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Faith (God)

Samurai

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HI All.

Do any of you follow a faith or have a strong belief in God? I find my faith in God takes 75 percent of my anxiety away. And I think 25 percent is there due to my own ego.
 

suzzeeb

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I am a Christian and have been for many years. I have always had pretty bad anxiety and the more I pray sometimes it seems the worse I get. I have so many people praying for me, and I just never really get any better. I'm in the middle of a really bad time right now, and I can't even pray for help anymore because I just feel that for some reason God has decided not to intervene. I do think, though, that this is a disorder, like many other physical disorders that people just have and are not healed of. I don't blame God, but I guess I am disappointed sometimes that he has left me in this unhappy place for so long.
 

bigjetplane6

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I have faith in God 120% but lately I just ask why He has let me go through so much health anxiety lately. I’m not mad either, I just ask. I know it’s my fault too because I haven’t had a genuine conversation with him or prayed, but I’m too tired. And not tired, like lazy. More like mentally drained. I’m just numb.
 

CTBlue

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I would truly like to have faith, I have tried. Yet, I haven’t succeeded quite yet. I do feel that it can be quite helpful in dealing with anxiety but also in just life in general.
 

suzzeeb

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The Bible says that while we are on earth we will have trouble but to take heart because Jesus has overcome the world. It's hard not to focus on our lives here and how miserable we are, but I really do believe this is just a small amount of time compared to eternity where we will never deal with any of this again. I guess that's what I hold onto when things are really bad. Having said that, I hate it so much. I just want it to go away and feel normal, but so do a lot of people who are suffering with different things. I have had many answers to prayers, so I still hold onto hope that God may decide to at least help me to cope with it better at some point.
 

Samurai

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Thanks for replies. By faith im a Sikh, and we respect all faiths and believe theres only one God. We just take different routes. I think the issue we have sometimes is that we look at God as an external being but in reality God is within us. I personally find its about total surrender and trust. Its very very hard, but if we left everything to God, made a daily prayer routine and never used any form of media search engines and forums, i think our anxiety could settle. Symptoms will come and go.

Im saying this because this method works for me, but then i get lazy and lack in discipline.

But yes anxiety depending on the level of it can be a medical condition that may need therapy. But again God may put us in the right direction to get treatment. The issue is when we have a anxiety relapse it can be hard to understand faith.
 

Cuchculan

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Nothing wrong with having faith at all. Good to believe in something. Better than believing in nothing at all. I am a Catholic. I accept if people don't want to believe as well. I am not here to preach to anybody. Each to their own. Some believe and others don't.
 

kristinelorraine

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I am also a Catholic. I pray to God and been going to church almost every weekend but has since stopped since the pandemic. I believe my faith has helped me with my anxiety and health issues. Right now, I'm slacking because I feel ashamed that I mostly pray when I feel worse and needed help. But I do believe in God.
 

bin_tenn

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No faith here, but I used to be a believer (Christian-ish upbringing). It has no bearing on my anxiety, whether I believe or not.
 

Cuchculan

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I am also a Catholic. I pray to God and been going to church almost every weekend but has since stopped since the pandemic. I believe my faith has helped me with my anxiety and health issues. Right now, I'm slacking because I feel ashamed that I mostly pray when I feel worse and needed help. But I do believe in God.
I think most people pray a bit more when they are going through harder times. Is only natural.
 

Cuchculan

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Here in Ireland, Religion is a subject in school. I think these days, with a mixture of races now living in Ireland you can opt out of the class. Because not everybody is going to be the same religion. They do teach you about other religions too. That is new. Just so you know there are others out there who might not be into the same religion as yourself. For years Ireland was a church state. The church owned all the schools and all the hospitals. But there is a lack of people attending church over the past few years. Lot of bad stuff has come out about priests ans nuns. So people will still pray. Just not in a church. Because the church covered it all up. Not just sexual things. Lot of deaths too. New babies been sold to Americans. Just taken from their mothers. They did find a grave with a few hundred dead babies in it. I think what angers a lot of people is that nobody is been charged with anything. People simply don't trust the church any more. But they have kept their faith. Takes a lot of strength to do that.
 

Ldubbs

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“Peace I leave with you: my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27

Jesus is saying here that true peace comes from Him, not from worldly peace, meaning not from a change in circumstances, but a change of where you find your peace. We can find true objective peace from a trust in God that His plan for our lives is Perfect, unchangeable, and it is for our good for those who love God, even if the circumstances may not be what we desire. I have found when my faith in God waivers so does my anxiety. Jesus peace is the true peace we need, a peace found in faith in Gods sovereign plan no matter what the circumstances in our life may bring!
 

Bobnnat

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I was raised in the Jewish faith. My parents sent me to Hebrew school from age 8 thru 13. I had my Bar Mitzvah (you are now a man, at least for being counted as such for praying in synagogue).

After that, my dad gave me the option to keep going or stop. It took me about 2 seconds to decide to no longer go. It robbed me of my free time on weekends. I believe this left a bad taste for religion for me, the opposite of what my father expected.

Having said that, I know that believers have the peace of mind that, as Suzzee said, time on Earth is minimal compared to eternity. I wish I had that faith, but I’ve come to the realization that faith/heaven etc. are things you either have or do not have..at least in my case.

I’m not pleased with feeling that way, but I feel similar to Bin. I always have even as a child. Perhaps that goes along with having an overly analytic mind as so many with HA do.

It’s funny. My father truly had faith. 100%. And he was an extremely intelligent man. He rose to the highest non-presidentially appointed position in the Veterans Administration. He never had anxiety. He truly believed when he died he would be with God and loved ones who had, and all who will later pass. He was healthy until some cognitive issues by age 92. He passed away 2 months shy of his 98th birthday.

Wish I had his faith and brain.
 

suzzeeb

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I don't believe having faith takes away people's struggles. I guess I think it gives us hope that we can get through the struggles when we know we are not walking through it alone. I have pretty bad anxiety and I do wonder why God allows it, so it's not like I'm at perfect peace with my situation. For me, though, and I know it's not like this for others, it's the only thing that makes sense to me. I just don't believe the world just came from nothing and has such order to it. I just don't believe that's possible, so I totally believe that there was a creator who planned it. I just don't think we can really wrap our minds around the whole thing so it's hard to imagine.

Anyway, not trying to preach to anyone, just my belief! Hope everyone has a good day today.
 

mimifourtimes

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I am a Christian. I most definitely have faith. But faith wavers. It is o.k. to ask God why do I have to go through this. But He says He will never leave you nor forsake you. We think he has because we still feel our sickness and pain. People get sick. People have anxiety. It doesn't mean that God is punishing us. And to my Christian brothers and sisters, Jesus died on the cross. Try to get a visualization of what He endured on the cross. Stakes in His hands, crowns on His head. While He was still alive. I'm not minimizing anxiety because I know all to well that this thing called anxiety may feel uncontrollable or incurable, but who knows. We aren't all cured. People die everyday of disease. Our disease won't kill us physically but it is a disease that can kill emotionally. So if God chooses not to heal then we won't be. Our prayers should be for God to help us to get through this disease. To help us to be joyful in the day that He has given us. Trusting God with our future brings peace. Pray that you will be able to stop asking the questions why but to begin to thank Him for the ability to move on. To Samurai, God just asked us to have the faith of a mustard seed. Have you ever seen a mustard seed? Not very big. I don't know if you can pull rank on faith and categorize it into percentages, but I do believe that God has control over 100% of our bodies, our minds, and our thoughts. He will choose to heal. But, I do know that He will give you the ability to use the faith that you have to believe that He is the God that will help you through it. So choose happiness for this day, Love this life for we don't know what tomorrow brings. Laugh much. Laugh because joy is a God given emotion. Joy is an invaluable gift of God that radiates to others. Joy transforms our difficult circumstances into times of blessing. Don't allow ANXIETY to steal it.
Be blessed. Praying for all my anxiety sufferers.
 
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suzzeeb

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I am a Christian. I most definitely have faith. But faith wavers. It is o.k. to ask God why do I have to go through this. But He says He will never leave you nor forsake you. We think he has because we still feel our sickness and pain. People get sick. People have anxiety. It doesn't mean that God is punishing us. And to my Christian brothers and sisters, Jesus died on the cross. Try to get a visualization of what He endured on the cross. Stakes in His hands, crowns on His head. While He was still alive. I'm not minimizing anxiety because I know all to well that this thing called anxiety may feel uncontrollable or incurable, but who knows. We aren't all cured. People die everyday of disease. Our disease won't kill us physically but it is a disease that can kill emotionally. So if God chooses not to heal then we won't be. Our prayers should be for God to help us to get through this disease. To help us to be joyful in the day that He has given us. Trusting God with our future brings peace. Pray that you will be able to stop asking the questions why but to begin to thank Him for the ability to move on. To Samurai, God just asked us to have the faith of a mustard seed. Have you ever seen a mustard seed? Not very big. I don't know if you can pull rank on faith and categorize it into percentages, but I do believe that God has control over 100% of our bodies, our minds, and our thoughts. He will choose to heal. But, I do know that He will give you the ability to use the faith that you have to believe that He is the God that will help you through it. So choose happiness for this day, Love this life for we don't know what tomorrow brings. Laugh much. Laugh because joy is a God given emotion. Joy is an invaluable gift of God that radiates to others. Joy transforms our difficult circumstances into times of blessing. Don't alloy ANXIETY to steal it.
Be blessed. Praying for all my anxiety sufferers.
Amen!! Well said.
 

Samurai

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I am a Christian. I most definitely have faith. But faith wavers. It is o.k. to ask God why do I have to go through this. But He says He will never leave you nor forsake you. We think he has because we still feel our sickness and pain. People get sick. People have anxiety. It doesn't mean that God is punishing us. And to my Christian brothers and sisters, Jesus died on the cross. Try to get a visualization of what He endured on the cross. Stakes in His hands, crowns on His head. While He was still alive. I'm not minimizing anxiety because I know all to well that this thing called anxiety may feel uncontrollable or incurable, but who knows. We aren't all cured. People die everyday of disease. Our disease won't kill us physically but it is a disease that can kill emotionally. So if God chooses not to heal then we won't be. Our prayers should be for God to help us to get through this disease. To help us to be joyful in the day that He has given us. Trusting God with our future brings peace. Pray that you will be able to stop asking the questions why but to begin to thank Him for the ability to move on. To Samurai, God just asked us to have the faith of a mustard seed. Have you ever seen a mustard seed? Not very big. I don't know if you can pull rank on faith and categorize it into percentages, but I do believe that God has control over 100% of our bodies, our minds, and our thoughts. He will choose to heal. But, I do know that He will give you the ability to use the faith that you have to believe that He is the God that will help you through it. So choose happiness for this day, Love this life for we don't know what tomorrow brings. Laugh much. Laugh because joy is a God given emotion. Joy is an invaluable gift of God that radiates to others. Joy transforms our difficult circumstances into times of blessing. Don't alloy ANXIETY to steal it.
Be blessed. Praying for all my anxiety sufferers.
I do agree everything is in Gods control 100%. But i suppose there will be certain things we will see differently because of the different paths we may follow. My belief is that everything in life is due to karmic actions, as we believe the soul travels through many life times until our karma is paid off. But by prayer and meditating on God we can burn past karma. So we may be carrying karma from actions in past lives, and sometimes the struggle can make us closer to god. Having said this, we by no means judge anyone.

Btw im giving a lesson on religion lol. Just sharing my beliefs.
 
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