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Marisa Donnelly

Sometimes people lose hop in faith after facing challenges or having backslidden. Here is to how you can stay in faith:

God is with you, wherever you wander

“Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” — Romans 8:39 (NIV)

Sometimes we get caught up in our sin. We all have moments where our mistakes take control, where our hearts are weighed down with heaviness, when we feel so far away from God. But God sees all of that. he sees our mess, our brokenness, our guilt. And he loves us anyway.

There is nowhere we can go to hide from his love. There is no point in our lives where he sees us as undeserving or unworthy of love. There is nothing we can do to separate ourselves from God.

So even when you feel like you have gone so far from his grace, know that he has not left your side. Know that all you need is to ask for forgiveness, to clean your heart, and to trust in him to lead you out of temptation and back into healing and light.

You can find strength in his name.

“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” — Philippians 4:13 (NIV)

There will be moments when your faith falters, when you are lonely or exhausted or just plain sad. There will be moments where grief gets hold of you and crumbles you to the ground, where all that you have believed feels empty, and when each breath feels like a chore. But in these moments, you will find redemption and power in his name. In these moments, if you choose to follow God, he will guide you away from the heartbreak, the loneliness, the death, the loss, the toughest moments of your life, and back into his arms.

God’s word and love will give you strength, even when you feel empty. So trust him. Give him control. Give God your fears and anxieties and aches. Give him all of you, and allow him to work his beauty and grace into your life. Let him remind you are—a child of God.

You are loved, even on your darkest days.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” — John 3:16 (NIV)

God loves you so much. He loves you enough to give his son for you, to watch his son die for you, to put the sins of the world on his back for you. That is incredible love.

Some days you may feel undeserving, blemished, bruised. But God does not see you that way. He sees how you have not measured up, He sees the sin you carry and commit, but more importantly, He sees forgiveness. He sees you as his son or daughter. He sees you as his creation, and there is nothing you can do to remove that beautiful image from God’s mind.

On your darkest days, remember that God is with you and will never forsake you.

All you need to do is repent and believe in Jesus and the forgiveness of sins. Then be cleansed, renewed, replace dark with light, and start again in his name.

He will guide you out of temptation if you trust him.

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4 (NIV)

Temptation is all around us. It will knock at your door, it will bang on your window, it will try to sneak its way into your heart. But when you feel lost or that your faith is wavering, when you feel like your guard is slowly breaking down—pray, trust. Know that God is stronger than any temptation, and if you trust him, he will rescue you.

You serve an Almighty God

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” Isaiah 40:28 (NIV)

Our God is so big. He is bigger than any pain we may experience, any evil we may face, any hardship that tries to break us into little pieces. He is bigger than our fear or failure. He is bigger than any doubt.

When you feel like your world is spinning out of control, when you are unsure whether you have the strength to continue, remember that God has you in the palm of his hand. Wherever you go or whatever you do, he is with you. And that will never change.

You have not been abandoned

“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honour.” Romans 12:10 (ESV)

Not only is God always with you, but you are surrounded by a community of believers. There are so many people who care for you, who have good intentions with your heart, who long to protect and love and support you when you are low. Reach out to these people. Be open to their help. Solicit advice and kindness when you need it. 

You were never meant to face this world alone.

Talk to the people you sit by at church. Extend a helping hand to someone who is struggling. Pray for a stranger, for a friend, for someone you have never met. Know that God intended his community to be here on earth and build those connections all around you. You are never alone.

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God sees the good you are doing

“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” Hebrews 6:10 (NIV)

It can be so easy to fall into the trap of feeling not good enough. Whether it be a kindness gone unnoticed, a tired ache after a long day, feeling like you are never measuring up, or that God does not care—it happens to all of us. But often this is because we are too focused on ourselves to see that God is blessing us in so many ways, and often in different ways than we expect.

We should always do good; not because we want it returned to us, but out of the kindness of our hearts. We should allow God’s love to fill us and shine through us. We should not be hoping for a reward. But we should also know that God does see the positive things we are doing; a good deed, in his eyes, does not go unnoticed. He loves us and has not forgotten us.

Your faith is more powerful than your fear

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27 (NIV)

This world will give you so many unknowns – whether that is career-wise, love or relationship-wise, health-wise, status-wise, or even where you call home. There are moments you cannot plan for, whether that has to do with your loved ones, your decisions, or how moments play out around you. In those moments you can fold, you can be anxious, you can live with regret or fear, or you can trust God.

Let your faith in the Father be bigger than any fear

Even when times are tough, even when you are unsure where to go, even when you are filled with doubt, know that God has a plan. Know that God is not just going to leave you in the dust. This world may not always make sense, and your prayers may not be answered in the way you hope, but that does not mean he is ignoring you. Perhaps an unanswered prayer is a blessing you never know you needed. Perhaps a closed door is an opened one down the road. Perhaps the pain you are feeling is a powerful lesson in strength. Perhaps you simply need a reminder that you serve an all-powerful God. -Thought Catalog.

 Marisa Donnelly is a poet and author of the book, Somewhere on a Highway.