Yes! Here's my advice. Quit thinking that you need to acquire faith; you are reduced to it. Ask God to take everything away until there is only Him! Then you will have arrived at faith! It is not a case of your believing that you need to believe in the Word of God, but that you need to understand that is God's Word was spoken towards you, whatever is written in it, will become reality in your life. THE WORD OF GOD DOES NOT RETURN VOID!
I pray that you are able to find some good Christian friends where you are. I agree with Alex about using this site. I know it is a dating site, but I have found some wonderful Christian brothers and sisters on here, and I have been edified through our conversations in the forums, messages, IM, and some even on the phone. Do you at least have a good church family there?
Remember, too, that your Abba Father is always there with you. Seek His guidance in finding others that share your faith. You�re in my prayers.
Thank you for posting so we can pray for you to acquire some good connections with other Christians where ya re. It would be lonely and frustrating, not to mention a real challenge sometimes eh? to be surrounded by the worlds values without someone to bounce things off of, i'd suggest if there's any type of christian anything around you that u go do some volunteer work there on ur off time, doing so will introduce u to others who stop by who may have similar values.. it also keeps ones head straight to volunteer for the work of Christ. Great time killer to ! I'd rather wash dishes in church then be lured to a bar or get sucked into conversation that's unholy, especially when tired : (
Sounds like ur un a faith walk right now, in that environment, model the best you can, look up always and keep posting We're here for ya.
I know what its like to be in that kind of situation, all the friends i went to school with since grade school are non believers. In fact many have stated being atheist. I loved my friends so much, I just ignored it. But sometimes they would mock God in front of me and still i would ignore it. It always made me feel guilty.
Im not in any military branch but I know its a tough place to be, especially for a christian, because you are surrounded by things that are tough on your faith.
The advice I can give is just to pray for the Lord to bring you someone, which Im sure youve done.
Have faith and be patient. He will bring you someone.
Hey guy. Take heart. If you seek well enough, you'll find someone. Christians are all over. We are like cockroaches: You cant get rid of us and we are pretty difficult to hide from as well.
I've been to, what *I* consider, some of the most God-forsaken, hostile places on Earth and have found Christians amongst not only the soldiers I was with but among the locals *AND* the government!
I remember last year, I met this young lady who was just a total zealot (can you say that in a not bad way? cause I mean it in a not bad way...) for Christ. She looked like a serious girly-girl...and she worked for the Embassy down in Kabul. BUT, she took her VACATION time and, instead of going to some really expensive place away from the armpit of a country, she went out and played missionary for a month.
I'm sure at least SOME of you are aware of the not-always-so-hidden Christian hostility that's out in the world. I still think about her. BUT, to this day, I cant get in touch with her, as all she does is send out cutsey little spam E-mails...never answers. Crazy.
Anyhow, I digress. We are out there. You may have to "settle," for a friend who isnt perfect as a Christian, perhaps.
Hmmm...Coast Guard..I thought about that long and hard. Then someone told me you have to swim. And I ran.
You know what it is indeed difficult to be with non Christians...i once was in such situation.
What I did was to pray continually that my life would be a blessing and a light to them that through me they may know who God is in their lives...instead of me being influence by them.
Just continue praying that God would give you strength to resist the temptations of the devil...there are many of them around you.
Taxman has a point about that girl, a little over the top maybe, but a point none the less. You might look at it as an opportunity to be bold. You might not need to be as bold as she was, but take it to a point you are comfortable with.
I can also identify with the gentleman at the academy because I work with inmates in a correctional setting, and it is not always easy to show your Christian Spirit as many think that to do so is a sign of weakness, rather than the strength it really is.
Often I meet that challenge with a balance I can be comfortable with, as you don't want to have to have a sit down with the supervisor for being what would be deemed corporately inappropriate either.
Often times I will just use generic little ideals to show my faith, saying things like, "I tend to think we are always right where God wants us to be, and we have something to learn and something to share with everyone we meet." That is always a good one when someone is having a bad day.
Another is "Trust God, it will be okay, you can get through this".
And be willing to listen to people. When the Lord says that they will know you are a Christian by how you live, be careful not to slide into their way of the world, but to let your light shine as one who is generous and brings comfort, one who can be trusted and someone you can talk to.
There may be more Christians around you than you think. Often they too are not Bold when surrounded with those that are loud and obnoxious and derogatory toward the faith in general for they are of the world, and resent reminders that there is more to life than just this life.
Be gentle and kind with your faith like Jesus. Everywhere He walked He needed to educate, and He did so in a quiet and gentle manner. He was Bold, but not loud, Courageous, but not outrageous, Patient and Kind, not irritable and blind.
Also pray about this and ask the Lord for guidance in the Holy Spirit with this, and to lead your every step in this walk, for He brought you here for a reason, something for you to learn, something for you to share and teach someone.
When it is hardest, that is when you need to trust Him most, and He will not abandon you in this place.
We are all here for you, and I know I speak for all of the above, feel free to email any of us if you need our encouragement
May the Lord see your faithfulness and bless you my friend.
