I was raised in a Christian home, always went to church every sunday and night, sometimes Wednesdays. I was born with a cleft lip and palate, mine was more severe than my sister, who also had it. I had many jaw surgeries and last one was Aug 23 2006, during which my strong faith dwindled and is pretty almost non existent. Yes I still pray before I eat, but my devotions with God is almost gone and I don't pray everyday to Him like I use to, my last jaw surgery was pretty serious and now I don't have the smile that I like. Since jh/hs its been bugging me on how I look and my smile, I would cry myself to sleep b/c I had to wear this thing and questioning God on why he created me like this? Will a guy marry me for how I look and what about future kids? My faith since 10th grade has dwindled down and now, if I die, I have no clue where I will be going.
Ask God to help you go back to where you used to be.God is the only one who we can trust in whether things are working for us or not.God will provide a man who thinks and believes you are the angel of his life.But you have some work to do.
Trust in yourself.Think of those who don't have limbs,yet they have smiles on their faces all the time..coz they are grateful God has kept them alive.
You have every reason to thank God my sister.Don't think or see just the negative,think and see the good things God has given you.
There are those with the same problem but can't even afford those surgeries.Ask God to help you see the positives and discard all negatives.
I will tell you a little story.My son had very severe asthma and I would cry every day and ask God to rest him.I used to pity myself whenver I saw other women with normal kids.One day I took my son for clinic and in the waiting room there was a woman with a child who had a heart problem and the child's heart was producing a sound that would bother everyone in the room.I asked the mother whether there was any time that sound goes away and she said no.I had gone through depression coz of my son.After that day I never complained again.Because I realised there were people with severe problems than me and I learnt to thank God and appreciate His power.I got the healing and my son is still alive by God's grace.
Appreciate yourself my sister and let God be the soverign God under whatever circumstances.
Lukia, God bless you my sister! If the OP wasn't encouraged with the pouring out of your heart here, I most certainly was(smile)! Can we ever not give God all honor, all glory and all praise?????
I was reading about your experience, the way you wrote, and my heart goes out to you.
Painful things, like the ones you mentioned, enter life that cause grief and disappointment.
But...although they challenge faith, they are necessary, (according to Scripture) to strengthen your trust and confidence in God. Please take a look at James 1, there are many other helpful verses, many in the Psalms.
You may have thought you were stronger in your untested early years because you did certain things but now you have an opportunity seek God more earnestly during this period of trouble and doubt. Now you have no good works works to show for your faith. All you have is sin. Now you are in a perfect position to look afresh at the perfect work of Jesus, the work he did to glorify his father and which also saves you. Sister you are in the greatest position of all! Remember the prodigal son and his loving forgiving father who looked longingly every day for his son to return. Remember the good Shepard who looks long for his lost sheep...and rejoices more after he finds it than he rejoices over 99 sheep who never stray. There's only hope for you. "...His mercies are new every morning..."
Much of your new strength will come after you reconsider God's sovereignty, that is, his control over the negative circumstances that cause sadness to you. I struggle with negative circumstances and have been bitter about them and angry at God too, you're sure not alone. I pray for your peace and rest.
Replace your confidence in his work, not your former works, for salvation and security.
Dear dela, just want to be sure. I hope I didn't appear in my last post to minimize your pain, sorrow and doubt. I identify with you and hope to encourage.
Btw, after reviewing your profile, I'm of the opinion you won't have trouble finding a man to marry!
Thank you for sharing the struggles you are having trusting GOD Almighty.
The fellowship i was with in Philadelphia,PA, we used to say 'DEAD MEN / WOMEN do not wrestle',especially wrestling with GOD Almighty.
I would like to encourage you with what GOD Almighty says about you,as He says this about all of His adopted children (those faithing into Yeshua are His adopted children).
This particular Scripture needs to be taken in light of you being a New creation in Yehsua / Jesus.
The Scriptures will be from the Literal Translation:
Ask GOD Almighty to see yourself as He sees you.
1Samuel 16:7 And Jehovah said to Samuel, Do not look on his appearance, nor to the height of his stature, for I have rejected him. For man does not see what He sees. For man looks for the eyes, but Jehovah looks for the heart.
As an adopted daughter of the King of Glory you have been clothed in the righteousness of Yeshua,and GOD sees you just as righteous as Yehsua.
Rom_8:15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery again to fear, but you received a Spirit of adoption by which we cry, Abba! Father!
Rom 3:21 But now a righteousness of God has been revealed apart from Law, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
Rom 3:22 even the righteousness of God through faith of Jesus Christ toward all and upon all those believing
Dela,you have been Justified by faithing into Messiah.
Rom 3:28 Then we conclude a man to be justified by faith without works of Law.
Rom 5:1 Then being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Dela,you are as Holy As Yehsua,as His Holiness has been IMPUTED to you by faith.
Eph 1:3 Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies with Christ,
Eph 1:4 even as He elected us in Him before the foundation of the world, for us to be holy and without blemish before Him in love,
In Yeshua you Dela are already SANCTIFIED,yet you are growing in being sanctified.
John 17:17 Sanctify them in Your Truth; Your Word is Truth.
John 17:18 As You have sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world,
John 17:19 and I sanctify Myself for them, that they also may be sanctified in Truth.
1Thessalonians 5:23 And may the God of peace Himself fully sanctify you, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dela,please take a small envelope,a large yellow business envelope,and a blank 3x5 card.
On the outside of the big yellow envelope write Yeshua / Jesus on the front at the top.
Next write every character trait you know of Yeshua on the front of the same envelope.
Just
Holy
Righteous
Sanctified
Complete etc
Then on the blank 3x5 card write your name,and nothing else.
Next on the front of the small envelope write Holy Spirit on the top,then write the same character traits you wrote for Yeshua on that envelope.
This is pretty cool,NOW take the 3x5 card and put that in the small envelope,then seal that envelope.
Next put the small envelope inside the big envelope,and read what the big envelope says.
This is how AABA / GOD Almighty sees you being in His Son Yeshua the Messiah.
Being sealed in the Holy Spirit in Yeshua.
The next time the enemy of GOD( that being your old nature)starts coming agajnst you,remember the Word of GOD and the envelope.
Dela,I believe you will be having a Blessed time.
Shalom and Chesed.
ps: I would have written to you personally,but the age restrictions kept me from doing that.
The post is kind of old so I am not sure if you will see this but I will put it here for anyone else that maybe going through something similar.
First I would like to start off and say that while some of this maybe consider "coarse" understand that this is done with love.
I read your statement and I noticed some very interesting things.
The first one is "I was raise in a Christian home".
Being raise in a Christian home does not make you a Christian, nor does going to church. There are many right now that I would wager are on the wrong path right now as we speak that think this way.
It is only when you find genuine repentance and accept Christ that you are considered a "Christian".
The second thing I noticed or at least this is how I read it is that God is being blamed a lot. It seems to be that you are angry with him that you have a deformity and feel that you have been wronged by God for this.
How do I come to this conclusion? It is the way you told the story. "I was this devoted and then this happened and now not so much if at all", this is how I see it.
This is something that I see a lot of Atheists use against the argument for God. "If God is just, why do bad things happen to good people?".
The problem is that there are none that a good, no not one. Not you, not me, nor any of the people posting on this forum or in the Church.
When we finally realize that God owes us nothing accept for his wrath and he decided to die for you and I so that we would be spared of this it should humble us all.
Every moment you take a breath, every day that you wake up is a gift. It is the Lord's grace that allows this, but he doesn't do it just for you and I but for Atheists, Muslims, etc, etc.
He does this because he does not wish to see any of us perish but to come into a saving faith in Christ and repent of our sins.
I understand that this may come over as harsh but it is truth, I am also not trying to come off as higher than thou either as I am a lying, adulterer, blasphemer, thieving sinner that deserves Gods wrath but was spared through the blood of Jesus who was without sin.
With all that said, I would read Matthew 6:19-34.
It is scripture that I try to live by daily.
Some food for thought:
How many of us "Christians" thank the Lord every time we wake up in the mourning?
How many of us "Christians" thank the Lord for the air we breath every day?
How many of us "Christians" take for granted the very grace that is not only given to us but to everyone around us? Truly, none of us give him the praise he deserves!
Cry out to Jesus my friend! It is the times when we feel the lowest that God will bring you to a new understanding if you just keep seeking him with all you have!
You are loved and thank you for sharing your heart! That took courage and I thank you . Stay focused and just keep reading Gods word. Pray often and just walk it out in faith! You can do this!!
Praise be to God for all things!! Just look at all the love you are receiving sister! God is so good!!! Everything is going to be alright.
May the Lord comfort you and bring you to a new understanding! :purpleangel:
Hey dela, smile the body of Christ sees right through that stuff. We need ya dela, when Christians sees other Christians in sorrows and woes and come up praising the Lord it strengthens us! Put an inspiration on to your blessings when your counting them!
Through a different set of trials, my faith has waxed and waned at times too. Your doubts and perception of distance from God are common to people at different points in their lives.
What has helped me and some others I've known, is a very deliberate focus on God's goodness. Being sure to read 1 Psalm and 1 chapter from one of the Gospels each day can be a huge help.
When I feel forsaken, I am reminded that David and Jesus felt that too. When I feel betrayed, they were too. There is a fellowship with the Lord in the sorrows. It was not without reason He was called a "man of sorrows and acquainted with grief".
And I agree with the brother who said your looks are in your favor, not holding you back. :)
