Category: suffering

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IT FEELS LIKE GOD HAS LEFT ME

Do you ever go through times where it feels like God has left you? Last night in my sleep, I had a horrible experience where it felt like nothing but emptiness in my gut. Like the Holy Spirit wasn’t there. What do you do when you feel like giving up? J.G.

Answer

The old time saints referred to times like this as the “dark night of the soul.” Everyone who follows Christ will experience it. There is a sense in which it is a test from God. “Will J.G. believe Me even when he does not “feel” My presence?”

John the Baptist went through the dark night of the soul when King Herod put him in prison. John sent some of his friends to Jesus to ask Him if He really was the Messiah (the Christ). See Matt. 11:2-6. Elijah the prophet went through it, too. So did Jonah. You are in good company!

Watch out for your emotions. Your feelings can lie to you! Created in God’s image, we are trinity. We are spirit, soul (which is your mind, will, and emotions), and body. When we repent and give our lives to Christ we are saved and we are given a new spirit. We are “born again” (John 3:3). We relate to God through our new spirit. The daily problem is that our salvation is not complete until we reach heaven. In other words we still have our unsaved soul and body in this life. Our new spirit battles against our “old man” called “the flesh” which is our soul. See Romans 7:24-25. Because we are not yet glorified our emotions can lie to us!

Our salvation is in three stages: justification, sanctification, and glorification. Justification is the new birth. It is when we first believe. At the point of salvation we are forgiven and can stand before God justified because Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. After justification comes sanctification or growing in grace and faith, maturing in Christ. That is where you and I are right now. Glorification happens in eternity when we are raised from the dead and receive our new, forever bodies. Pretty cool, huh?

So feed the “new man” (your spirit) and starve the “old man” (your soul or “flesh”). This will strengthen the one and weaken the other. We walk by faith not by sight (or feelings I might add). See 2 Corinthians 5:7.

~ Pastor Chris

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I had a dream about death, what is your opinion?

I have been recently for a long time in my kids had dreams of death. Maybe because I have been sick all of my life. But recently I felt that God told me that he did not send me into the world for a long time. I Feel that this is what The Lord is telling me, I have been suffering all my lIfe with illnesses and I feel God is trying to show me to get ready for I am soon gonna be with him and he will end my suffering. I would like to ask your opinion on my revelation?

Answer

David,

When you consider eternity, this life is less than a blip on a radar screen for all of us. Therefore we all should be prepared to die.

As to your dreams, be careful. Dreams and impressions do not always speak the truth. The best information on this subject that I have found is in James Dobson’s book titled Emotions: Can You Trust Them?: The Best-Selling Guide to Understanding and Managing Your Feelings of Anger, Guilt, Self-Awareness and Love I encourage you to read this book It is easily read and will help your perspective on the subject of impressions.

Pastor Chris

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Why did God lie to me? What plan does He have for my life?

Pastor Chris,

Genesis 2:18
Ephesians 5:31
Psalm 20:4
James 1:4

All of these verses prove that as i have survived two wars, eight tornados, and two hurricanes i should be happily married as i was patient, waited my turn, and ask god, so why am i stuck living with my parents single 23 years old and unable to find a job. does god hate me? Does he know where i’ve been? Does he care? I never wanted money or fame or glory or medals. i just want a wife who can understand i had to do bad things to bad people. So why did God lie to me, what plan does he have for my life, and who will except me for the monster i had to become?

Answer

John,

One of the most difficult things to do is wait on God. We want to know why we are waiting and how long will we have to wait. I have asked those questions, too. You will want to get Larry Richards’ book When It Hurts Too Much to Wait: Understanding God’s Timing for a thorough discussion of this subject.

For now let me remind you of a few things:
God values faith (Hebrews 11:6). We please Him when we trust Him.
God is our Creator and He loves us perfectly (Genesis 1-2; John 3:16).
Offering ourselves to God without reservation is a prerequisite to knowing His will (Romans 12:1-2).
God does not lie (Titus 1:2).
Satisfaction in life is all about knowing God and doing His will. Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes after he had tried to find fulfillment in education, work, wealth, multiple wives, substance abuse, and various entertainments. He called these efforts “chasing after the wind”. At the end of the book he writes, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13, NIV).

Well known psychologist and author Larry Crabb says it this way, “Whenever we place a higher priority on solving our problems than on pursuing God, we are immoral.” Put your eyes on Jesus and keep them there. He is trustworthy. He knows what He is doing and why He is doing it. Live for His glory not your own comfort. If you keep your eyes on your troubles you will fall into despair. Look beyond the circumstances. God is fashioning you into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29).

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WHY does God allow children to get sick/die?

Hi Pastor Chris!!

WHY does God allow children to get sick/die?

Sincerely,

Debbie

 

 

 

ANSWER

Debbie,

There are consequences to sin. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, He cursed the earth (Genesis 3). We can trace all of our problems to that one act of disobedience.

 

Adam and Eve could have lived forever on this planet. God told Adam that he would “surely die” if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). When Adam ate from the forbidden tree sin and death entered this world and was passed down to us.

 

The rest of the story is this: God loves us and will re-create creation (Romans 8:18-21; Revelation 21:1-5). This life is not the entire story.

We also believe that children who die before the age of accountability are taken to heaven to be with the Lord. Case in point: King David is spoken of as “a man after God’s own heart.” He had a child that died. David said, “I will go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Samuel 12:23). We cannot say exactly when the age of accountability is. It has to do with a child’s understanding of sin and his or her need of forgiveness for that sin. It also has to do with a child realizing that Jesus’ death is the payment for that sin. He or she then receives Christ as Savior. When a child knows these things then he or she is accountable for them. It has been said, “A child who is old enough to sin knowingly is old enough to believe savingly.” Willful sin is the issue.

One other thing, we also know that God will do the right thing whenever a child dies. God can be trusted in these matters. He is sovereign. His thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9).

 

Keep digging! I love it when I find someone who is asking questions and searching for the mind of Christ!

 

Sincerely,

 

Pastor Chris

 

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Why is there evil and suffering in the world?

Pastor Chris,

Why is there evil and suffering in the world? 

~John

John,

The problem of evil and suffering are two of the most difficult questions that mankind asks.  However, both are actually answered in the first book of the Bible, Genesis.

The problem of evil is answered by the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  When Adam and Eve gave in to temptation and sinned, evil entered this world.  We have been having problems with evil and sin ever since. 

Wasn’t Satan created perfect?  Yes, he was created without sin.  However, God has chosen to take the great cosmic risk by giving His creation free will.  In short, we can choose to follow the Lord or we can choose to sin.  In eternity past Satan was known as Lucifer.  Being a free moral agent, Lucifer allowed pride to surface and grow in his heart until he rebelled against God.  Satan then pursued Adam and Eve and was successful in leading them to sin and thus rebel against God.

The problem of pain is also answered in Genesis.  When Adam and Eve sinned, there was a penalty that God exacted, which included death, pain, a cursing of the ground, and painful toil (Genesis 3).

If God is good then why doesn’t He do something about these things?  He has.  He sent His Son to die on the cross to pay for our sins.  With Jesus’ resurrection from the dead we have a guarantee of all God’s promises.

Bad things happen whenever men and women buy Satan’s lie.

~Pastor Chris