{"id":84634,"date":"2025-02-17T13:44:05","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T19:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=84634"},"modified":"2025-02-17T13:44:05","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T19:44:05","slug":"why-dont-i-feel-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-dont-i-feel-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"Why don&#8217;t I feel faith?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<h2>Question:<\/h2>\n<p>Hello,<\/p>\n<p>I have a question that I really have not been able to find answers to, and I do not dare to talk to anyone about it.<\/p>\n<p>Several years ago, I started going to a church because I was really convinced that God was sending me to do it. I had a lot of anxiety in my life, and I started reading the Bible that year due to the anxiety I had. Little by little I began to convince myself about grace, to convince myself that I was a sinner, I even considered myself the worst, and I also believed that Christ was the most important thing and that only in him was salvation.<\/p>\n<p>But this did not last more than two years. I was never sure of being saved. I always had an unhappy life thinking that I was not. One day, I asked God to make a big change in my life because I saw many things that were not right, like feelings of envy.<\/p>\n<p>Since that day, everything has changed. I feel like everything has gone downhill in my life. I didn&#8217;t even feel the conviction of sin. It&#8217;s strange, but I didn&#8217;t feel God, either. I didn&#8217;t feel the same for Jesus, and I stopped trusting in him; I wouldn&#8217;t dare say that I stopped believing.<\/p>\n<p>This made me very anxious. I feel like I try to believe. I try to do it, but I don&#8217;t &#8220;feel that faith.&#8221; Every day I try, I try to have faith. I try to close my eyes and simply believe, believe in Jesus as my Savior and Lord, believe in what he did on the cross, but I don&#8217;t know what happens. Little by little I start to have doubts, or days later the truth drives me crazy, I want to believe but I feel like it&#8217;s hard for me to do it, sometimes I think that I was never saved, because I know that faith cannot be lost because the scripture says &#8220;But he who perseveres to the end will be saved&#8221; (Matthew 24:13) thinking that I could really stop believing.<\/p>\n<p>I feel like I will never get out of this. I feel like I pray. I read the Bible. I have even fasted (not believing that this will bring me salvation) so that the Lord would allow me to have faith in His Son for salvation, and I feel like I have done everything, but God keeps me in this state. I don&#8217;t want to blame God, but I don&#8217;t know how to express myself anymore.<\/p>\n<p>Also, if they ask me who Christ is for me, I wouldn&#8217;t know how to answer, and before, I would have.<\/p>\n<p>Please help me.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you.<\/p>\n\t<h2>Answer:<\/h2>\n<p>All I see is a young woman who is making up her own religion and then is disappointed that she doesn&#8217;t meet her own expectations.<\/p>\n<p>You say you have read your Bible, so where did you find faith being described as a feeling? &#8220;<em>Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen<\/em>&#8221; (Hebrews 11:1). In other words, faith is the confidence you have in the things you look forward to and your certainty in things you have not seen. I have faith that Sydney, Australia, exists. I&#8217;ve never been there, so I have no first-hand experience with Sydney, yet I have complete confidence that it exists. Why? Because the evidence is strong. It isn&#8217;t a feeling that comes and goes. I don&#8217;t doubt that Sydney exists one day and sort of feel it is there another day.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;<em>So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God<\/em>&#8221; (Romans 10:17). You read the evidence presented in the Bible and then decide if you believe the evidence is solid.<\/p>\n<p>When you give control to your feelings, you make yourself your own God. However, the Bible points out that your feelings are an unreliable guide. &#8220;<em>He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered<\/em>&#8221; (Proverbs 28:26).<\/p>\n<p>Salvation is not earned. God offers salvation to those who accept His requirements. See\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-must-i-do-to-be-saved-2\/\">What Must I Do to be Saved?<\/a><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Question: Hello, I have a question that I really have not been able to find answers to, and I do not dare to talk to anyone about it. Several years ago, I started going to a church because I was really convinced that God was sending me to do it. I had a lot of&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[49,546],"class_list":["post-84634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-faith","tag-feelings"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":43816,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-find-myself-not-caring-like-i-used-to\/","url_meta":{"origin":84634,"position":0},"title":"I find myself not caring like I used to","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 1, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I'm a 16-year-old girl. I received Christ as my personal Saviour for about 2 or 3 years now. But recently something has been bugging me. I feel as if my conscience has left or something. It sounds crazy or stupid, but I find that I have to force\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43693,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-avoid-panic-attacks\/","url_meta":{"origin":84634,"position":1},"title":"How can I avoid panic attacks?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 22, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have recently read the thread on your page about\u00a0OCD-religion\u00a0and have a few questions. I have recently developed this disorder. Though never diagnosed, I've struggled my whole life with anxiety. I grew up a Christian (saved at a very young age) and attended a Christian school where I was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14272,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-get-motivated\/","url_meta":{"origin":84634,"position":2},"title":"How do I get motivated?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 27, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am wondering how I can gain motivation to do things in life. I don't think I am depressed, but I often find myself not having the desire to do certain things such as setting time for prayer or Bible study (though I read the Bible every morning), or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41366,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-boyfriend-has-been-pushing-for-things-to-go-further-i-resisted-for-a-while-but-recently-i-caved\/","url_meta":{"origin":84634,"position":3},"title":"My boyfriend has been pushing for things to go further, I resisted for a while, but recently I caved","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I want to ask for advice and for you to share the word of God with me. I am a sinner and I am repented of my rebellious ways. I have committed fornication with my first and current boyfriend. I have been a Christian for two years and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53632,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-cant-figure-out-if-god-wants-me-to-leave-my-boyfriend-for-another-man\/","url_meta":{"origin":84634,"position":4},"title":"I can&#8217;t figure out if God wants me to leave my boyfriend for another man","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I am struggling with knowing what God's will is for my life. I read the Bible, attend daily masses a few times a week, and pray frequently asking God to clearly show me His will for my life. I have a severe anxiety disorder called agoraphobia (fear of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43156,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/ive-been-baptized-three-times-but-im-not-certain-im-saved\/","url_meta":{"origin":84634,"position":5},"title":"I&#8217;ve been baptized three times, but I&#8217;m not certain I&#8217;m saved","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I am a male in my thirties. For about fifteen years I have been struggling with thoughts about my baptism.\u00a0 Thoughts go through my head practically every day.\u00a0 I have questions constantly running through my mind\u00a0that cause me to feel anxious and fearful of God's judgment, all because\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84634\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}