Faith : enjoyable?

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When I was a non-believer, I had lots of misconceptions about what it might be like to believe in God.

For one thing, I thought that life must be easy for somebody who believes. Even the worst hardship would be tempered by the joy of knowing that God was there.

Now, I sometimes think :Hey, this isn’t what I signed up for! Faith is amazing, coming to know God is wonderful, but wow this is hard!!!

Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade this for the peaceful indifference of my agnostic or atheistic periods in life, but it certainly doesn’t ‘feel’ like what I had imagined.

So this poll is just to get an idea of how faith is perceived by others.
 
I don’t think I have every thought of faith as being “enjoyable” or “not enjoyable”…It has been something that has been a part of my life…through the good times and bad…

**Having said that, I do have to admit that I enjoy being a Catholic Christian. The Catholic life is so full…I am a convert, and deeply appreicate Catholic spirituality. It is somehow satisfying to know that I will never plumb the depths of the Catholic faith…There will always be something more to learn or experience. **
 
I, also, haven’t thought whether I enjoyed Faith or not.

Have to tell you though, life is much more fun when God’s in control of the car rather than me trying to steer the car while God’s driving.
 
I’m like the last two posters. I have never thought of my faith as being enjoyable or not.

When I think about it I love ❤️ knowing that the Lord is in charge of my life. All I have to do is learn to listen, have faith, and remember that He will always be guiding my life.

I’m so much more happier that way. :bible1:
 
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squirt:
When I was a non-believer, I had lots of misconceptions about what it might be like to believe in God.

For one thing, I thought that life must be easy for somebody who believes. Even the worst hardship would be tempered by the joy of knowing that God was there.

Now, I sometimes think :Hey, this isn’t what I signed up for! Faith is amazing, coming to know God is wonderful, but wow this is hard!!!

Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade this for the peaceful indifference of my agnostic or atheistic periods in life, but it certainly doesn’t ‘feel’ like what I had imagined.
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I think this is a misconception many people have - that once you have faith all will be peaches and roses. Faith doesn’t necessarily make your life easier, but it DOES make the trials you have in your life easier to bear. God never promised that we wouldn’t have trials in this life, only that He would be with us when we did.

One thing that has helped me through the tough times is to recall the lives of the saints. So many of them faced much worse trials than I will probably ever have to go through. Yet they held on to their faith with joy! They were just ordinary people like us; the difference is that they didn’t despair. They kept their eyes toward Heaven. We can do that, too!
 
That is quite a question! I said “yes.” I don’t mean that it is always easy, and sometimes it is even scary. (God isn’t tame after all.) Still every morning when I wake I am so enormously grateful for my faith. What a gift from God! ❤️
 
It seems like those who never thought of faith as enjoyable have always had it. It’s just always been a part of their lives. I fell away from the church during my teen years and now that I am back at 23, I find it very enjoyable and satisfying. And not just that, but as the other posters said, it is more…relaxing? Not the word I was looking for, but it will work. When you give up your life to God and put Him in complete control, you are FREE to enjoy your life. It’s not always easy, but Jesus said it would at times be hard. But enjoyable? Most definitely, YES! 😃

Also, it seems that many who do not enjoy their faith are of the protestant denominations which are always being preaching about the impending doom, the coming rapture and their decent into hell, unless they hurry up and get saved! But, I am generalizing…shame on me. :o
 
I chose “always enjoyable”.

There is a difference between the “joy” of faith and “happiness” in faith.

In my opinion, there is nothing more satisfying than the joy that comes with having faith. It hits you like a tons of bricks that “wow, it’s great to believe”. There is such a relief in knowing that your beliefs are not fruitless but has a deeper meaning from God.

Happiness is another thing. I can’t always say that having faith is always the happiest of times. Sometimes having faith causes unhappiness - sometimes a lifetime of unhappiness.

You can be full of joy (i.e. enjoy the faith) but have to endure hardships (unhappiness) as a result. I hope that made sense.
 
It isn’t a matter of enjoying or not enjoying faith. Faith is life, and living it is what makes it faith. I woulnd’t be who I am without it, and I’m serious, because I remember what I was like 4 years ago before our Lord found me. I think a better term to use would be satisfying. No matter the sacrifices our Lord calls us to make, it is ALWAYS for our greater happiness, which He knows how to achieve better than we do.
God Bless,

Justin

+Lord, grant us our hearts desire according to your will. May we seek you, that we will be filled by your Holy Spirit, and one day be joyfully united to You with the Father and the same Holy Spirit. Let not our own will be done, but Yours alone! Amen.+
 
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Stylteralmaldo:
I chose “always enjoyable”.

There is a difference between the “joy” of faith and “happiness” in faith.

In my opinion, there is nothing more satisfying than the joy that comes with having faith. It hits you like a tons of bricks that “wow, it’s great to believe”. There is such a relief in knowing that your beliefs are not fruitless but has a deeper meaning from God.

Happiness is another thing. I can’t always say that having faith is always the happiest of times. Sometimes having faith causes unhappiness - sometimes a lifetime of unhappiness.

You can be full of joy (i.e. enjoy the faith) but have to endure hardships (unhappiness) as a result. I hope that made sense.
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You make very good sense!! 👍
 
I’m a new convert and right here right now its very enjoyable. 🙂 I would go so far as to say its much easier than being a Fundamentalist! 😛

dream wanderer
 
I also said “enjoyable” even though I never thought of it in those terms for myself. But hey, a different perspective is what a message board like this is all about!
 
I wavered a bit between number three and four. “Enjoyable” isn’t the first adjective that springs to mind when talking about the faith. Going fishing or playing an instrument is enjoyable, repairing the house is not so enjoyable (for me), being a Christian is on another level.

The life of the struggle of faith contains effort and consolations, challenges and victories, and long periods of dryness or indifference, and I only try to lay it all before God, joy or no joy. Maybe this sounds pompous (it looks that way when I see it on the page), but it ‘feels’ often fiddly, trivial and disappointing, with small flashes of glory in between (thank God), at highly irregular intervals!

So, “enjoyment” as such is less important to me than “truth”, which is why I left the joyful baptist congregation I’d been with for 20 years and became a Catholic! And my emotions in general are in the “shop” right now, but when they’re back, we’ll see about where they fit in!
 
Remember Joy is a state experience by your soul. Some of my most joyful experiences have occurred during some of my worst suffering.

Suffering can be very joyful when shared with God.
 
Without faith there can be no joy, but with faith there is nothing but joy for we know God will take care of us and provide the graces necessary to handle anything that we will face.
 
Yap, faith is enjoyable. But it will prove if you are in the lowest point of your life, where in you have nothing at all but your faith, Remember not all people have shelter, clothe, food, job, money or even a family. If we already can’t control our life, there we can see how God controls. Then there we can more enjoy our faith.
 
So true, without my Faith in God, the last five years of misery would have put me away in the nut house.
 
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