Need my faith restored?

Question

I'm going through such a bad patch in my life. I'm a christian but it's very early in my christian path and I'm trying hard to hold on.
It's seems I have no prospects in life -career wise, relationships..but the thing that hurts the most is that - I actually have the ability to..but it never goes my way. Some sort of circumstance makes it impossible for me to succeed.

I'm not good with reading the Bible because I never understand (no matter what kind of bible) but I just need to know what passage I should read to restore my faith?
I want to achieve so many things and I know I have to seek him first and I'm doing so, I want him to help me make friends (I'm so anti social..I dont even know why..people always look at me and think I'm stuck up but (maybe by the way I look) but I'm overly shy..its ridiculous - I even hate talking on the phone...my heart races! I know its stupid..anyway please help if you can

thx

Answer 1

i dont think you need your faith restored.. i think you need a boost of confidence and a little more luck... you sound like you have a huge heart and great head on your shoulders and are just getting hammered by everything thats coming your way. God wouldnt give us challenges we could not over come and with that being said everything we face is what shapes us into who we are. This is a time when you feel lonely and like why is he doing this to me but remember he is just making you stronger by the tests and difficulties you need to overcome. Without struggle there is no progress... your faith isnt whats in question... its your confidence in yourself is whats questioned... remember this with the anti social thing... no one is better than you no matter who your talking to.. take a deep breath and remember that and dont be intimidated. I hear ya on the whole BIble thing too i cant understand it no mater what version i read but as i said i dont think thats whats in question because even tho it seems there are time he left you ... he is walking right beside you. He would never give us anything we couldnt over come and he wouldnt leave you when you feel times are bad. He knows your strong enough to handle what he is giving you and you will do it. It may take time but dont lose your faith in him and just as imortant dont lose your faith in yourself! The good things in life take time the career... relationship... and even overcoming your fears... keep working at all of them because as bad as it seems right now there is light at the end of your tunnel!

Answer 2

You are in a rut, it happens to the best of us.

How is your prayer life?
How is your worship life?
How is your study life?

My guess is one or more of the three above is in need of some vitalization. Here are some ways to do it:

Prayer: Do you journal? Give yourself at least a 3 hour window of alone time and find a very nice quiet place to sit down with your journal. (No cell phones, no people, no TV, etc). Start writing down all the things you are thankful for and all things you pray for (family, job, peace, security, non-believers, etc).

Worship: Again, find an "alone" place, somewhere like out in the woods or a in your car on a long drive, and then from memory, sing every worship song you can think of. Then put some music on and sing along to it. Actually listen to the words and make it a prayer to God.

Study: How much time do you spend in the Word of God? Make it a point to read at least one chapter from the New Testament and one from the Old everyday. (try). Do it in the morning time so that you can think about what you have read the entire day.
Begin memorizing scripture. Start small, just take a few verses you like and write them on a note card. Paste the note card somewhere prominent and start memorizing it. You would be surprised how often scripture you have just memorized comes up in conversation.

Lastly, how is your fellowship with other believers? Are you in a good, Bible-focused church? Do you attend Bible studies or Home groups that will help you connect with other believers? Do you have an accountability partner that you can share your thoughts with?

If you have any questions or would like to chat, drop me an email. God bless!
(and have a lemon bar while you're at it!) :)

Answer 3

I too am going through a very difficult time. God is testing your faith. It is becoming increasingly more difficult to walk with the Lord in this world, because of the increasing defiance against him, the increased hatred. You will more than likely receive responses from this question by people who hate God, hate The Lord Jesus, hate Christians and hate you for loving God. Do not get discouraged. When you asked the Lord to take over your life you received the Holy Spirit and became separated from the world. John 15:19. The bible is meant to be understood by those that want to and desire it. "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8. The thing that atheists and God haters cannot comprehend is how we can live our lives by this book, how can we take any of this seriously. It is simply because we love him and when we love him and trust him and seek him he gives us wisdom and understanding that surpasses all logical or scientific thinking. The word of God is living and alive to us. When a God hater asks to prove that God exists, I always laugh because I don't need to prove it, I believe it. You cannot see belief. The only way to prove his existence to the world is through a transformed life. II Corinthians 5:17. As far as not understanding the bible continue to read and pray and ask God to give you understanding, pray for wisdom, which God gives freely to those who ask. James 1:5-8. It will come dear brother. Seek him with all your heart and all your soul and he will bless you. God cannot lie it is impossible for him to lie, His word is truth. I think one of the most amazing verses in the bible is when the Lord Jesus was before Pilate and and he says, "Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice" John 18:37 and then Pilate says, "What is truth?" John 18:38. Little did he know that he was staring at truth it was standing right in front of him. Wow.
If you are not part of a bible believing church, I would get in to one right away. If not find a bible study somewhere that preaches and teaches. There are also a lot of sermons online that are very encouraging. Continue to pray and read your bible even if you don't understand. Pick up a copy of the Amplified bible if you can. I use this bible for study, it is an excellent translation. I would not recommend the NIV because it's translation is inaccurate. A lot of bible churches use this and I don't know why. New King James or New American Standard (which is what I use) are very good and easy to comprehend translations. Giving your life to Christ is a serious thing. You now belong to him, you are God's possession now I Peter 2:9. I will pray for you brother. I will pray that the Lord will hear your cries. These following verses will lead you. Pray that God will strengthen your faith

I Peter 5:7
Philippians 4:6-7.
Proverbs 2:3-7
Mark 16:14
Isaiah 55:8-9
Proverbs 3:5-8
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Hebrews 13:5
Matthew 7:7-11

Answer 4

I think you need to slow down and take it one step at a time, being shy is something people often misunderstand, I was so shy when I was an early teen I could barely speak the the person at the McDonald's counter, forget about your future career and relationships, you need to concentrate on the here and now, you should get on line and search out some good websites that can help you with your faith like Billy Graham or Dr. Dobson, also, are you going to fellowship somewhere? If not you should visit some churches, ask a fellow Believer to help you, if you are a college student seek out Campus Crusade or Intervaristy both college Christian groups, there's a lot out there, but I think you need to be discipled in the Christian disciplines and the best way to do that is find an older more mature Believer and ask for help

Answer 5

You need to do the following:
1. Find yourself a church and a cellgroup that you can fit in, fast! Being with other Christians will help you grow through encouragement and support for one another.
2. The Bible says that "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God". If you want your faith restored, built up, then you need to read the Bible and pray. Suggest that you get a Life Application Bible as it has explanation and application at the bottom of the pages to help you understand what you are reading and how to apply it to your life.
3. You need to pray for the Holy Spirit to empower and give you understanding in the Word. There are commentaries that you can buy or borrow from libraries to help you understand the Bible.
4. I have read a book titled, "The Story of Stories" by Karen Lee Thorpe (Navigator Press) which I believe will be helpful to give you an overall understanding of the Bible and how each book (66 in all) link with one another to form provide a full and complete picture of the Bible from start to finish. It is very readable, simplified and easy to understand.

As for your difficulty with making friends (anti-social), I am glad that you are able to recognise and accept that you have a problem here. The first step to solving a problem is to admit that you have a problem. This is the same as how we first become Christians - we need to come to the point where we accept that we are "sinners" and need to be saved. For your anti-social problem, I suggest that you step out and make the effort to participate in more social and church activities. By consciously amking effort to mix around, your inhibitions would slowly become lesser and your courage to mix around will slowly increase.

Don't know if I have been of much help, but keep plugging on, brother!!

Answer 6

I've been where you are, you're in give-up mode. Not that you aren't hoping, but your views on how to change your life for the better are somewhat skewed. I always thought it was fear of failure that kept me from achieving what I should have been perfectly capable of achieving, but I've recently realized, through the advice of my sister, that I've been acting a fear of being successful. Every risk that might be beneficial for me I opt not to take, systematically going through the reasons I might fail. In the end I do nothing, and of course, fail. The trick is to just do it, and quit worrying about anything else.
God helps those that help themselves. From personal experience, it seems to work. If you don't put forth the effort though, god won't hold your hand until you do so. Sometimes, if you've waited too long to act, it may seem as though he's not helping you at all; but then if you just think about how much worse your life could be, it can put things into a better perspective, just don't dwell on it.
That's my two cents for ya.

Answer 7

It can be really hard when it seems like your life is in a shambles.Try and make a plan of action for what you can do.
It can be hard to understand what the Bible says.Perhaps you could talk to a pastor,get a Bible study plan or Bible guide,or you could buy a Bible such as 'The Message',which is on contemparary language.
It's okay to be an introvert.Some people are just more outgoing than others.It helps to remeber that Jesus is with you.
Remember to keep time each day for prayer.

Answer 8

Most of us have gone or are going through the same things you are right now. The important thing is that you recognize it now and want help.
Try this to help you out. Proverbs 3:5-6. He will lead and guide you to where you need to be and introduce you to the people you need to meet. Many other verses come to mind but try that one first.
Find a Spirit filled church and become involved in some activity there. The changes you will experience will amaze you.
Lastly, don't try to read more than you can right now. If you only can read a verse, fine. Pray before you read it so that God may open your spiritual eyes for you to understand His word. He will and wants to help you.

Answer 9

You chase after the wrong things in life my friend, You do not know where the bible is. And you have been lead by blind guides, this is why your life is a mess. Not many understand the parables that the lord taught, In fact very few do. I will give you advice. DO NOT BELIVE MOST RELIGIOUS PEOPLE, people are so blind to the kingdom, Many have been deceived, and yes even you. Like christ said they snare a camel ( a person with great faith) and strain a knat ( a person with little faith) If you seek you will find that was christs words Belive it. contact me I can show you many lies that most preachers tell you. And how they weave them

Answer 10

What Zero Cool said about the anxiety disorder - talk to you doctor.

Be careful that you aren't taking on Christianity when what you are really looking for is social group. If you truly believe, then by all means stick with it. But when you are in a low patch it can be very tempting to grasp at any hand which offers to pull you up, without looking at the rest of the body behind the hand.

As I say, I am not trying to dissuade you from pursuing your path, just suggesting you make sure you know why you are on it. Yes I have been there, it isn't easy, but it is very very possible.