WIDOWS AND WIDOWERS OF FAITH Community Group

A place where people of faith may freely discuss issues of grief from a faith based perspective.

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snowalone 03/11/2017

i like to believe i "have faith", yet occasionally i am still surprised by doubt and my ability to move forward. though not as frequent as in the beginning stages of grief, these episodes are still capable of instilling profound faithlessness, if not of God, certainly of my life, my future, and my fellow man. and what an insult to God even that is. indeed.

then i become gripped by shame and more doubt for growing those doubts.

am i only a baby learning to walk, to talk? surely a baby is not expected to come here knowing/ expressing all without the task of growing through lessons. or am i like a bitter, grouchy little acorn, sulking in sad earth, only to one day burst forth from my rotting shell and grow into a glorious limb uplifted oak?

are these periods of doubt - thrust on me by that such as grief, just the fallow period before harvest - "the trough of the wave before the high crest" - and as such, is this doubt, this seemingly constant pull away from faith, is my loss and lost love, part and parcel of the very same thing? is that same (and ONLY) thing, God?

then i have never left him, nor he me.

what do you think, my faithful friends???

What Is Faith?

"Remember that faith is not a noble quality found only in superior men. It is not a virtue attainable by a limited few. It is not the ability to persuade ourselves that black is white or that something we desire will come to pass if we only wish hard enough. Faith is simply the bringing of our minds into accord with the truth. It is adjusting our expectations to the promises of God in complete assurance that the God of the whole earth cannot lie. A man looks at a mountain and affirms, "That is a mountain." There is no particular virtue in the affirmation. It is simply accepting the fact that stands before him and bringing his belief into accord with the fact. The man does not create the mountain by believing, nor could he annihilate it by denying. And so with the truth of God. The believing man accepts a promise of God as a fact as solid as a mountain and vastly more enduring. His faith changes nothing except his own personal relation to the word of promise. God's Word is true whether we believe it or not. Human unbelief cannot alter the character of God. Faith is subjective, but it is sound only when it corresponds with objective reality. The man's faith in the mountain is valid only because the mountain is there; otherwise it would be mere imagination and would need to be sharply corrected to rescue the man from harmful delusion. So God is what He is in Himself. He does not become what we believe. "I AM That I AM." We are on safe ground only when we know what kind of God He is and adjust our entire being to the holy concept."

from the Tozer Devotional/ A.W. Tozer

gerald222 03/12/2017

Thank you for your post and questions that force us to reflect on and think about faith and what it truly means. As I mentioned previously in the early stages of my grief I felt such overwhelming hurt at God and it lasted for months.That was the saddest point in my life but looking back now God was not only waiting for me to come back to him but provided me the inner strength to get through this storm. Without my faith I would not be here today. The grief journey for me was a pivotal turning point in my life. It forced me to recognize what was important and not important in life. The loss of my soulmate showed me I wasnt in control. I had to make a decision to surrender to Gods will or not. I was forced to assess my values, relationships, goals and my perceptions of my relationship with God. Grief to me has been a huge learning curve that I believe has brought me closer to God but has also shown me how much work I still have to do and it is lots.
What is faith to me;
-I believe faith is not a destination but a journey. We have free will and can make choices that move ourselves closer to God or not. The development of each persons faith is as unique as the individual themselves.
-I believe it is a relationship of unconditional love with God. Just like in any relationship there are highs and lows depending on the choices we make.
-Some people will say faith is belief in something you cant see or feel. But for me personally I can see and feel Gods presence on our earth and the life I lead.
-I believe the stronger the faith the more the complete surrender to God is. This is a process.
-I believe the simpliest way to explain a relationship with God is the promise to love and be loved. I have watched a few video's on after death expereince's and the one prevalent question is what have you done to love your fellow man. God doesnt care how rich or poor we are, how handsome or beautiful, how famous or not. what have we done with our gifts for others.
-Faith is being in the most important relationship of your life. Relationships cant be ignored or neglected.They must be nourished.
Thank you again for this post. God bless. Gerry

jdp 03/14/2017

When I was caring for my husband, in Our Daily Bread, it stated: "Our greatest comfort in sorrow is to know that He is in control". I kept repeating that over & over.
Ups & downs, joy & then sorrow...
Yes, I questioned, I couldn't understand but I believe He is in control.
We are human, finite, we fail but by faith I have hope & trust in the promise of eternal life.
jdp

snowalone 03/14/2017

Gerald, I like what you think about faith...I am amazed that people reach such conclusions and can express them so well, because I suspect i am often emotion driven and put thought on the back burner...thank you for letting me pick your brain in the absence of one of my own I can trust!
"i get by with a little help from my friends"

I especially like what you say about it not being a destination but a journey...and i'll remind myself of that on my journey.

jdp, it seems much is said about faith being the matter of fact taking of God at his word - not equivocating his word with subjective feelings, per se;
well, having faith! thanks for the reminder. I can let him drive...I can't see through my tears anyway -especially when i'm feeling sorry for myself!

thanks for the shared thoughts.
(I am going to open another post for your input, about caring, or more precisely, NOT caring, in relation to having faith...warning...please put on your thinking (for me) caps :)

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