Does God Create Losers on Purpose?

[MTMattie]

Ignore... Good idea, yes do that. They need to read and obey:

Romans 14:4 Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

I have people on ignore for lesser reasons.

My main complaint is here is a soul seeking help and guidance and all I seem to read are put downs.

 

[civic]

I have people on ignore for lesser reasons.

My main complaint is here is a soul seeking help and guidance and all I seem to read are put downs.

Amen !

 

[AlwaysOnAJourney]

I have people on ignore for lesser reasons.

My main complaint is here is a soul seeking help and guidance and all I seem to read are put downs.

I don't like to put people on ignore. Everyone is on a different spot in their journey through life. But sometimes I got to put people on ignore. Sometimes they cross the line.

There is a scripture that keeps popping into my brain.

2 Timothy 4:3
3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

I try not to look for people who just tell me what I want to hear. I'm looking for wisdom. Not only are some of these people hurtful, but they don't seem to be wise either. Would they be happy if someone just walked away from the faith or worse??? I hope you and everyone here can read into what I mean by "or worse". Cause as long as a person is living, there is always the possibility that they will return home. Depression is a real thing that people struggle with.

The Parable of the Lost Son

 

[Aeliana]

From my devotion today.

The Key to Happiness
External religious worship [religion as it is expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world.
JAMES 1:27

I went to church for thirty years without ever hearing one sermon on my biblical responsibility to care for orphans, widows, the poor, and the oppressed. I was shocked when I finally realized how much of the Bible is about helping other people. I spent most of my Christian life thinking the Bible was about how God could help me. It’s no wonder I was unhappy.

The key to happiness isn’t only in being loved; it is also in having someone to love. If you really want to be happy, find somebody to love. If you want to put a smile on God’s face, then find a person who is hurting and help them.

Be determined to help someone. Be creative! Lead a revolt against living in a religious rut where you go to church and go home and go back to church, but you’re not really helping anybody. Don’t just sit in church pews and sing hymns. Get involved in helping people who are hurting.

Remember the words of Jesus:
“ ‘I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’

“Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ” (Matt 25:42–45 NKJV)

Trust in Him Are you ministering to Jesus? Jesus said ministering to others ministers to Him. Trust His life on earth to be an example of how you should live your life—going about doing good for others in need.


Joyce Meyer, Trusting God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotions

 

[Aeliana]

One more.

Living a Life of Blessing

So then, as occasion and opportunity open up to us, let us do good [morally] to all people [not only being useful or profitable to them, but also doing what is for their spiritual good and advantage]. Be mindful to be a blessing, especially to those of the household of faith [those who belong to God's family with you, the believers].
Galatians 6:10


I believe that one of the greatest opportunities we have as Christians is to make a profound difference in the lives of others. Throughout my life of ministry, God has given me the opportunity to help many people who need guidance. But I don't believe this is a special opportunity that God made just for me. Everyone, you included, has the ability to influence someone. When you take the time to reach out to others and invest in someone's life, you are impacting the world...yours and theirs.

Galatians 6:10 tells us to "be mindful to be a blessing" to everyone God brings across our path. We are called to be a blessing and build up others in their faith, to not be afraid to reach out and to speak the truth in love. I don't believe God wants us to be mere spectators in life. He wants us to be people who really love others and care enough to be willing to pour into their lives.

We need to build up others in Jesus' name so they can grow and reach even more people. Whether you know it or not, someone's watching and looking up to you. People are influenced by the way you live and they need to see God's love in your everyday actions. At times we'll make mistakes, and when we do we can thank God for His forgiveness, but we also have to realize that many times we may be the only evidence of God some people see.

Prayer Starter: God, every day there is another opportunity that You have given me to reach out, bless and influence someone else with Your love. I want to live a life of blessing toward others, showing them what it means to live a God-focused life.

Joyce Meyer: Promises for Your Everyday Life - a Daily Devotional

 

[Duane]

Overcoming negative emotions is a lifelong process that you can begin today, but it takes courage to face our fears or try something different and seek after God in such a way that a new way of coping behavior can be created.

 

[Rowan]

I have people on ignore for lesser reasons.

My main complaint is here is a soul seeking help and guidance and all I seem to read are put downs.

Well lets do some up-lifting.

Over time we too begin to form trails and paths among the complex wiring of our brains. As we go through life and encounter certain experiences, our brain receives those signals and begins to make sense of them and respond accordingly.

Over time we begin to wire our brain in such a way that whenever we experience feeling A, for example, we respond with behavior B. A pattern is soon formed between our feelings and coping behaviors that becomes very familiar to us.

So familiar that it becomes an easy and automatic response. In essence, the more that we experience feeling A, and respond with behavior B, the more worn and trod this pathway in our brain becomes.

According to recent brain studies, we are literally stuck in a rut:
As a result, we choose our most instinctual coping behavior when certain feelings arise. We often choose this path because it is also the direction that confronts us with the least anxiety.

When presented with a path, which one would you choose?

The path that has been worn down, feels safe and natural, and allows you to avoid anxiety?

Or the path that is rough, hard to navigate, and that causes fear to well up inside of you?

If given the option, most of us would choose the path that is more habitual for us and feels like home. We tell ourselves that the path of least resistance is the greatest opportunity for us not to fail, and the best chance for us to avoid feeling uncomfortable or afraid in the process.

The problem is that eventually we must face our anxiety if we are to grow and thrive as God’s created beings. But anxiety becomes harder to face the longer we continue down the rutted paths in our lives. Well-worn paths that have been trampled underfoot are great to ease the running experience, but they provide little opportunity for a runner to grow new muscle and develop new navigational skills. Our well-worn ruts may allow us to easily navigate through life, but they provide little opportunity for us to be challenged, face risk, and grow in the process.

Each day we confront choices that can either help us grow or that just keep us on the same well-worn path, stuck in a status-quo groove. There is nothing inherently wrong with choosing the same path over and over again, except that you are going to end up in the same place again and again. The path you choose can have great influence on where you end up.


Rhett Smith and Jon Acuff, The Anxious Christian: Can God Use Your Anxiety for Good?

 

[Bronson]

Well lets do some up-lifting.

Over time we too begin to form trails and paths among the complex wiring of our brains. As we go through life and encounter certain experiences, our brain receives those signals and begins to make sense of them and respond accordingly.

Over time we begin to wire our brain in such a way that whenever we experience feeling A, for example, we respond with behavior B. A pattern is soon formed between our feelings and coping behaviors that becomes very familiar to us.

So familiar that it becomes an easy and automatic response. In essence, the more that we experience feeling A, and respond with behavior B, the more worn and trod this pathway in our brain becomes.

According to recent brain studies, we are literally stuck in a rut:
As a result, we choose our most instinctual coping behavior when certain feelings arise. We often choose this path because it is also the direction that confronts us with the least anxiety.

When presented with a path, which one would you choose?

The path that has been worn down, feels safe and natural, and allows you to avoid anxiety?

Or the path that is rough, hard to navigate, and that causes fear to well up inside of you?

If given the option, most of us would choose the path that is more habitual for us and feels like home. We tell ourselves that the path of least resistance is the greatest opportunity for us not to fail, and the best chance for us to avoid feeling uncomfortable or afraid in the process.

The problem is that eventually we must face our anxiety if we are to grow and thrive as God’s created beings. But anxiety becomes harder to face the longer we continue down the rutted paths in our lives. Well-worn paths that have been trampled underfoot are great to ease the running experience, but they provide little opportunity for a runner to grow new muscle and develop new navigational skills. Our well-worn ruts may allow us to easily navigate through life, but they provide little opportunity for us to be challenged, face risk, and grow in the process.

Each day we confront choices that can either help us grow or that just keep us on the same well-worn path, stuck in a status-quo groove. There is nothing inherently wrong with choosing the same path over and over again, except that you are going to end up in the same place again and again. The path you choose can have great influence on where you end up.


Rhett Smith and Jon Acuff, The Anxious Christian: Can God Use Your Anxiety for Good?

That makes me think of the way Robert Frost described it: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."


The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

 

[Richard]

Have to keep holding on.

 

[Burdock]

I've been a believer in Jesus and the Bible my whole life. That is 45-6=39 years. Granted that my salvation maybe be just head knowledge.

Over these 39 years I have done the best I can to live out a Christian life. But there are somethings about my Christian life that deeply trouble me. I observe other Christian people who have Churches they fit into. I see other Christian people doing things for God. I see me and my parents, rejected by other Christian people. In fact it is so bad that we don't go to Church since those people behave as if we don't exist. In other words there is no fellowship possible between our personalities and their personalities.

For reasons I do not know. The personality clash has seemed to get worse, even though I don't think our personalities have changed.

My parents used to have Church friends. Currently my Dad has no Church friends, and my Mom sorta does. But I want to talk about my own problems here.

When my parents were young, some people liked them. But when I was young, some people only sorta liked me and it got worse. Now days it is so bad that I struggle to even get a short email from someone, or even a hello at work! I got pause here, and tell you something funny. I'm on a mental health site, that has people that will listen to your problems for free. It's pretty cool that they do that. Anyways, often times I will tell them about my problems with people, and they will actually ask me if I got a Girlfriend or a Wife? I'm like what??? I just told you nobody likes me, and you ask me that? LOL Anyways the answer to that question is no. Going back to talking about what I was saying earlier. I never can figure out what is it about me that makes people treat me the way they do.

In this fallen world, some people are born with lots of different kinds of issues. Apparently I was born with a learning disability, and it might be the thing that effects my personality in a way that drives others away. You know what is really bad about this? I can't have fellowship in Church. And that seems to violate a scripture command.

Some years ago, I was trying to fix myself. I was seeking answers and talking about this as much as possible. A person in my life said this to me. "G, there is nothing wrong with you. But people don't like you because they don't like you. It is just the way it is." I didn't want to accept what that person said to me, but now nearly 15 years later, I think I see what He was saying. It looks to me like God chose to allow me to have this problem. He might of even made me this way on purpose. I just hope that He didn't also make me for Hell too. Allowing something that violates his own commandment in the Bible seems indicate to me, that He could of also do the other too.

Hebrews 10

19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

If you believe Jesus died and rose again to forgive you and to give you true life, if you have asked him to forgive you, if you have asked him to come into your life, then hooray! You have begun an incredible journey with the Lord of the universe. No longer do you have to worry about whether you’re good enough for God, because in Christ you are God’s own child! Nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. When you feel alone or when you experience guilt and shame, you can turn to God instead of running away from him. You are forgiven!

 

[MTMattie]

Well lets do some up-lifting.

Over time we too begin to form trails and paths among the complex wiring of our brains. As we go through life and encounter certain experiences, our brain receives those signals and begins to make sense of them and respond accordingly.

Over time we begin to wire our brain in such a way that whenever we experience feeling A, for example, we respond with behavior B. A pattern is soon formed between our feelings and coping behaviors that becomes very familiar to us.

So familiar that it becomes an easy and automatic response. In essence, the more that we experience feeling A, and respond with behavior B, the more worn and trod this pathway in our brain becomes.

According to recent brain studies, we are literally stuck in a rut:
As a result, we choose our most instinctual coping behavior when certain feelings arise. We often choose this path because it is also the direction that confronts us with the least anxiety.

When presented with a path, which one would you choose?

The path that has been worn down, feels safe and natural, and allows you to avoid anxiety?

Or the path that is rough, hard to navigate, and that causes fear to well up inside of you?

If given the option, most of us would choose the path that is more habitual for us and feels like home. We tell ourselves that the path of least resistance is the greatest opportunity for us not to fail, and the best chance for us to avoid feeling uncomfortable or afraid in the process.

The problem is that eventually we must face our anxiety if we are to grow and thrive as God’s created beings. But anxiety becomes harder to face the longer we continue down the rutted paths in our lives. Well-worn paths that have been trampled underfoot are great to ease the running experience, but they provide little opportunity for a runner to grow new muscle and develop new navigational skills. Our well-worn ruts may allow us to easily navigate through life, but they provide little opportunity for us to be challenged, face risk, and grow in the process.

Each day we confront choices that can either help us grow or that just keep us on the same well-worn path, stuck in a status-quo groove. There is nothing inherently wrong with choosing the same path over and over again, except that you are going to end up in the same place again and again. The path you choose can have great influence on where you end up.


Rhett Smith and Jon Acuff, The Anxious Christian: Can God Use Your Anxiety for Good?

Which path? Not the one bolded below..... But is often taken.

Reply # 23 from above....

I try not to look for people who just tell me what I want to hear. I'm looking for wisdom. Not only are some of these people hurtful, but they don't seem to be wise either. Would they be happy if someone just walked away from the faith or worse??? I hope you and everyone here can read into what I mean by "or worse". Cause as long as a person is living, there is always the possibility that they will return home. Depression is a real thing that people struggle with.

 

[Rowan]

Not the one that may lead to giving up. But the one that gives us hope.

Depression is a common and serious mental disorder that negatively affects how you feel, think, act, and perceive the world. Fortunately, depression is very treatable.

And the best treatment is prayer. James 4:3 gives us a strong dose of reality when James shares that prayer requests we have may not be answered because we don't ask with godly intentions but worldly intentions. In telling us that we "have not because we ask not", James is encouraging us to continue on and endure in prayer.