spiritual abuse?

Something happened to me, that's screwed up my faith and made me too callous about spirituality. I don't want to be this way anymore, I want to have faith again, but what happened was more than I could take, which is what God isn't supposed to give us, right? How do you get your faith back when things are more than you can handle?

Violet

Violet, I don't know what happened to you, but if something hurt you, that was not of God. It is unfortunate that people have done evil things and said it was in the name of God.

It is also very unfortunate, but although this was exactly the kind of question that some of us asked for this forum because we saw a need for a safe place to talk about issues like this, the current mind set of this forum is such to cripple our ability to talk about questions like that much.

You are very welcome to PM me if you would like to talk about what happened to you, or if you would like more of an answer than I am permitted to post here.

I hope I am allowed to say that God still loves you and wants to help you. If you pray for comfort and understanding, and listen for His answer, you will feel that love. Keep looking for answers, and when you find something that feels good to you, pray and ask if it is right. If it is, you will get an answer.

I don't know if it will answer your question or not, but I have a blog entry that talks about healing from abuse. Maybe some of it will apply:
http://rapunzel.psychcentral.net/200...ral-conference

Thank you Rapunzel. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get anyone in trouble or do something I shouldn't have done. Thank you very very much for everything you said.

Violet

Violet, please don't be sorry. Nobody is in trouble, that I know of. I just wanted you to know that I read your post, and that I want to say more than they will let me say here. You did nothing wrong. Okay?

((((((((((((Violet)))))))))))))) You're not in trouble by any means.

I'm going to agree with what Rapunzel has said here. She's right.

I know some things in life happen, and they don't happen for any good reason. But it isn't God, so much as it is humanity (and our sometimes evil/bad ways).

God doesn't give us more than we can handle, although it seems like that at times. From what I can understand, God gives us opportunities to grow and develop, but it's never easy.

I've gotten my faith back after some bad situations. Sometimes I'm still left floundering and wondering where God is in my life ... like God is silent and no longer caring about me as a person. It's not true, but it sometimes feels that way. I just pray. A lot. I reach out for support. I talk about my problems with my friends and those people who know me and love me ... and eventually you can find your footing and find your faith again.

I do hope I've made some sense... I don't normally respond to posts here, but I thought I'd respond here because I do feel for you.

Sometimes, when I didn't think my life could get any worse, someone would come along and say "God will never give you more than you can handle", and then my life would take another hit.

When people say that verse to me now I cringe. I always tell them that based on that verse, my life & those of my loved ones, I know without a doubt that God is a man! Men are never really aware of everything you are handling at any given time, at least the men in my life. So consequently they seem to just heap more stuff on.......

If God were a women, she would have looked at my life long ago and said, "Whoa, that girl has had way too much on her plate. Let's go give this problem to the next person instead".

That being said, my faith is not as strong as some, and probably stronger than others. I just know that I have/want to keep praying, when things get bad. I try very hard to look for the good that potentially could come from a bad situation. Life is not fair, and that really gets in my way sometimes, actually most of the time! But I really try to look beyond that.

When I see someone hurting, I try to reach out. Hoping, and really knowing that when I am hurting, others will reach out to me. Sometimes I think that is part of the "plan", for us to need each other and work together for the greater good.

Don't be afraid to ask for help from your God, Higher Power, etc.. And don't be afraid to ask for help from others too. I used to think that when things went wrong, I was being punished by God. I was embarrassed and thought people would know that deep down inside, I was a bad person in God's eyes. I continue to fight that belief in my mind, although some people at the same time are reenforcing it too.

Bottom line........ God may not give you more than you can handle, but it seems to be coming from somewhere, right? Well, go to God and say "Heck, you may not have given me this, but you can certainly have it!" Maybe that is what God wants, for us to ask for help when we need it. Now, when I say that to God, I usually add something like "Hey I need your help, you can take this problem, and further..... I HAVE HAD ENOUGH! Can't you head these problems off at the pass, before they get to me????" ...... But that is just me.

Take care of yourself, and feel free to PM me anytime. I may not be able to offer you specific verses, or religious beliefs. I will though, offer you a place where you can vent and pounce ideas around.

Peace everyone!

Thank you so much everyone for what you've said. I never expected to get support like this. Thank you very very much. I believe there is a reason for things happening, I just may never know the reason until I'm old and grey and on the way to meet my maker. It feels safer to pray these days, so I'll pray to God about it. Thanks again, and God bless.

((((((((Violet))))))))) May God make known to you the answers! Keep praying! We will all pray with you!