Tuesday, November 17, 2009

struggle of faith

In Sunday's message, (LISTEN HERE!) we looked at Abram's struggle of faith as a means to understanding our own. We all, at times in our lives, experience struggles of faith. We need to normalize faith struggles. We need to learn to more openly talk about faith struggles. We need to be prepared for faith struggles. We need to actively deal with faith struggles. . .

I have been thinking about the many different types and categories of faith struggles. . . here's my growing list of some of things that can be a parts of our struggle of faith. . .


job loss
killing of the unborn
wayward children
porn addiction
homosexual desires
government mismanagement
adultery
crisis in your business
health issues
overwhelming personal responsibilities
emotional issues
corporate greed
chemical imbalances that can give rise to health and emotional issues
unresolved childhood issues
substance abuse
aging
a troubled marriage
a desire to be married
divorce
broken relationships
personal isolation
senseless crime
feeling overwhelmed by bad news
unrealized, broken dreams
natural disasters
feelings of failure
pervasive uncertainty
unresolved guilt
systemic poverty
escapism/denial
starvation of children
aging parents
general discouragement/depression
death of a loved one
home foreclosure
fear of death
fear of the future
fear of failure
anxiety
homelessness

All of these and a million more can cause and or contribute to a struggle of faith. Is your "thing" on the list? Why can't we talk about these things and learn to support one another through them?



For God has not destined us for wrath,
but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep,
we will live together with Him.

Therefore encourage one another and build up one another,
just as you also are doing.
I Thesalonians 5:9-11

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Reading down that list, I'd say there are a good 12 of those things that are current struggles for me. I can choose to feel like the only one in the world that has to deal with these struggles, or feel like everyone has the same struggles in order to minimize or rationalize them, or I can take them to the Lord daily... hourly... and hopefully connect with people close to me for support and encouragement. Yeah, I choose the latter.

Tim said...

Thanks for leading out and sharing, Penny! We are not alone.

Kathy Keil said...

Thanks, Tim, for your emphasis on being open about our struggles. I spoke with a woman today who is not going to church currently, partly because she hasn't found that kind of freedom to be real. I told her we haven't got it all figured out at Grace, but that she might want to visit because you are transparent, and you preach the Word. Keep it up!