How do you manage to keep a strong faith in God when there is no proof that he is there?

Question

I became a christian many years ago, then stopped going to church. I WANT to believe that Jesus was the son of God, and that the bible is true, but sometimes I wonder if the feelings and faith I've had in the past are true or just wishfull thinking.....the power of the mind to believe in something which isn't there.
How can I KNOW for certain. Do all christians sometimes have doubts which they keep to themselves?

Only serious answers please.

Daniel M.
I am confused. I thought Catholics were Christians?

Answer 1

Hello Sister in Christ. The fact that you want to believe is all that God asks. You are letting your emotions and feelings get in the way of true faith. The Bible is your proof. It is true and sufficient in every way. You don't need to understand it all, just believe in the simple part: God sent Jesus to pay for our sin. We all sinned. In return He only wants us to obey His simple commands which merely treat others the same as we want to be treated. He then gives us forgiveness and peace of mind, a home in heaven and a free conscience. This is called JOY. Just because you don't get all emotional and worked up daily in your faith, doesn't mean you don't have it. Read Romans 10. Pray/confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved. It is an act of will, you decide to do it, it doesn't have to be emotional at all. God promises and we simply take Him for His word. He's trustworthy.
Get ready for people to disappoint you. Not many Christians are walking with Jesus, but it is precisely because of that, that we need Him. Only through Him can we be imparted the righteousness He promised to get us into heaven.
It's okay to have doubts, but take them to God in prayer, don't let them separate you from Him.
Let me be honest with you as some preachers will not. Church, as in a big building with snobby people, is not what God had in mind. You are a member of the body of Christ without any denominational affiliation at all. But God does want us to worship Him in the company of other believers, so sometimes the only choice for this is the big Church. But you don't have to be a member of any earthly church to get to heaven. You are already, as I said, in the body of Christ when you believe. Read your Bible and some of the listed books, darlin'. It's all in there.
God will validate and grow your faith as you pursue knowledge of Him. Trust Him from the beginning, and He will prove Himself to you. God bless you.

Answer 2

Doubt is at the front door and back door and in time you become strong and can leave the doors open, and doubt will not enter. As for keeping a strong faith, first you seek, and then you find, and in this finding you see with new eyes, and this vision washes away doubt with the proof you seek. Truth can't be hidden by evil forever. You will find this out. Truth is not a trick of the "mind," but evil is the illusion that truth destroys.

Answer 3

Don't get mad-just read-
You were probably never Christian. Yes, you may have gone to church and all that, but you never were born again. if so, you would still be there. Jesus said in John 3 that you must be born again before you can even "see" the kingdom of God. Also in 1st John 3 about v 24, John tells us that we know this by the spirit he gave us.
My point is that "if" you are really a Christian- you "will" know it-there will be no doubt.
This may sound harsh- but it is not intended to make you mad or hurt your feelings. It is intended to show you that you were wrong then and you are wrong now. When you are born again-you will have the proof.
Skeptics always say-" give me proof and then I will believe", but God says-"believe, and I will give you proof".
I have been born again for just over 17 years. There is no doubt in my mind that God is real, and that what the Bible says is true. I may not understand all of it- but I believe it.

Answer 4

This is the same problem that the Christians were having to whom the Apostle John wrote his first epistle. He says:

1John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

So reading the book of 1 John will be of some help since that's what he addresses in that letter.

Romans 8:16 says, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:"

To be honest and blunt, it sounds to me like you haven't been reading your bible very much (1 Tim. 4:13) or studying very carfully (2 Tim. 2:15). The Spirit assures our hearts of his presence, but the Spirit uses his Word to generate growth and that assurance. Many people sit around and get so over exposed to all the different human opinions and so-called reasoning about God that they forget to go to the source. So spiritually, spend more time in God's Word and prayer and ask for illumination (Heb. 10:32).
Furthermore, an enormous strength of my faith comes from evidential apologetics. In other words, I've studied a lot about the science of origins and a lot about archeology. I've found that EMPIRICAL scientific data gives overwhelming reasonable certainty that the Bible is absolutely true and that the God who authored it is also just as true.
Perspective is also key. For the person who says they see no evidence of God, I look around and I can't imagine how one can NOT believe in God. I find the evidence to be overwhelming.
Finally, do you really want proof? Think about this. The Israelites had absolute proof of God's existence. They heard him audibly speak. They saw him part the red see and lead by a pillar of fire, and etch out the 10 commandments in person. There's a balance between faith and reason here. God does not manifest himself like that to us today, he manifests himself through his word. He required those who had "proof" to follow a law that had over 600 individual commands. Today, God doesn't show up in a pillar of fire, but he does give us his Word. And instead of keeping that tedious law, he simply tells us to have faith. I think that's a fair deal and I'm happy with the arrangement!
Good luck!

Answer 5

The definition of Faith is not having to know in order to believe...

I maintain a belief in God (even though I am an agnostic Buddhist and evidently that is not a requirement) by virtue of thankfulness...

God is what I call my depository for gratitude - every day that I am happy to be alive is another day that God grows in my life.

I know that you say you want to be a Christian and that is fine - but you do not have to believe EXACTLY as everyone else does... that is impossible... take some time to develop a relationship with your God and don't let dogmatic people make too many rules for you... that sucks the fun out of faith!

I fear that some fundamentalist leaders are only so strong because they claim to be the only ones who know God and know what is best for us - This makes them more comparable to the Anti-Christ than anything else...

Answer 6

Stay in contact with Your Creator by reading the Scripture and Know there were and still are people of faith that Had doubts. David was one of them and yet God said that his heart was like His. Keep friends with people of faith.

Answer 7

i think there is one thing that can help u. have u ever heard that Egyptians dispute the fact that isreal were ones in Egypt? i think if u read ur bible u will realize that some of the prophecies that were told thousands of yrs ago are happening even know. all the things that god said will happen to the jews did happened and are still happening. don't just listen to ur pastor but try and read the bible urself

Answer 8

I'm catholic so i don't really feel comfortable answering a q about another religion but ill go ahead anyway

there's an old saying "do too much and people will grow dependant, do too little and people will loose faith", its hard to get the balance right, that's where pure faith comes in!

Answer 9

If any feeling of doubt ever comes over me that God may not exist, I ask myself what I would ask an atheist-where did the universe/people/existence come from, and I can simply re-convince myself that there is a God.

I know God exists because of my relationship with him. If you are not in a relationship with God, it will be harder to understand his existence. Some Christians do have doubts. If you want to know for certain, just argue the logic to yourself. Because there is creation, there had to be a creator. Creation exists by a creator by the very definition of what exists as creation. Then, we can look at the creation and see God's hand in everything. Think about certain things and the odds of them occurring outside of a higher deity-the sun's position relative to the Earth, the Earth being a huge body of land (planet) supporting life through oxygen, water and the ability to harvest food and such, and our existence as intelligent beings.

God also uses the Bible to communicate the laws of mankind. Our conscious is from God-where does the feeling of right and wrong come from if not from a holy God? You'll find that morality is universally accepted because of our ability to discern between what is right and wrong.

Evolutionists and atheists would have you believe there is no God so that we have no right to uphold our own moral standings. Because God exists, we our accountable for our actions. I think if you sit down and ask an atheist about specific things, you'll be surprised at what they think is moral. Homosexuality, and masturbation, for example, are wrong, but they'd rather it be right so they can continue acting their sins without accountability. I've even heard atheists not be able to call Cho Seung-Hui, the young man who shot 32 people at Virginia Tech a few weeks ago, an evil person. They argue that you can't simply label a person evil because of one evil act.

To stop mankind from its evil, God sent his only son Jesus to save the world from their own sins through his death and resurrection. I guess you could call your stance wishful thinking. Mankind wants to believe in a God, but “there’s no proof”. Again, the proof is in the Bible, the proof is in the creation, and the proof is in ourselves. Trust in God, that he will provide justice, and eternity to those who believe. He will save your life.

Answer 10

You can't know for certain. Faith is, by definition, belief without proof. I have doubts often mostly because of unanswered prayers. We have to remind ourselves that God's will and our idea of what God's will should be are different.
What I have found helpful is not to keep those doubts to myself. I suggest that you seek a community of faith in which to explore these valid questions.