Still Struggling, feeling LOST...

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on January 27, 2009 at 4:33am

Sarah,

There are four things that I recommend for us to be involved in regularly. These four help to strengthen us when things are going well and help us overcome when things are difficult or God feels far away. These four are 1) Read the Word 2) Prayer 3) Positive Christian Fellowship 4) An Accountability Partner or Group.

1) The Word: When times are tough I like to read Colossians and 1 John. They inspire me, pick me up and help me to see past my current storm, which will pass.
2) Prayer: We need to be in prayer seeking the Lord's presence and comfort, while crying out to Him in our difficult times as well as good times. He tells us to come to the throne of grace in our time of need. The door is open and He is always waiting attentively to meet with us when we come to Him. Remember that part of prayer is silently sitting at His feet listening for what He wants to say or reveal to you. It is not all about talking, but communicating.
3) Positive Christian Fellowship: We are referred to as sheep for a reason in the Bible. We need each other. There are no Lone Ranger Christians. When we feel beat up and down our natural response is to run and hide, which is the worst possible choice at that very time. We need the love, comfort and fellowship of fellow believers that are traveling the same path we are in life. Do not stop at one church if it is not right for you. Seek until you find the peace and comfort of the Holy Spirit come over you in the midst of that group.
4) Accountability: We need people close to us that we can share with. These people have to be people that we can trust and open up to. They are not "Yes" people, but ones that will ask the difficult questions and loving challenge us when we are wrong and encourage us when we have victories. One must seek God's guidance as to who one might choose as an accountability partner. One must choose wisely.

Know that the current storm you are going through will pass and you will be stronger for it. That does not lessen the pain or struggle, but there is hope even in the middle of the storm, for Jesus can and will calm the storm at the right moment if you are trusting and walking with Him.

If you are doing these things, continue the path and God will break through for you. I am sure of this. God will not leave or forsake you. There are times He seems closer to us than other times, but He is still there through all of our life.

Hope this helps.

Lord Bless,
LT

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on January 27, 2009 at 4:41am

Sarah,

Since you are seeking to break through and experience the presence of the Lord, Who feels far away, there is another piece of advice I would offer. I would encourage you to consider fasting. If you are not familiar with fasting I have some information that I can send you. Just let me know.

I have known many who have had positive break throughs with the Lord during a time of fasting. Just for clarity so others do not misunderstand me, fasting is not a quick fix or some magical formula, but a time of surrendering and dedicating self to the Lord with the desire to draw near to Him. I cannot guarantee the outcome of your fast, if you choose to do so, but I can guarantee that God will work on you and in you during that time of fasting in a special way.

Lord Bless,
LT

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Permalink Reply by Carla on January 27, 2009 at 11:15am

Sarah,

As we are all of 'The same Spirit' :) each one of us loves you and cares for you. We want to make sure you are okay..just as anyone who is suffering!

Please always come forward to talk...there will always be an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on. There is nothing like a good old fashioned hug... :) Each of us needs those regularly, please make sure you are getting your quota... I am certain that you will find many ears and shoulders here....and lots of Heart!

Be encouraged...go forth in the strength of the Lord.

Read the book of Micah. It says that choosing to live a life apart from God is making a commitment to sin. Sin leads to judgement and death. God alone shows us the way to eternal peace. His discipline keeps us on the right path. And His discipline proves His Love. Sometimes, when we have a hard time with depression or anxiety, it is due to giving in to sin. We must remember that our lives are for God. We are dead to sin and alive in Christ. However, when we do sin...and trip up...God is faithful and true to forgive as we ask and repent.. We all struggle with this daily.
Love in Christ, Carla

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Permalink Reply by Carla on January 27, 2009 at 11:31am

..a friend just sent me this... Absolutely beautiful. This was the first time I had heard this song...

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Permalink Reply by Theresa on January 27, 2009 at 4:35pm

Sarah,

A while back, a chrstian friend told me:" this is not new, whatever you are going through, believe that other christians went through the same thing", I mean the devil can not get your soul because your soul belongs to God the minute you say i do, it is like marriage, the minute we confess with our mouth and believe in our hearts that Jesus died and rose, He is our Lord and we allow Him to come into our hearts by invitation only( He is gentelman and He will not come in if we do not ask him to). Jesus got your soul and no one can snatch you away from his hands, the problem is that we have an enemy called satan, he can not get our soul but he can get to our mind to play with us and torture us, I can speak from experience and what got me through and will always get me through is the word of God, I find myself many many times and for no apparent reason speaking the Word of God aloud, for example: "Jesus you are the way, the truth and the life". This scripture in particular helped me a lot, I speak it in silence and out loud. May God give you peace and may the Holy Spirit guide you to the Word of God, May God give you a scripture to hold on to and to meditate on. May you conquer all your enemies through the Word of God. I encourage you wholeheartdly to read Psalm 27, read it aloud and give God the praise He so deserves, Amen. When I say enemies, I am pointing to the fears and anxiety that attack us, we will conquer them, not by our human effort but by the Word of God. Amen.

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Permalink Reply by Sarah78 on February 3, 2009 at 8:59pm

Thank you all so much. I am going to take all of your suggestions into heavy consideration. I am going to start a fast tomorrow, I have been feeling led to do so, but have put it off. I have reached a point where I am feeling desperate to find his peace and direction. I feel like I am stuck in a whirlwind, being tossed and turned, it is very unsettling and unstable. My fears have become so great, that they have reached points of terror. I fear demonic activity so much and I know this is wrong, but I can't seem to let it go at this time. I just really wish I could hear The Lords voice, if only for a moment so that I know he is here. I hear lies being spoken to me everyday(not audibly lol), and the worst one was during worship last night in my group. Up until that day I was feeling good and had much more confidence, then it happened again and it brought me so low. I fear, fear, I fear irrational thoughts, I feel like giving up at times (my faith) in hopes of being left alone by these attacks, if that is what they are. Or is it merely anxiety attacks that i should seek medical attention for. I do not think that most doctors would understand my fears, that I do not feel strong enough to go through such a fiery trial, that I feel that the enemy is putting my mind through the mill. I feel sad, angry, hurt...

I so desperately want peace,joy, happiness, all that the Holy Spirit gives..I want to be able to serve my King happily and with strength and courage and I keep finding myself in a place of shame, day after day...my heart weeps, I feel lost and abandoned, and I can't help shake that this could be punishment. It feels so painful. Seriously folks I am not trying to sound crazy, and I really am lucid, but it feels as though my life, my mind had been taken over by a complete spirit of fear and IT WILL NOT LEAVE! :(

God Bless you all again. I will surely take your advice to heart and apply it.


Sarah

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on February 3, 2009 at 9:04pm

Praying for you.

Lord Bless,
LT

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Permalink Reply by Carla on February 3, 2009 at 9:05pm

Sarah... I am praying for you also..

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Permalink Reply by Jack Treese on February 4, 2009 at 4:06am

Hello, Sarah.

Like many have said before me, the simple fact is that Jesus loves you. He loves you. To Him, as long as you have a repentant heart and a positive attitude, the past doesn't matter. I was recently going through the same struggle--feeling like no matter how much I pray or how much I study the Bible, it's hopeless for me--but then I went to church Sunday and when someone spoke in tongues and interpreted the message, I was lifted. The Holy Spirit overcame me, and the enemy fled!

Pray about it. Pray for forgiveness of your sins and that Jesus may break his yolk upon you to make you wise in His namesake. And anytime the anxiety comes back, there's a few things you can do that'll leave the enemy trembling; Sing a song of worship, study your Bible, or even simply praying for God to make the evil part of your conscience free. Once you're saved by the Blood of Christ, your slate is clean!

I hope I helped. I'll keep you in my prayers, Sarah.

May God be with you.

-Jack

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Permalink Reply by maad alassaf on February 8, 2009 at 3:26am

Dear
God rescues us through different ways,some directly through him,and sometimes indirectly through people that he gave them the knowledge to help us, if I were u, I’d take 2 ways ,first one I’ll pray him for help,he who in every meeting with his men he was saying always at the beginning “ fear not “ yes he does not want us to have fear, second :god has given us the knowledge through medicine to make our life better,so god gave the doctors the knowledge to help us when we r in stress, so doctors treat through the knowledge that god gave,so I advise u to take also this way, to pray and see a psychiatrist,that can help u through medication also,and now there r a lot of good medicatin that can make ur life easier,if u say that u r taking a medication without a good result till now,I say to u ,ur dr may change the medication, till u have the best response,I am as a dr, sometimes,change medication many times to have the best result, am sue u’ll pass this transient difficulty in ur life, may god bless ur life

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Permalink Reply by Leigh on June 11, 2009 at 10:46am

Sarah,
I hope that you're doing well. I just came on board here. And I can relate to your message in Jan. I've had episodes of intense anxiety and it's only with the Lord that I was able to come up out of it. I'm relying on Him every day. He's my hope. It was great to read through these encouragements that came to you. I'm holding onto faith that God will see this trial of anxiety out the door. I want complete freedom from this. Prayers are welcome!

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Permalink Reply by Chas Jones on July 13, 2009 at 8:45am

Hi Sarah, I was raised by my parents with my 4 siblings until my 17th birthday. Then mom and I and my younger brother and sister moved away from dad. At 24, I stopped living under mom's roof and she began living under mine. About 20 years later mom was forced into a nursing home where she spent her final years. I remember asking God, "how could you allow this to happen?" I was angry that mom was in a nursing home. I felt guilt for having allowed this to happen. Depression, loneliness, and seclusion from others followed. Only after mother had finally passed on did I understand why she had entered the nursing home rather than died, as had been expectd when she was first hospitalized. God knew I would not have survived had mother died those several years ago. I needed time and distance to allow me to cope with her eventual loss. I had become distracted to the fact that God hadn't forsaken or left me. He was carrying me, tightly in His arms over those several difficult years. I continue to struggle with depression, anxiety, and isolation. Yet now I know with certainty, He is with me, helping me cope. Trust God's Word Sarah. He is with you. Draw strength from Him. Give Him your pain, and burdens. He will take them from you. Learn as the Apostle Paul did, to be content wherever you are (even in prison as Paul was) because Christ is in you, indwelling you with His Holy Spirit. Do your best each day. Rely upon other brothers and sisters in Christ at your local Bible-believing, Bible-teaching church. God has also given us them to aid us in times of hardship and troubles.

Keep in touch with us here, and let us know how you are progressing. I am sure many will be praying for you, as I shall.

Chas

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