\u201cChrist will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God\u2019s love and keep you strong.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\nTeresa of Avila once said that our greatest struggle in prayer is when God feels silent. Thomas Merton also noted that when God seems absent, we don\u2019t realize He may be more present. Those difficult moments of darkness in our souls can lead us to depend on God\u2019s power, not our own.<\/p>\n
Sarah, in all her self- effort, could not bring joy to her soul or healing to her body. She needed God\u2019s transforming power. Only God could purge her from herself and the doubt that characterized her life. She would now sit among the weeds with God as her Gardner. He would dig deep.<\/p>\n
Sarah took time to do\u00a0abiding prayer in which Sarah allowed God to lead her towards His presence. She used biblical images to help focus her mind on God. As Sarah sat in silence and meditated on biblical phrases, she rested in God\u2019s presence. She did this with no agenda, but to listen to God and be led by His Spirit. Meditation and solitude were ways to explore her heart and see what needed to be \u201cput off.\u201d The more she meditated on God\u2019s Word, the more she realized her circumstances did not determine God\u2019s great love for her.<\/p>\n
She would \u201cput on\u201d the mind of Christ through worship and celebration of God. A spiritual\u00a0coach recommended a 24-hour fast from food and all media. During this time, Sarah was astounded at how much she depended on media and how little she depended on God. These spiritual disciplines helped develop a habit of turning to God to deepen the attachment.<\/p>\n
Sarah and the coach decided to evaluate Sarah\u2019s progress by the answers to two additional questions. The first was, \u201c Do I love God more today than I did before?\u201d Sarah felt she was deepening her attachment to God through her time with Him. As she sat in His presence and quieted herself, she was refreshed by God\u2019s love.<\/p>\n
But the second question was much harder. It had to do with her obedience. \u201cHow well do I obey your Word?\u201d The obstacles to her growth included her busyness, distraction from entertainment, and her deceitful heart. If she was honest, there was still too much self <\/em>in her life that was prone to deceit. So daily, she exposed herself to Scripture and chose one command. She spent 20 minutes a day opening her heart to be with the Lord concerning the chosen command. For example, the command to bless the Lord at all times, was challenging. What kind of person would she need to be to live out this command? What was blocking her from doing what God directed?<\/p>\nAs Sarah engaged with God, she was aware of God\u2019s presence and wanted to obey His Word. Worry was replaced with trust. Through this process, her roots were getting deeper, and her love for God grew. Like Paul in prison, Sarah decided to be content no matter what. Healing would be wonderful, but through the pain, she could still praise and trust. Her faith was becoming her own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sarah grew up in the church as a Christian. But this past month, she found herself doubting her faith. Her health had taken a downward turn and she was racked with pain almost daily. The platitudes from church members–Bad things happen to good people, God is in control, etc., didn\u2019t help or bring her closer…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[729,392,1173,1545,4089],"class_list":["post-9684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-faith","tag-healing","tag-pain","tag-prayer","tag-spiritual-coaching"],"yoast_head":"\n
Making Faith Your Own Through Pain<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2017\/10\/making-faith-pain.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Making Faith Your Own Through Pain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sarah grew up in the church as a Christian. But this past month, she found herself doubting her faith. Her health had taken a downward turn and she was racked with pain almost daily. 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Sarah grew up in the church as a Christian. But this past month, she found herself doubting her faith. Her health had taken a downward turn and she was racked with pain almost daily. The platitudes from church members–Bad things happen to good people, God is in control, etc., didn\u2019t help or bring her closer to God. The borrowed faith of her parents was not working. It was time to make faith her own. Until now, nothing had really challenged her to question God or wonder if He was working in her life.<\/p>\n