Once was a Christian- been out for 5 years and am now visiting a church with my mom. Every Sunday I always get this feeling in my gut, I get goose bumps, my eyes start to tear up, and I get an overwhelming feeling of guilt. I know God wants me back, I know I could do great things for the Lord, but I keep siining even if I’m in debt, even if I feel like I can’t handle it anymore, and even when I swear I’ll never get high again! I always do.
I want to return to GOD, I feel like a little girl that just wants crawl back into her daddy’s lap to tell him how sorry she is and how she will never do it again, then hug and kiss because daddy is going to make everything ok! But I know that as soon as I get back home, my friends will call and want to stop by and I’ll be in the same hole again.
So what do I do? I don’t want to lose my friends because I won’t do the same things as they do, but I'm not strong enough to hang out without doing it.
2007-06-04 05:22:05 · 52 answers · asked by popis 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
My friends aren't bad- they will understand if i tell them i don't want to smoke/ they won't trip or put pressure on me or anything. That's why I love em.
The church isn't pressuring me either- I made it real clear from day 1 i was only there to accompany my mom and they have respected every bit of that. No Pressure!!
The turmoil is within me, I am broken because I am afraid I am not strong enough and I feel like God may see me as a poser (if that makes any sense)
2007-06-04 05:44:01 · update #1
I want to thank all of the serious and sincere posts today.. it has been a very long day my heart feels heavy and honestly i don't know what will happen when i get home.. i want to say that i wont smoke i want to say i will read the entire book of john this week but i know that it wont be that easy and it is going to take time but Lord knows I am going to take baby steps and i am going to try because if i die tonight or tomorrow or whenever i want to leave with a clean concsience knowing i put my all into becoming a better person and a better role model!!! THANKS EVERYONE
2007-06-04 11:33:54 · update #2
You could get the same sort of comfort from a Cocker Spaniel instead....
2007-06-04 05:25:22 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 13⤋
Talk to other people at your church and your mom and ask for prayer and strength in dealing with your friends. At least you know that you are not strong enough to hang around your friends without giving in to the temptations. Let your friends know what you are going through and maybe they will be pretty cool about it and try not to do so much stuff around you. If you are straight up with them they should respect you. Are there people your age back home that you can talk to that would be a better positive influence? It might be a step by step process of finding a church back home and getting to know some people your age. Just keep pressing on, its definately going to be hard but it is totally worth it. Every small step you make will strengthen you and the Lord says he will not allow any temptation that you can't handle. Follow your heart, God is talking to you and has never left you, he just wants you to talk to him.
2007-06-04 05:32:46 · answer #2 · answered by comer59 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
thank God you feel this way. He's calling you back to him. Here is where things get real. You want to come back to God but you don't think you will change..right? God can deliver you from anything!! God is bigger than any problem you will ever face He controls your life if you let him. He's not going to just barge in and make you quit doing things you're doing you have to be willing. Yeah your friends may call you up to ask you to do whatever it is they want you to do with them but as long as you are strong willed to stop doing these things your friends will eventually see that you don't want to do these things anymore. Take out a bible and read John its 21 chapters so if you read one chapter a day you will have read 7 chapters in one weed and 3 weeks to read the whole book of John. No sin is too great for price Christ paid on calvary. Give it some thought and do just a little bit of reading. who can be saved? Whosoever will!! God Bless
Aaron
2007-06-04 05:40:45 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have been there before and let me tell u- make the right decision and u know what it is. God is calling you and u need to answer him and consider yourself blessed that he's still calling you. God will only call for so long. He gives us free choice but he isn't going to keep bothering you if you don't respond. I've experienced this before. I used to do what u do then I decided I would tell my friends and family that I was done with it all. It was time to sell out to CHrist all the way. It was a little hard but God knew my heart and knew I was serious and he gave me the strength to do it. If I can so can you. Tell God what u want to do tell him ur fears and be honest with him cause he knows anyways and he will help u like he helped me. Remember "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Good Luck and I'll pray for you! E-mail me if I can help u more I've been where u are!
2007-06-04 07:50:23 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'll just warn you that going into a forum with people of all faiths, you will get all sorts of right and wrong answers. Especially since not everyone here wants you to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
You see, that's what salvation is. It's a relationship with Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. First of all, you don't have to clean up anything to come back to God. He will help you after you come back.
The feeling of guilt is that gentle reminder that God misses you, and I have this feeling that you miss him too!
Here's what I feel that God wants you to do. Take a few minutes at the computer and just tell God what is on your heart spiritually. Tell him what you are sorry for walking away and want to come back to him (remember the Prodigal Son?) and that you want his help to get your life back in order. Allow him to speak to you and find out what he wants you to do. If you are at work, you may have to wait until you are home.
Now, it sounds like you have friends who may not understand about your relationship with God, so you may need to tell them that you need some space for a few days. Then I want you to spend some time in prayer and reading the bible. Because if you do, it will strengthen you to face difficulties, including friends who don't understand. Take care!
2007-06-04 05:38:49 · answer #5 · answered by Searcher 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Can you try not hanging out with your friends for the amount of time that it will take you to get back strong with God? Then when you are strong enough and you know you won't give in to the pressures, then hang out with them again. Maybe you could even help them at some point down the road. If God is calling you back, then go. Don't waste time. Good luck.
2007-06-04 05:29:33 · answer #6 · answered by acts2:38girl 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
That feeling you get in your gut, and the tears you have are the Holy Spirit calling you back. Dont resist it. Go with the flow, and all of your feelings of guilt will disappear.
As for the getting high and sinning, remember this.
We are all human, and we all sin. BUT....we all need to Repent of our sins to be right with God. Repentence means to turn around, change our ways, follow Him who died for our sins.
We CANNOT do it on our own strength, so dont feel bad. We need the help of the "comforter" the Holy Spirit to be successful.
When you sin again, repent again. When you sin the next time, repent again. You need to continue until you no longer have the urge to get high. Just be faithful. You are not the only person who has had this experience, so dont feel like you are.
As for wanting to crawl on your daddy's lap, this is natural. You seek God's love and compassion. You seek His approval. He HAS NOT forsaken you, but is asking you to return to Him, and will gladly accept you.
Remember, God hates the SIN not the person.
As for your friends, if they are the cause of your backsliding, you need to limit your association with them, and make new friends in the church. I can guarantee you, you will find some very good friends in your local church.
When you are strong enough to stand on your own, then you can witness to your friends and hopefully, they will also be saved by God's great love and mercy.
Good luck and God Bless
2007-06-04 05:47:56 · answer #7 · answered by Daniel R. 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's your life, how do you want to live it?
If you need God then accept God. What's the conflict between your friends and your faith? If your friends have a problem with your faith, then talk with them. As long as you're not in a cult or connected to some caustic church, there might not be any problem.
You have to make a choice on what's best for yourself. Isn't that why God gave us free will? We have to take responsibility for our lives.
You can look at it one way, God has given you this wonderful gift of life. What a bummer it is not to enjoy it to it's fullest. Our time on Earth is a short anomaly between birth and death. So live a good and honest life and go for the gusto.
2007-06-04 05:41:18 · answer #8 · answered by brianjames04 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you seriously want to return to God, and you know that your friends want you to do things that you know are wrong, maybe these people aren't really your friends. Real friends are supportive and want you to be happy. I know that friends have real impact on a person's life but remember, this life is just a very short period of time. Eternity is forever!
Since you already realize that some of your actions aren't acceptable to God and his commandments you are already moving in the right direction.
If you really need someone that you can talk to, to help support you, and to give you some information that will help uplift you, try going to www.mormon.org.
I know that this decision can be difficult, but the benefits really outweigh the negatives. Good Luck.
2007-06-04 05:40:19 · answer #9 · answered by mechtech1962 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The Bible contains 2 scriptures made for you:
Hebrews 10:24
"Let us incite to fine works,not forsaking the gathering of ourselves together, as some have the custom, but encouraging one another...."
The purpose of gathering together with others of the same faith is to strengthen each other to carry on in fine conduct.
You need those meetings!
Also 1 Corinthians 15:33
"Do not be misled. Bad associations spoil useful habits."
You are deceiving yourself if you think you can keep those friends and not have relapses.
They are part of your problem.
You may end up spending a few months without close friends, but in time you can develop new friendships that will be of greater benefit to you.
2007-06-04 05:35:54 · answer #10 · answered by Uncle Thesis 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You answered your own question, in part. You must get new friends if you want to change the way you live. To repent means to turn and do the opposite of what you're doing now. If you sincerely repent, you need to make the necessary changes. Just being sorry is not enough. Judas was sorry, but he didn't truly repent and change. Peter was sorry and also truly repentant after denying Jesus. There is a huge difference between the two. There are a lot of sorry people in this world, and in hell. But for those who genuinely repent and do what it takes to 'turn around', there is a better life while on this earth, and a heaven for eternity. Worth the effort, don't you think?
2007-06-04 05:32:57 · answer #11 · answered by beano™ 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋