Posted: 5/7/2015 2:21:20 PM EDT
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Those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, regardless of denomination, all agree that the foundation for our belief is faith. Faith that God exists, faith that what we considered to be Divine Revelation is real, and faith that the promises and warnings issued by Our Lord will one day occur. Here is my question, however.... How do you know if your faith is "real"? For example, I believe in God, but I would be lying if I said I don't have doubts about it. After all, one way of looking at our beliefs is that we're all a bunch of dopes who have fallen for a well-constructed fairy story. And yet.... That "take" on it rings hollow to me, and I can't put my finger on WHY... So I keep believing despite the doubts. That, however, mKes me wonder sometimes if I'm just going through motions rather than REALLY believing. There's a reason my Confirmation name is Thomas. We have some common traits.  So how do others wrestle with this, and if you are one of those who are as certain about the existence of our God as you are of possessing the screen upon which you are reading these words, how did you get to that point? |
| Why don't you walk outside, maybe to the woods, or a lake, and look around you. Do it while understanding that there are an estimated 6 to 8 million species on earth with a projected 100 million possible. Then ask yourself did all this evolve from some little speck of sand that blew up into a Big Bang; or did God put them all here. I'm going with God......Every time. |
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Quoted: That's what worries me, I guess.  Quoted: Quoted: doesn't matter what You know...God knows whats in your heart.. That's what worries me, I guess. |
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I think there is a slight misunderstanding about Biblical faith; that it's supposed to mean, "belief without evidence", when in fact, what Paul was saying in 1 Hebrews 1 was to describe faith as, 'holding on to what you know is true despite your fleeting emotional doubts'. |
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Quoted: Those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, regardless of denomination, all agree that the foundation for our belief is faith. Faith that God exists, faith that what we considered to be Divine Revelation is real, and faith that the promises and warnings issued by Our Lord will one day occur. Here is my question, however.... How do you know if your faith is "real"? For example, I believe in God, but I would be lying if I said I don't have doubts about it. After all, one way of looking at our beliefs is that we're all a bunch of dopes who have fallen for a well-constructed fairy story. And yet.... That "take" on it rings hollow to me, and I can't put my finger on WHY... So I keep believing despite the doubts. That, however, mKes me wonder sometimes if I'm just going through motions rather than REALLY believing. There's a reason my Confirmation name is Thomas. We have some common traits. So how do others wrestle with this, and if you are one of those who are as certain about the existence of our God as you are of possessing the screen upon which you are reading these words, how did you get to that point? I think it is perfectly normal to have periods of doubt. It's perseverance through those times that get you where you need to be. I didn't "appreciate" my faith as much when I was in Cincinnati and there was a Catholic church on every corner. I took it for granted. When I moved to the bible belt I had to defend my faith. Talk about eye opening events. You would not believe the things people said to me. Those questions and comments and even hatred lead me to finding answers! What do I truly believe? The more I learned the deeper my faith became. I knew I was called to be faithful but what exactly was that? That has evolved over time and with awe evoking moments and lots of suffering. It could have gone the other way just as easily. But I know who I am in God's eyes. I considered myself a strict Catholic when I was in my 20's but I look back and those years seem empty compared to today. |
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This is a great topic. I think everyone has to go through a period of honest questioning. I remember the moment that I did. I was raised as a believer but in my early 20's I was sitting outside at a park and I allowed my mind to entertain serious doubt. I asked myself 'what if it's all a farce?' I contemplated and imagined from that perspective the world as I knew it for some time. Yes, it was cold and pointless but it was not the recoil from those thoughts and feelings that ended the exercise. What ended the exercise was the thought that came to me next. 'If there is no God, from whence is love?'
That was neither the beginning nor end of my faith journey, but an important stop along the way. For me, faith is a gift that is given as a blessing when I strive to act according to the will of God. Whether in prayer, scripture study, service to others, service in my church, tithes etc. Indeed I believe that is the key missing ingredient with atheists, they are unwilling to do anything but mental gymnastics and reason themselves out of it. They will not act and so cannot know. 1st Corinthians 2:14 is a favorite of mine: "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. It takes faith/hope to act. To humbly seek the Lord through scripture, and prayer. To make changes so that ones personal conduct is more in line with the will of God. None of these acts save us; We are saved by grace, but acting on the will of the Lord draws us near to Him, and gives us faith little by little until it is undeniable. Undeniable belief, and spiritual growth that we can recognize in our lives. |
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Well, I must say, I think this is a very good question Zaphod. As one poster said, the magnitude of creation is unfathomable and common sense dictates that matter just didn't magically poof into existence. I was saved, born again, and baptized as a young man in elementary school. I have always believed in God and read the Bible a lot as a teenager. So much so, that my father thought something my be wrong with me. I didn't have a girlfriend or fornicate like the other teenagers, so my father though I was weird. Plenty of girls liked me, but I was trying to be faithful to the Lord. At the age of 17 I turned my back on Him. I have had prayer answered immediately and sometimes He answers later. One time when I was physically sick and on the floor after surgery and could take no more. I cried out to God in sheer desperation, He answered me and I felt a calmness just come over me and within 2-3 seconds it went all away. I immediately got better and better as time went on. There are other times He answered my prayers immediately as well. But even still, one thing I prayed for in particular came to pass and I know it was no coincidence. I have felt the presence of Yeshua when I have been alone and pouring my heart out to Him like King David did. I really believe He was right there with me on that day. He also spared my life on more than one occasion. On one instance, I was hit by a car on the shoulder of the road on an interstate attempting to change a flat. I was thrown through the air and my body crushed in my trucks tailgate and I rolled out into the interstate. The distance I flew through the air was around 15-20 feet. I had not a single scratch or bruise from that accident. People were amazed at what happened. I was 18 years old. On yet another occasion, I got drunk on St. Patricks day and floored it right into a concrete telephone pole, no braking, doing anywhere from 50-70 mph. Totaled the truck and broke the concrete pole which ended up in the street. The force of the impact actually sucked the windshield right out of the vehicle. I got out of the truck and laid down on the road. I was completely uninjured. Once again, no seat belt. I was 19 years old. Another time I fell asleep at the wheel one morning while driving down the interstate after a long night of work. I hit a dump truck on the shoulder of the road. Somehow I was woke up at about 20-50 feet from impact and slammed on the brakes but it wasn't enough time to stop the truck. I totaled the truck completely and the crash bumper on the dump truck was completely destroyed. My chest caved my steering wheel in. This time however, I had a small concussion from my head hitting the windshield. I was a little forgetful for a few days. But otherwise unhurt other than some small cuts on my arm. No seat belt. I was 21 years old. In all of these instances I know that God saved me. He had mercy on me. His love for me is amazing because I know what I am. I am a filthy wretch. I always have been and I always will be. He knew I was going to hell in all those wrecks if I died, but He saved me each time. I am so grateful to the Lord. So grateful. I may be a wretch, but I know that God forgives me because of Yeshua's sacrifice on the cross. He died for my sins. That covers over the sin that makes me a filthy wretch. I love God and I'm so grateful for His compassion on me. Why He decided to save me I don't know. I wish I did. I think about it in my mind sometimes and I just wonder if He knows something about me that I don't. It brings tears to my eyes thinking about it. I am a hard headed man and it took me until the age of 36, about 2 years ago, that realize that just believing in God is not enough, I needed to live my life for Him. I pray most days for the Holy Spirit to stay in my heart and never let me stray until my final breath. For strength from Him to overcome my sin and to make God proud. I can't do it myself, only with His help. He has opened my eyes to a lot of things. I believe God grants wisdom about the world to those who seek it. Psalm 51: Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the abundance of Your compassion, blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak, and You are blameless when You judge. 5 I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. 6 You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You make me to know wisdom. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones that You have broken may rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with Your willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will return to You. 14 Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of Your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise. 16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. |
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one way of looking at our beliefs is that we're all a bunch of dopes who have fallen for a well-constructed fairy story. Take consolation in the fact that if this were so, it wouldn't matter anyway because the universe is so far still on track to burn itself out into cosmic ash with no consciousness to take meaning or assign purpose to it all. You lose nothing in this scenario. How do you know if your faith is "real"? In one sense, you know your faith is real if you are persistently faithful to what he has asked (even after stumbling). He touches some lives directly and even of those some fall away. How much honor then to those who have hardly been touched at all by him yet live faithfully through their appointed days? I point this out because there are those that "believe" yet are not faithful, so it's important to keep an eye on the difference. But lets say you haven't recognized a clear touch and a clear hand shaping your life before your eyes... What else can one look at? Perhaps the question is how can you know God is real? At the very least one ought to consider the way scripture has been more predictive than any other religion. Be it the fulfillment of prophecy in the old testament through the new, and even fulfillment today where Israel once again sits in the land set aside for it. Look at the work he has done with others... and look to the truth he has written in your own heart. It is that writing which declares to you the absurdity of the meaningless universe, and the need to walk faithfully. I happen to have been touched by him pretty obviously particularly as I walked more and more faithfully so doubt is now rather far from me, but I did ask long ago the same questions. He's there and is watching. Walk in faithfulness and you will not be without reward. |