Hi,
Welcome to the Ask Burb Blog. This blog exists for you to ask anonymous questions that you may have pertaining to Faith, God, Life or whatever. Please be patient, each question will be given the attention that it deserves. Also, feel free to e-mail me directly with questions if you so desire. Please feel free to send your friends here as an outlet to reason or to ask questions as well. The only bad question, is the one that isn't asked.
-Derrick Harris (askburb@gmail.com)
Saturday, November 8, 2008
How do I know God is in my life?
How do I know God is in my life. I know he's always there and everything and that's what it says in the Bible, but how do I know that he's actually there for me?
Thanks so much for your question. I'm going to speculate that you "believe" in Jesus as the Son of God. And that you "believe" in only One true God who exists in the form of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (the God of the Bible)...but that you just don't "feel" like He's really "real" all the time. Perhaps you're going through a hard time and it doesn't "feel" like He's listening. These are common thoughts and doubts about God.
Based on your question, you said.."I know he's there and everything and that's what it says in the Bible, but how do I KNOW he's really there for me?" The fact that you said that you "know" and that you followed that proclaimed knowledge with a question about "how can you know"...leads me to believe that you either are unsure that you "know" or that you're just feeling like God isn't as "close" as some other times. Honestly, without you telling me more, it's not clear to me what exactly you're struggling with. But, I'm going to attempt to answer your question based on the limited info that you gave regarding your situation. I think that the only way to begin answering this question is to discuss FAITH.
First, we often times put our faith in God...when we "feel" something. Perhaps its an emotional high at a retreat, or just a moment of reflection. But we must remember, that faith is not a feeling. Faith is a commitment.
When a Christian says that he/she has put there faith in Jesus to save them...this means that they commit to believing the promise of salvation that can only be found in Jesus Christ. Jesus lived perfectly, did not sin, was God in flesh, and took the punishment for our sins for us. God accepted His death as punishment for the sins that we commit. And if we believe this, repent of that sin, and follow Jesus (a fancy way of saying, learn about how He says to live life and depend on Him for everything) then God says that we will be viewed as righteous/perfect/not deserving punishment...because the punishment was put on Jesus. If we are righteous, God says that He gives us the right to be called "children of God". Jesus was killed, buried, and rose from the dead. He is now in heaven sitting at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit when we become Christians. This Spirit is a deposit...guaranteeing our inheritance in heaven. So, one way that you can know that God is there for you, is because He lives in you and has given you a piece of Himself as a guarantee that He's there for you.
Eph. 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Eph. 1:14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Second, we also have the words of those who thought similar thoughts as yours. The verses below are written to people who might be doubting like yourself.
1John 5:13 ¶ I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 1John 5:14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 1John 5:15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
When you believe in Jesus and commit to follow Him as your Master..then you can call God, the creator of the universe, Your DAD. And you can ask Him for anything at all. And you can know that He hears you and cares.
Third, Jesus says that its good for us to do certain things to remember that He was real.
1Cor. 11:23 ¶ For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 1Cor. 11:24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 1Cor. 11:25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 1Cor. 11:26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
You've heard this called "the Lord's supper". What this is a gift from God. Jesus wants us to eat bread as a "remembrance" that His flesh was real. Jesus wants us to drink wine/grape juice as a "remembrance" that His blood was REALLY shed for you and your sins. Perhaps you've never thought of the Lord's supper in this way. Every time you eat and drink the Lord's supper, it is a spiritual practice of "remembering" that Jesus was real and is always there for you.
So, those are 3 practical things that you can focus on. I'm sure that it won't completely make you "feel" that God is real. But remember what true faith is.
Heb. 11:1 ¶ Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
If you start to doubt, if you start to not "feel" like God is there. You must remember...faith is not a feeling but a commitment to a belief that Jesus is real. When you don't feel like it, that's when faith is most important. You must practice your faith. All this means is to remind yourself of the truth of Jesus..all the time, ESPECIALLY when you don't feel like He's real. You can ask Him, through prayer, to help you when you deal with doubt. But I can assure you, if you are really a Christian who has put there "faith" in Jesus. God is ALWAYS there for you.
God LOVES you and so do I. I just said a prayer for you.
1 comment:
Thanks so much for your question. I'm going to speculate that you "believe" in Jesus as the Son of God. And that you "believe" in only One true God who exists in the form of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (the God of the Bible)...but that you just don't "feel" like He's really "real" all the time. Perhaps you're going through a hard time and it doesn't "feel" like He's listening. These are common thoughts and doubts about God.
Based on your question, you said.."I know he's there and everything and that's what it says in the Bible, but how do I KNOW he's really there for me?" The fact that you said that you "know" and that you followed that proclaimed knowledge with a question about "how can you know"...leads me to believe that you either are unsure that you "know" or that you're just feeling like God isn't as "close" as some other times. Honestly, without you telling me more, it's not clear to me what exactly you're struggling with. But, I'm going to attempt to answer your question based on the limited info that you gave regarding your situation. I think that the only way to begin answering this question is to discuss FAITH.
First, we often times put our faith in God...when we "feel" something. Perhaps its an emotional high at a retreat, or just a moment of reflection. But we must remember, that faith is not a feeling. Faith is a commitment.
When a Christian says that he/she has put there faith in Jesus to save them...this means that they commit to believing the promise of salvation that can only be found in Jesus Christ. Jesus lived perfectly, did not sin, was God in flesh, and took the punishment for our sins for us. God accepted His death as punishment for the sins that we commit. And if we believe this, repent of that sin, and follow Jesus (a fancy way of saying, learn about how He says to live life and depend on Him for everything) then God says that we will be viewed as righteous/perfect/not deserving punishment...because the punishment was put on Jesus. If we are righteous, God says that He gives us the right to be called "children of God". Jesus was killed, buried, and rose from the dead. He is now in heaven sitting at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit when we become Christians. This Spirit is a deposit...guaranteeing our inheritance in heaven. So, one way that you can know that God is there for you, is because He lives in you and has given you a piece of Himself as a guarantee that He's there for you.
Eph. 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
Eph. 1:14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Second, we also have the words of those who thought similar thoughts as yours. The verses below are written to people who might be doubting like yourself.
1John 5:13 ¶ I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
1John 5:14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
1John 5:15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
When you believe in Jesus and commit to follow Him as your Master..then you can call God, the creator of the universe, Your DAD. And you can ask Him for anything at all. And you can know that He hears you and cares.
Third, Jesus says that its good for us to do certain things to remember that He was real.
1Cor. 11:23 ¶ For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,
1Cor. 11:24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
1Cor. 11:25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
1Cor. 11:26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
You've heard this called "the Lord's supper". What this is a gift from God. Jesus wants us to eat bread as a "remembrance" that His flesh was real. Jesus wants us to drink wine/grape juice as a "remembrance" that His blood was REALLY shed for you and your sins. Perhaps you've never thought of the Lord's supper in this way. Every time you eat and drink the Lord's supper, it is a spiritual practice of "remembering" that Jesus was real and is always there for you.
So, those are 3 practical things that you can focus on. I'm sure that it won't completely make you "feel" that God is real. But remember what true faith is.
Heb. 11:1 ¶ Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
If you start to doubt, if you start to not "feel" like God is there. You must remember...faith is not a feeling but a commitment to a belief that Jesus is real. When you don't feel like it, that's when faith is most important. You must practice your faith. All this means is to remind yourself of the truth of Jesus..all the time, ESPECIALLY when you don't feel like He's real. You can ask Him, through prayer, to help you when you deal with doubt. But I can assure you, if you are really a Christian who has put there "faith" in Jesus. God is ALWAYS there for you.
God LOVES you and so do I. I just said a prayer for you.
Thanks so much for your question.
-Derrick
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