10 Things to do When Your Faith is Tested
Sometimes life is difficult, and it’s easy to wonder why. Here are 10 things to do when your faith in God is being tested.
Hi everyone, I’m Nicole.
We all have that moment where we feel our faith has been put on the chopping block. You can either save it (and yourself), or allow yourself to fall into that dark pit of despair.
My test of faith came when my daughter’s biological father died. We were going through a divorce for numerous reasons when his accident happened, so I was already falling into that pit. I didn’t have many friends to stand with me, and my family was already hurt by my decisions over the course of a few years.
I truly felt alone and saw myself as a burden to anyone who tried to help. But I did eventually decide to step away from my toxic situation and focus on myself and my daughter.
Getting Help
My family and friends welcomed me with open arms (for like the thirteenth time). But this time was my breaking point. I was left alone with my then three-year-old to struggle with having a miscarriage. It took many years for me to heal, but I did it with their help and by opening myself back up to God.
I joined a church and took my daughter to as many Sunday and Wednesday services as I could. The day I moved my membership is still one of my most emotional memories.
My healing process allowed me to move on and open myself up to happiness and love again. I now love myself and am married to the love of my life. He’s amazing and accepting of me and my difficult past. It’s not always easy for him, but we work through the dark times that still creep up on me.
That’s when I realized that I seem to drift back to the same things that helped me overcome that dark time repeatedly. My faith may have been tested, but I also used that same faith to get myself back.
10 Things that Save Me When My Faith is Tested
Here’s a list of the ten things that continue to save me and my faith when it is being tested.
1 – Pray
Pray and pray hard.
God hears you, even when you cannot seem to put it into words. He hears your cries, counts your tears, feels your pain. God will see you through this dark time. HE will carry you through it.
2 – Scriptures
Search for scripture that fits your situation. With my dark time, I focused whole-heartedly on the book of Ruth.
Yes, I was going through a divorce, but his family is still my family. I stood by his mom when she needed all the support in the world. This could have helped or hurt me, I’m not sure, but I don’t regret it. It was my process of healing.
3 – Family
Depend on family. Depending on your family does not make you weak. It gives you the opportunity to process and work through whatever it is that’s testing your faith.
God gave you your family for a reason. I know not all family situations are good, but that’s also why he gives us friends.
Any support system you can implement into your healing when your faith is being tested is perfect for you.
4 – Journal
Write in a journal. Get your feelings out. Put those frustrations on paper and then give it to God. Put it away, fold it up and burn it, whatever helps you dismiss those frustrations.
Bottling things up can cause mass destruction when God tests your faith.
5 – Be Happy
Laugh. Enjoy life. Spend time with the people who make you happy. Whether it’s with friends, your kids, a good movie…just welcome that happiness back into your life.
Don’t feel guilty for enjoying yourself.
6 – Be Open
Make your struggles public (when you are ready). Self-publish a book. Become a speaker for a support group. Share with people who are interested in you.
Your story could help so many people overcome the same or similar situation that you found yourself in. You can make all the difference for someone else.
7 – Self Care
Take that bubble bath! Get your hair done. Paint your nails. Take care of yourself.
If you don’t, who else will?
Self care is important; especially when your faith is being tested.
8 – Sleep
Sleep. This one is self-explanatory. It falls in line with self-care, but is a whole new category by itself.
Yes, you can fix your hair and makeup, but without sleep you are still that hot mess. 😉
9 – Move On
Move on if necessary. You could be moving on from a toxic relationship, a dead-end job, or moving to a completely new place for a fresh start.
Allow yourself to feel the pain, but also push yourself to move past it. Don’t wallow in that dark place. That just continues to hold you back. Feel it for a little while and then move on.
Do so with a lot of prayer and support, but do it nonetheless.
10 – Love
LOVE! Allow yourself to love and be loved again.
Love comes in so many forms. It’s just as important as laughter. Feel the love of God in your heart. Love him also.
Love yourself and allow others to love you. You are worth it. You are worth every bit of the support and love that you receive. Give it to yourself also.
Realize Your Faith is Always Being Tested
Your faith being tested is a struggle that we all face almost daily. Whether the struggles are big are small, they are still our struggles.
The first thing that always gets tested is our faith. It’s like the world knows that once our faith is broken, it’s easier to tear us down and break us apart.
Don’t allow yourself to sit in sadness and sorrow for too long. Feel it and move past it. Climb out of that pit. Get back out there and allow God to help you through it.
Keep your faith even when it’s the hardest thing to do, especially when God doesn’t fix it.
I’m not saying these ten things will work for you. Some may work and some may not be a good fit for your situation, but this list is a good start. Use them all or pick and choose what works for you. Your main priority for your test of faith should be yourself. I am the person that pulls up list after list to grab one from here, three from there, and two from another. I just do what works for me. If I don’t then I won’t have the results that I need to grab my faith with all my might and climb that mountain again.
Where do you stand with your test of faith? What would you add to the list?
About the Author of What to Do When Your Faith is Tested
I am a mom of two beautiful girls and the wife of a firefighter. I also teach second grade and have degrees in Early Childhood Education and Child Development. While I love my teaching job, but writing is my true passion. I chose freelancing so I can have the best of both worlds. I get to teach and I get to share my words with people from all over. Right now I am working on two books: a novel and a children’s book. I hope to get both of these published within the next year.
You can reach me on my website and on my Facebook page.
Thank you for the words i enjoyed reading them, Because I really have trouble expressing myself so thanks very much