A question i can't answer

[Monica4316]

Hi friends

can you please help me out here… do you think when God speaks to us it can ever feel like fear, or confusion? for example, let’s say you believe something that is not true and God is trying to tell you what the truth is…how would He do this? from your experience, or what the Saints said, would He do so gently, or would it feel intense,harsh, kind of scary? would He threaten with hell?? I know the answer seems obvious, but I’m sort of going through (another ) spiritual trial right now and I don’t know what to think here. …if the thoughts you’re getting are causing you to distrust in God’s mercy, is this evidence the thoughts are not from God?

the reason I’m asking is, could it be that these negative feelings are the result of the person resisting what God is saying? OR, does it not matter, and even if the person resists, God would still lead them *gently *to the truth? If you’re a convert, what was it like for you?

thank you

 

[TOP]

He can show you yourself and that can be “harsh, scary…” but He is near when you call out or turn to Him and He is love.

 

[Lainey63]

I would be very leary of something that uses gut wrenching fear. But also you have to look inside yourself to see if it is irrational or unwarranted fear as well. Many times those things we fear are absolutely nothing to be afraid of at all. Did you hear of this saying? Fear knocked on the door, Faith answered and no one was there.

Also, I have read in the book “My Imitation of Christ”…grace uses gentle tugs. So it would be wise to keep praying for wisdom & prudence to discern God’s will and keep surrendering to God’s will. Staying close to the Blessed Virgin always helps me and I know that for me I can’t trust my own judgement too much especially when I’ve been playing something in my mind over & over again. So I ask for help from others like a priest.

 

[ljubim]

I would be very leary of something that uses gut wrenching fear. But also you have to look inside yourself to see if it is irrational or unwarranted fear as well. Many times those things we fear are absolutely nothing to be afraid of at all. Did you hear of this saying? Fear knocked on the door, Faith answered and no one was there.

Also, I have read in the book “My Imitation of Christ”…grace uses gentle tugs. So it would be wise to keep praying for wisdom & prudence to discern God’s will and keep surrendering to God’s will. Staying close to the Blessed Virgin always helps me and I know that for me I can’t trust my own judgement too much especially when I’ve been playing something in my mind over & over again. So I ask for help from others like a priest.

Yes!

God can do really overwhelming things sometimes, but ‘God IS love’… sometimes the scary things are really the devil trying to confuse us, or dissuade us from doing what God wants us to do. Pray like crazy for discernment!

 

[Monica4316]

Thank you I think God showed me that this wasn’t actually from Him. Because I can see now so clearly that my fears came from distrust. Once I decided to trust Him again, all my confusion was gone. It’s strange… it’s like whenever we lose our trust in God, the devil is right there to tempt us to despair, leaving our faith, etc. At least…sometimes that happens to me.

thanks again for your replies… and I agree completely about staying close to Mary!! She’s helped me so many times.

God bless

 

[Student09]

Well, it sounds like you’ve come to the correct conclusion. I deal with the same fears, on and off - coming from a lack of trust in God.

Your initial post made me think - I’ve recently read of several saints who, when they were going through trials, were told by Satan that they were already damned and there was nothing they could do about it. Apparently he told St Gemma, “It’s time, you’re coming to hell with me” and made every show of being about to drag her there by the hair. So that’s the sort of thing the devil does.

 

[apromisemade]

I can’t see God ever delibrately giving fear to someone. If we trust God then we go into any situation with faith and confidence and back out of any situation that offends our sense of adherence to the ways of Christ.

 

[jpk1313]

Hi friends

can you please help me out here… do you think when God speaks to us it can ever feel like fear, or confusion? for example, let’s say you believe something that is not true and God is trying to tell you what the truth is…how would He do this? from your experience, or what the Saints said, would He do so gently, or would it feel intense,harsh, kind of scary? would He threaten with hell?? I know the answer seems obvious, but I’m sort of going through (another ) spiritual trial right now and I don’t know what to think here. …if the thoughts you’re getting are causing you to distrust in God’s mercy, is this evidence the thoughts are not from God?

the reason I’m asking is, could it be that these negative feelings are the result of the person resisting what God is saying? OR, does it not matter, and even if the person resists, God would still lead them *gently *to the truth? If you’re a convert, what was it like for you?

thank you

We all go through a period of purifacation illumination and union in our faith walk. The early Church father Origen once wrote “satan never attacks a sinner becuse they are in chains but he goes after those who have been set free.” what he meant was that after coversion satan tries to get us back into chains (satan is real make no mistake about that) and leed us away from god’s love. When we resist god and his love we deny ourselves happiness becuse God is happiness in moving away from him we become more and more negitive in our thoughts. the more we seek after god the more we will feel him in our life but at the same time in that seeking we go through what St. John of the Cross called the dark night of the soul which is a feeling of god being far away or becoming bored with the spiritual life. When we go through this it is really god being so close to us his Light blinds us. St. john of the cross once wrote “faith darkens the intellect in preperation for the union of divine wisdom” Just keep praying and lectio divina (prayerfull reading of scripture) and holding fast to the teaching of the church and reciving the sacraments (go to confession or failing that examine your consciance becuse we are often “darkened” by a sin we have not repented of) and you will pass through the dark night and will see and live in the light.

 

[motherofjames]

Johnette Bankovich said something like this on her show one day: Whenever you feel condemnation, it is not from God, but when you feel a gentle truth revealed without condemnation, it is from God. That is not a quote, but it was something like that…

 

[Mintaka]

I remember someone said this –

When the devil is trying to get us to sin, he pretends like the sin is nothing to worry about, no big deal.

Then after we sin and start to repent, the devil pretends like we are damned beyond all forgiveness, and that sinning is everything.

So we should be dead set against sinning, and dead set on trusting God’s mercy.

 

[Monica4316]

I remember someone said this –

When the devil is trying to get us to sin, he pretends like the sin is nothing to worry about, no big deal.

Then after we sin and start to repent, the devil pretends like we are damned beyond all forgiveness, and that sinning is everything.

So we should be dead set against sinning, and dead set on trusting God’s mercy.

wow - that is exactly the temptations I get!

thanks