Life isn’t always easy and living it as a Christian won’t always make it easier. Although, some people expect it to because after all “If God is for us, who can be against us?” However, one thing we all eventually learn that God won’t always move when and in the way we want him to. Every Christian will at some point, experience challenges to their faith because not every prayer will be answered and not every situation will go how they expect it to. This can often lead to disappointment and everything else that follows.
Here a few tips on how to navigate challenges and struggles to your faith
1. Learn how to deal with disappointment
Disappointment is the gap between expectation and reality and this is something every Christian will experience with God. It is inevitable. The difference between a Christian who is firm in their faith and one who is struggling can be the response to their disappointment. The first step to overcoming disappointment is to not put the blame on God. Yes, your feelings are hurt but God isn’t responsible for your suffering. Could he have prevented it? Probably, but it’s not his intention to hurt you or destroy you. As your father and protector, there are many situations he has protected you from, so because he didn’t protect you from this one does not mean God isn’t good or that he isn’t for you. The Bible teaches us to “Trust in the LORD with all {our} heart, and lean not on {our} own understanding. Even Paul who was “righteous” and always obedient to God prayed three times for God to remove a thorn from his flesh and God said no (with reason). If you can’t grasp why God would allow that to happen to you, then ask him why. He gave Paul a reason so he might give you one too. Your feelings matter to God and as Psalm 56:8 says “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”
2. Renew your faith
Having a skewed image of God will definitely cause struggles in your faith. One way to overcome this is to renew your mind. Sit down with God and write out how you are feeling/how you view God in this season. Be completely honest no matter how challenging it may seem, then open the Bible and find the things that God has said about himself that counters or supports the view you currently hold.
Also encourage yourself by looking at past miracles and count your blessings. One thing the Israelites failed to do in the midst of hardship was meditate on their past miracles and let that fuel their faith that God would come through for them again. Counting your blessings will remind you of everything God has done for you and his faithfulness to you. One unanswered prayer does not negate dozens of answered ones.
3. Eliminate comparison
Just because your life does not look like another Christian’s life does not mean God loves you less or that he is unfair. You don’t know the struggles that person faced or the hard work they put in to get to where they’re at. Besides, their journey does not have to look like yours. With multiple people documenting their lives on social media, it can be easy to fall into the comparison trap but you’re not seeing behind the scenes. So many picture perfect marriages have been revealed to be abusive and so many “successful” people have also been revealed to either be corrupt or struggling in some way. You have to focus on your journey, making sure that you are aligned with the will of God. As long as you let God direct the path you take and approve the decisions you make, then things will work out for you. Romans 8:28 ~ And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
