I'm Backsliding. Need help to those who are serious.?

Question

God is begining to fade away from my life. I have no more faith in him and I don't think he exists. I stopped going to my youth group due to I feel no love in my church and alot of my fellow members are not there anymore. There is just a bunch of little kids now. I stopped reading my bible. I go to a different church because my parents dont want to do ministry work at our regular church and the church we are going to im not receiving anything due to adult age words the pastor preaches. And i'm always feeling depressed everyday cause i'm urging for a girlfriend.

Its hard. I honestly dont want to go back to my youth group for help and I dont want to read my bible and I cant force myself to. I want to go back to walking with Jesus but what can I do to make myself go back to that relationship that I had with him?

Answer 1

I've gone through this twice. It's never easy and it never gets better until you find your solution.



Take a break from church life for a while and focus on other things (school, work, life, getting a girlfriend etc.). At the same time, look for new youth groups to join. Try going to some of your friends and get their opinions on other churches.



The reason I say to take a break is because it's hard to focus on your life issues while satisfying your church needs. Still pray, though, even if you feel like it's half-assed.

Answer 2

As a reminder, all Christians go through times when it feels like God is far away. Trust that He truly IS there and stay in a daily devotional and weekly fellowship. True, you may have outgrown your youth group and need to find something different offered by your church. Stepping into a ministry (serving homeless, elderly, fallen youth, etc.) will make a big difference between feeling hollow and feeling full. As for the daily devotional, change it up. If you are tired of reading the same text, then seek the writings of people like Max Lucado, or subscribe to the Upper Room or DevoZine. I recently went through a dry spell but remained confident that He was watching to see what I did with the dry spell. I remained faithful to his teachings and now am back on a close walk with the Lord.



If your church does not offer activities for your age group, talk to your parents about your concerns and ask if they can help you find a church that will keep you from drifting away.



Our church also does a week of prayer and fasting twice a year. When we are hungry, we pray for His strength and remind ourselves of those millions in the world that have nothing. Fasting, like Jesus did, brings you closer to Him. But do not start a fast without proper instructions, guidance and blessings from your parents.



Remember... He knows every hair on your head.



One last thing.... read the letter on this site and keep reading it until it is sealed in your heart. http://www.fathersloveletter.com/fllpreviewlarge.html



God's peace and grace to you always.

Answer 3

I here the word church many times in your question. To me the big problem is that( the church) it's to fake and what you are truly desiring is a personal relationship with God! I was was in your shoes many years ago and getting out of the church and discovering God on my own was the best thing that I ever did. Churches have preachers who care more about how much tithes and offerings are being collected then caring about helping people build a relationship with God. Read the Bible on your own and pray. Meet with God and he will show you everthing you need to know. Don't let others tell you there opinion. Decide for yourself what you are going to believe then walk it. Then no one or no church can ever take that away from you. Your foundation will be a rock. Then you can truly help lead others to the God you know and help them discover for themselves. With a real relationship with God you can move on with your life with confidence. And have an awesome peace. Enjoy the adventure. God awaits those who really want to get to know him.

Answer 4

I am not seeing an actual problem here. You're growing, you may be having "independent thoughts". It's no big deal, we all do (at least those of us capable of independent thought!). Some of us actually sever all ties to churches because, well, they're just not helpful beyond the age of 5 or 10 when you think about it.



And let's face facts...girlfriends are much more interesting.

Answer 5

Before choosing a side of the 'does god exist' fence, learn to be true to yourself first. Don't read the bible if you don't want to. There are so many religions. Saying that any one of them is better or more truthful than another is foolish since is based on faith and not fact. And at the same time, saying ANY of them are the truth is just as foolish. Maybe there was once a true faith and it's forgotten. Well, we can't possibly know.



So first find yourself, then your spirituality will follow.

Answer 6

Pray to God. Then realize that your self is always there watching you. Try and be positive. Read some other spiritual texts. Free yourself from Christian Guilt. Be happy. Be grateful. Don't worry too much. You'll be fine.

Answer 7

girlfriends are over-rated and expensive. Find a new church with a better youth group.

Answer 8

Don't concentrate on people and what they teach, ask God for yourself. And find a girl who is into God also, you will probably be sharing a lot of the same feelings. Don't torture yourself, we are all human, and the journey to God is not overnight.

Answer 9

i'am sure by knowing jesus as your savior you should also know that satan has not retired from his job and looks like he is doing a job on you the church is what you make it to be its up to you if you fall down on the gift that GOD has given you then you are no better then peter the one that denied JESUS CHRIST and the people that beat him GODS got work for you to do you have got to be up and open to him and steadfast and unmoveable

Answer 10

In your private time;find a place to yourself and just pray.Pray with all faith,confidence&assurance that God is there and that He is listening to you.Sounds like what you need is to ask the Holyspirit to comfort you and lead you and guide you out of the funk your in.

Answer 11

Just keep praying, even when its hard. Keep your eyes on Jesus and never stop believing. This happens to the best of us.

Answer 12

The following should help !!! You are growing up enjoy the ride !!!

http://dir.webring.com/rw?d=Religion___Beliefs/Christianity/Teenagers

http://www.carm.org/doctrine/100truths.htm

Answer 13

Even Godly people struggle with doubt and confusion when God's truth and their experience don't match. Life doesn't always make sense. At times, God's truth ( God is good) and our experience ( life stinks) don't mesh.

Asaph was one of 3 directors of King David's choir and a key Old Testament worship leader. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, he wrote a number of psalms we still read today. When God's truth and his life experience didn't mesh, this man of God poured out his heart to the Lord. His experience is found for us in Psalm 73.

Job did exactly the same thing. The most righteous man on earth lost his possessions, his children, and his health. He cried out to the Lord, " I am angry! I don't understand what is happening or why it is! He poured out his heart while he wrestled with the conflict between God's goodness and sovereignty and the tragic loss he experienced. What I love about this story is God never gets angry with him for honestly sharing his frustration and anger. God can handle our accusations, our overwhelming fear, and our anger. We must remain reverant, but we are free to pour out our hearts to Him.

God wants us to bring our anger, hurts, and doubts to Him. When we do, He enables us to reach the point Job did of being able to acknowledge that the interplay of God's goodness and His sovereignty is a mystery. We can't always make logical sense of the tough times and things we go through. But we can know the One who is in charge of it all and tell Him honestly how we feel. He wants us to argue our case before Him.

One of the most important decisions we will ever make is how we respond to life's raw deals. And when we are victims of such injustices's, we are tempted to walk away from our faith. Asaph was angry, but he realized his actions might weaken other people's faith in the Lord. It's a fact of life that we never do anything in isolation. Our actions always affect the people around us. It's so easy to act irrationally when we are mad and hurting. God's word to you today is that it is never too late to find healing for the pain that a raw deal has thrown your way.

The psalmist teaches us that it's only when we look at life from an eternal perspective that we realize what's really important and what's not. The key to that perspective is found in Psalm 73:17 when the psalmist says that he entered the sanctuary of God. Asaph had been ready to give up on his relationship with God (v.2). Asaph's worship changed his perspective from short-term to eternal and that made all the difference in how he could handle any raw deal that came his way. This same eternal perspective will help us endure any trial that comes our way when we worship as Asaph did. This same eternal perspective keeps the raw deals from destroying our lives.So our raw deals do not have the power to destroy us unless we turn bitter, get vengeful, or let it eat us up.

We do live in a fallen world where bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. But even though our world is fallen, it is subject to its Maker. God is in control. God allows raw deals sometimes, but He promises to work them ultimately for our own good (see Romans 8:28).

As you read and walk through Psalm 73, you will get a clear pattern, Asaph starts dealing with the emotional upheaval in his heart by first pouring out his heart to God. Then he moves from his emotions to a logical evaluation of his situation. He was tempted to walk away from his relationship with God, but instead he carefully considered the consequences. Asaph then gets the big eternal picture, this was his raw deal for now, but God holds eternity in His hands.

Asaph realized that God's presence is the only source of security and joy, both now and forever. Asaph chooses to follow the Lord based on one specific fact, God's Sovereignty. Asaph surrenders his life afresh to God because he believes the day will come when he will be vindicated (v.28).

God will give you a story to share about the good things coming out of your raw deal if you are willing to hang in there. Focus on God's goodness and trust His Sovereignty. Keep in mind that God is your only true security. His presence can be a source of joy and sustaining power, even in the midst of confusion and fear. So please hang in their and start pouring out your heart to Him, He hears you. God Bless you.