Online Counseling/Faith
Feeling of faithlessness include a wide range of feelings and emotions- Relationships (marital, friendships, siblings, employer), Finances “I’m sick and tired of being broke!” , Envy “I can’t understand for the life of me how she has everything and I have nothing!”, Dissatisfaction, “I’m 30, 40, 50, 60 yrs old and look at my life!” but what is really going on…
Now Faith is substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things unseen. (Hebrews11:1)
What faith is not: Depression, despair, impatience, anger, misery, lonliness, discontentment, poverty, sadness, uncleansliness, mean spirited, sorrowful, mournful, full of grievance, or broken!
Let's Talk! About Why we Lose Faith-
Our Relationship with God is out of whack.
Wish grantor, burden reliever, genie, even Santa Claus. We acknowledge God as a lot of things but we struggle with his truest identity…Our Father. Remember: Our father who art in heaven…
As a parent we teach our children to: listen, be obedient, and wait patiently, to be courteous, mind our manners, follow the rules and work hard. But when the role is reversed, we struggle to be the “good child” God needs us to be-
The wicked are faithful!
Why do bad people get good things? Why does it seem like bad things always happen to good people? People who live by the world are persistent. They know what they want, what they see they can believe, and they have faith in the “realities” of this world….
Faith requires something much deeper than that. 2Corinthians 5:7 says that [we live by faith not by sight.] But what does that mean? That means we are to act as if we have what we are waiting on in complete confidence that it will be done even though we don’t see it. Do you know how hard that is! It requires practice and effort but that is what separates the faithless from the faithful. Think about how many times God has come through for you (Feel free to journal your examples)
Persistence Beat Resistance!
Did you know that Satan is both patient and persistent? He will slowly and carefully, cautiously and without ceasing pursue you. Satan wants your blessing- He is faithful to sin more so then we are faithful to God. This goes back to what we see. People have said to me “How do you know there is a God, you can’t see Him?” But I am faithful of the unseen. Clearly we don’t see the wind but we can feel the reality of its existence!
Have you ever heard a worldly person say they can’t see Satan? That is because he is visible. And what’s worse is that we make him more visible and more real than we make God! We dress our children up as little demons for Halloween, we portray many faces of evil in movies, every news report that features a murder or any crime of violence we state is the devil at hand…Let’s face it, Satan and his people are faithful and visible!
Let’s examine this theory and make it more spiritually practical.
Q. What does Satan want?
A. Your Blessings.
Q. How does Satan get what he wants?
A. He counts on your faithlessness.
Impatience and a Doubting Heart
Now let’s consider the illusion of our individual reality:
- The economy is bad, money is low
- I have more bills than I have money to pay them.
- I can’t find a job, it would be easier to get (or stay on) welfare- Nobody will hire me at my age.
- He’s never going to change, I’ve heard it all before- I swear this man (or woman) just don’t want me to be happy!
- It’s too late, I should have done it when I was young, and I definitely can’t afford to do that now.
- I’m so overwhelmed, if it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.
- I’m stuck in a rout; I’ll never get ahead, How am I ever going to get out of this mess…
Why is it so easy to believe that God has abandoned us?
I believe it is because we are faithful only to what we can see.
Let’s do a simple check of our own perceptions? Which is easier for you to believe? (Be honest- God already knows your heart)
1) You will be overwhelmed with bills because the economy is suffering and things are tight all over. It’s not just you, we are all going to have to cut back, make some concessions, and give up some things to get through these difficult times.
2) God has a blessing for you. You are on the threshold of a miracle. If you have faith and be patient, all of your circumstances will change.
Statement #2 is the statement that is factual, statement #1 is the statement that is temporal.
One of the most important things to remember is God knows your circumstance. God is aware of your finances, your relationships, your desires and your obedience…He knows. Yet it can seem as if God is unaware to our suffering when He allows us to stay fixed in our situations for time.
EXERCISE-Read and meditate over Matthew 6:28-33
God does not hold us hostage to our temporary conditions, we hold ourselves hostage to temporary conditions- Why?
- Our problems seem bigger than God
- Our patience is faith based (we believe what we see)
- It’s difficult to submit to God’s will
- We allowed ourselves to become habitually negative
- We communicate with God poorly
The very essence of developing your relationship with God and developing faith is learning to rest in God’s will. The flesh is impatient and unruly but the Holy Spirit is equipped to rest ever patiently in God’s Perfection…but do we always believe in our hearts God’s way is the best way? Is our lack of faith based on impatience in not getting our way now? Let's Talk about it...
Hurry up and Wait!
In the book God’s Perfect Truth, I detail my struggle with impatience and faithlessness. For me, it was an issue of simply believing my plan was better than Gods. I thought for years that life would be great if God would just do what I wanted him to do! I can’t stress enough how grateful I am that God loved me enough to say No! For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourself; it is a gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8)
First of all, are you in a position spiritually to make demands of God? I was amazed at how much I wanted, how quickly I wanted it, and how little I was willing to do for it. God’s will is clear in that He tells us to prioritize our lives so that there would not be need our reason for impatience. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all other things shall be added unto you. (Matthe 6:33)
TEST YOURSELF: Ask yourself these questions: What can you do to improve with your relationship with God? How can you re prioritize your life? Why might God be making you wait? Are you grateful for God’s discernment? Are you waiting on God or is God waiting on you?
Listen to How You Communicate with God
Another thing to consider about our impatience is how we communicate with God. How we communicate with God is essential to whether or not we are heard. You can do the right thing in the wrong way for a long time! In other words, you can pray wrong. Do you know that God will not engage in our negativity? That is like asking someone in sparkling white clothes to roll in the mud with you- Many of us are lying on a daily basis, cursing, gossiping, and then saying a prayer. And negativity out of our mouths flows so freely that we sometimes actually incorporate it into” our prayer!
Consider this-every conversation you had with God that included “I can’t…”, “I don’t want…”, “I couldn’t…”, “He shouldn’t have…”, I’m tired of…”, or “If you loved me then…” (And I can go on) –God has left the conversation. And rightfully so. As a parent, would you engage in a conversation with your children telling you how incompetent you are? When we speak to God in the negative, we are displaying our lack of faith in His authority and in essence it is insulting and delaying your blessing!
Q. What does God want?
A. To Bless you above and beyond
Q. How can we receive God’s Blessings?
A. By our patience and faithfulness!
Tonight, read Ephesians 3:17-20. Let God's word marinate in your head and your hearts. Feel free to journal/or write us with your questions, concerns, and testimonies.
With all my love,
Nidicka
