Many who have struggled as you have have not stumbled and completely fallen away. Your faith has been tested and the Lord builds our faith and rebuilds it. The bible is much deeper than rules it's how we find our faith. I encourage you to seek in the word of God for the faith once delivered.

Answer 8

You have had a sad life but try and put it behind you little by little, My life has not been so easy either. A saying that has helped me is, "II cried because I had no shoes and then I met a man with no feet." Try and go to a public library and read any self help book by Zg Zigler. Here is a man who was at the very edge and was at that time an agnostic and bought a gun in a pawn shop and was going to kill himself and he turened himself around Good luck to you

Answer 9

I believe in god but not the christian one. I also believe that we choose what life we want before we are born. There are certain lessons we have to learn in life and we come back again and again until we have learned them. You will come out of this a stronger person I promise you. I think it's important to have a faith, it gives you hope and without hope your life can seem pretty bleak at times.

Answer 10

Things happen in our lives sometimes to test our faith. God will see who will continue to believe during the good AND the bad times.