A Crisis of Faith: Are You Ever Tempted to Give Up?

Once or twice every year I find myself in a hard place spiritually and even psychologically. This is a place typically characterized by disappointment, discouragement, and despair. 

It is a place of agonizing frustration. 

When your life is centered on your faith, it can be really hard when that faith is tested. During these tests, I feel abandoned by God, and I really struggle to believe that He is still with me. He feels so far away because He is silent, or because He does not move as expected. The resulting disappointment really challenges my faith. I find myself questioning it all. I find myself considering other options.

Let me keep it real...this Christian walk can be hard. It can be hard to obey, hard to patiently wait, and hard to not be afraid. It can be especially hard to believe the TRUTH of God's word and reject the LIES of this world.

Oh, how those lies can be so tempting.

Thank God I somehow always find a way out of this difficult place back into a place of faith, fellowship, and intimacy with Jesus. God is indeed faithful and relentless in His love. And having people that pray for you is priceless. I am infinitely grateful for those prayers that go up for me when I am too weary to go down on my knees.

I decided to write about this because very recently I found myself in this difficult and dangerous place again. But something was different this time around. I was no longer tempted to quit...not once did I question the existence of God or the veracity of His word. After all, deep down I know there is nothing better out there. By God's grace, I have finally come to the understanding that if something fails in my faith walk, it is definitely no fault of His. Rather, I am challenged to scrutinize my life and my walk to figure out exactly where ignorance and/or disobedience may be keeping me from experiencing Christ as promised in the Bible.

The journey of faith here on earth is usually a long one, sure to be marked with seasons of weariness. Growth, however, should be constant.