Losing faith

Sometimes our faith is shaken

Life is full of struggles and hard times, disappointments and confusion – so much so that sometimes it can really shake your faith and make you question things you thought you believed and knew to be true.

Often when you find you are losing faith it is because you have misunderstood something about God. Perhaps you thought you knew how a loving God should act and now he hasn’t done what you expected you think he is no longer there, or doesn’t love you or has let you down.

Is it your circumstances?

You might think it the things that have happened to you or the things you are going through that are making you lose faith – but there are other people who go through similar or maybe even worse situations and still trust in God. It isn’t therefore what you are going through that is making you lose your faith but instead it must be to do with what your expectations are.

If you had different expectations then your faith would still be there and your hope in Jesus would still be strong.

In the Bible many people went through really hard and tough times but still continued to believe in a loving heavenly Father and in Jesus Christ his loving Son.

The apostle Paul wrote, “five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst” – he went through a lot of really bad times, but was still 100% convinced that God was good and that he wanted to live to follow Jesus in everything.

What did Jesus promise?

If our focus is on having stress-free, trouble-free, sickness-free and plenty of comfort now, then we will become discouraged.

Jesus never said it would be easy, in fact what he promised was quite the opposite, this is what he said: “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.”

We need to try and get into the habit of turning trials and troubles around by using them to point us to the future – reminding ourselves with these words, “but it will be better in the next life!”

The more our focus is on the eternal life to come, the more we will be consumed with building treasures in heaven and not treasures on the earth.

Sadly life is tough and it is often unfair – but it becomes easier to cope with the more we realise that life is not really all about here and now. Our years on earth are just a tough passing time where sin and sinfulness ruins and spoils many things – but the real life is yet to come.

Don’t give up

If you are struggling and hurting don’t give up on your faith, it is now that you need the hope and comfort of a loving heavenly Father. It is now you need to know that someone cares about you and understands what you are going through – it is God who can give you peace and hope in the storm.

The closer you are to Jesus and the more you understand what He has done for you, the better you will be able to cope with the hard times that life throws at you.

Find out more about how to get to know Jesus or come and chat with us about things.