If I told God that I TRULY, TRULY believe in Him, would He stop sending problems in my life?

Question

I understand that turmoil is mentioned in the bible as a way to keep "our faith strong"; but, if I PROMISE to always do good & stay faithful, could these unncessary and wanted dilemmas stop occuring?
i know that i'm being facetious, but it is a nice fantasy!

Answer 1

It would be a nice fantasy at first glance, but after thinking about it a little more, I'm not so sure. If I hadn't known what it was to be hungry, I wouldn't know the blessing of being full. If I haven't seen the night, I wouldn't know how wonderful the daylight is. If I haven't experienced pain, I wouldn't know what it is to be truly well and heathly. We are given contrast in life. Life gives us turns and deals us bad hands sometimes. Sometimes, if we do not have the bad, we do not know how truly thankful we should be for the good times.

Answer 2

Isaiah 45:7. “I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I the lord do all these things”. - God.

No, God doesn't avoid sending problems to anyone. Look at the story of Job. God acknowledged that Job was his most faithful follower. And used him to make a bet with Satan. During this bet he condoned (and sometimes even suggested) MANY problems being sent to Job including the death of his wife, all his children, the loss of all his worldly wealth and severe disease that ostracized Job from his community. While people may say that it all worked out for Job in the end, and the story had a good ending, I'm sure Job's first wife and children and grandchildren would SERIOUSLY disagree with this assessment. No, God doesn't protect his most faithful. He makes bets with their lives.

Answer 3

I'm afraid not. Plus God warns in the Bible not to make careless oaths. Its better not to promise anything at all that to break a promise to God or anyone else.
What God will do if you stay faithful to him is give you strength and joy through whatever comes your way. God wouldnt want people looking at you and saying "Its easy for her to believe, she doesnt have any problems." Take a look at the book of Job, ouch!
But life with Jesus is worth it. It really really is.

Answer 4

Dream on, darling girl! If only it were that easy! I have been around for a few years now and I have tried sooo many techniques to get through the many bad times.

When I broke my ankle or twisted a knee or ankle, and this has been a life long plague, I would think "Ah well you are lucky you have a leg! I am LUCKY to have a leg to lose. Look at that poor quadriplegic over there." The old "there but for the grace of God" application.

That technique really worked until I got TIRED of it! Then I didn't give a damn, it was MY leg and MY life. So yeah, selfish of me.

I tried volunteering and that helped others and me a bit, but never got to the source of my unhappiness with my lot in life. And yeah, I have been tested. Big time.

I firmly believe in reincarnation and have been for 40 years now. It helps make sense of so much that is insensible. I found a few links so that when horrible things happened, I was able to trace them back to memories that were very valid. There is a science called cellular memory that really helps.

Sharing memories with my husband of our past lives together (3 we recalled) was not only healing, but answered many questions i had had all my life. When he said to me, on his death bed, after only 5 months together, "I hate to leave you, mi ama, but this was just a brief touch as we dance through time together. I promise we will meet again and recognize each other immediately and pick up where we left off." These words kept me sane and I still believe them, two husbands later. (Yes death was harsh)

Other times I would think, I would not have these trials in my life if I was not strong enough to handle them. That helps a lot.

Or I would think, 'You set this life in motion, take responsibility and deal with it. I realized that we have lives of trial and lives of peace. The ones our soul grows the most from is the one with the greatest trials we must overcome."

When I lost husbands, I almost went mad. But I had to take joy that they were beyond pain, yada yada yada, and recognize that it was my wanting and selfishness that made me miserable so that, after mourning, it was easier to move on.

Then I tried a system I call "the worst case scenario". The beauty if this one is it can be applied to anything, no matter how large or small. Face the problem right on and take it to the worst level I can imagine, without getting all emotional. Somehow that brought things into perspective and easier to manage.

But the BEST is one my husband, the one from many years taught me. He suggested that every evening as I prepared for sleep, to think of at least 20 things that made my day good. Even if it had been a suicidal day (and I had a few when I lost other loves), to push it. "I woke up" "Nessy took her first step" "Rena just got a bursary for her Masters!" "I held puppies" anything would do. Eventually the list got longer and longer as
I found more things to be grateful for. "An attitude of gratitude" he called it. This really works.

Of course then there is the old, "bend like bamboo with the winds, don't struggle to fight it." and I found that worked well. It is the bamboo and the fields of wheat that survive strong winds by blowing to the inevitable.

I have found that struggling only makes things so much worse. Last year, I was penniless and facing homelessness. I was also very ill. It gets no worse than that.. well it does, but I was so stressed. No apartments available let alone for my meager income. Just as my landlady was giving me the gears and saying, "Well have you done ANYTHING?" the phone rang. It was an offer of a lovely little apartment for a decent price. The timing could not be better. I feel we get pushed to the edge sometimes as a means of strengthening us.

It is like the Japanese samurai sword. The more often it is it is put through the fire and hammered by the maker, the finer stronger and more flexible the blade. So it is with our spirits.

SO, sorry for rambling dear, but there are sooo many things to do when we have problems.

And, of course, I always keep my God/Allah in mind and tell myself that this is His will and it is for me to find the good in it.

Answer 5

Hey CreoleGirl, no that would not solve your problems. It would be nice, but see for one thing, even if you promised God you would always remain faithful, you know as well as I do that that's impossible. Everyone messes up sometimes.

God never promised to take away our problems. Instead, He promises to take us by the hand and lead us THROUGH them. He walks with us all the way and you can get help from Him.

Answer 6

No he won't stop sending problems. My dad died, I was very close to him. He was my best friend. Then six days later his mother died, my grandmother. They stuck my grandmother in a crappy nursing home. All my aunts and uncles had the room and the facilities to take care of her but they were waiting for her to die and they new that putting her in a home would speed up the process. Those greedy Italian Catholics made my life hell for a year settling the estate. They pulled out all the stops to make my life a living hell but they lost in the end.

Answer 7

Yes, it is a nice fantasy.
But sometimes the problems we must deal with are a result (direct or indirect) of something we have done.
Consider some of the issues you might have experienced and see whether some action or choice on your part might have precipitated the problem.

Remember, God did give us free will...and that means we should choose wisely or face the consequences of our actions.

Answer 8

Realize that you are bigger than any problem, situation, or occurence that you could ever face. You always move past it, right? And you grow spiritually because of the obstacles that you have passed.

Avoid making promises. Let your yes be yes, and your no be no. Of course, you are always free to change your mind!

Answer 9

The problems that we face are small tests of our Faith. We can overcome all things with Christ, but, would you really value the reward if it were just given and not earned?

Answer 10

satan kills, steals and destroys.
Not GOD.
On this Earth at this time:
1. satan is 24-7 killing, stealing and destroying
2. chance happens to all men
3. the Curse was allowed to enter Earth
4. our spirits got messed up. It was passed down from Adam

In Heaven, there isn't any turmoil.
Down here, you can't get away from it till Jesus comes back, or you go on to Heaven.
But you can Learn how to Overcome it using FAITH.