Teen struggling in faith

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Itschris

Guest
#1
Hi all! My name is Christopher Gruver. I am just looking for some new online Christian friends. I am a teen struggling in faith. Even though I go to church I feel like I'm not getting alot out of it! I'm asking for your guys help. Thank you
 

willfollowsGod

Senior Member
Apr 14, 2011
1,515
66
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#2
I am not a teen. I recommend continuing to go to church but remember that you are part of the church, the body of Christ. In order to grow in faith, read your Bible daily, pray, and apply the principles of what you are reading especially the New Testament. This will go a long way in your walk of following Jesus Christ and taking up your cross and following Him even if you are struggling in your Christian faith and even if you are hated, ridiculed, mocked, etc. God bless. :)
 
M

Mae8

Guest
#3
I also am struggling with my faith. I go to church I have amazing friends who are all planted into God's word I pray and read my bible nearly everyday ( I'm a forgetful person) but I just feel like being a Christian is just so restricting I can't dress or listen to what I want. I feel like if I'm suppose to follow God and live my life just for him then why am I even here because there's just so much tempting things on earth
 

levi85

Senior Member
Jul 2, 2013
8,578
2,180
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#4
You are free to do things which glorify God, but not the things which lead you away from the Lord. You can keep praying, reading, Bible and growing in the Lord
 

cinder

Senior Member
Mar 26, 2014
4,327
2,358
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#5
Well, I was a teen in church once and the reason you're not getting much out of it is probably because there's not a lot to get out of most youth programs; church people like them sanitized so that they are "appropriate for the children" and entertaining to bring more teens in. I wish I had brilliant solutions for you, but I don't. So here's the best of what I've learned since then:

You've got to take responsibility for your own faith. Dig into your Bible and cry out to God for him to reveal himself and his ways to you. Sometimes the more you dig into God, the more difficult and complicated to understand he becomes. That's okay; faith doesn't mean you understand everything perfectly; faith means you trust enough to obey him even when you don't completely understand.

Christianity isn't about the rules. If your faith is merely a list of rules to keep God and the church happy with your behavior, it must undergo a radical change or you will lose it.

In God's heart and view, people are of the utmost value, no matter how broken, messed up, lost, or selfishly inconsiderate they are.

To follow Jesus is to be constantly at war. The Bible talks about fighting the good fight of faith and I've come to understand that fight as primarily having the courage to do what God would have us do even when it looks like it will cost us more than taking an easier way out. To continue to do right though the world keeps going wrong.

If I could ask you to do one thing, it would be to be the "troublemaker" in the youth group. To be the one who won't stop asking the hard questions and bringing the reality of teenage life into youth meetings. To be the one who says what everyone is thinking, that "God said so" is no longer an adequate answer to teens hungry to understand and trying to make sense of who God is and if he is trustworthy. That the pain of coming from broken homes and through broken relationships puts a big question mark on the statement God is good. And I'm sure you can think of a lot more "unacceptable" things floating around in your minds and hearts that you need the Christian leaders in your life to stand up and deal with. Talk about those things, inundate your leaders with them and don't be silenced. And yes it will be hard and it might make you really unpopular with your leaders, but it's the best strategy I see to transform your experience of church into relevant community. And your leaders need to know that if they don't address these issues, you'll turn to other sources and begin to think that church and God are rather irrelevant to the realities of life.
 
K

Kendall

Guest
#6
Hello, Christopher. I'm having the exact same problem. I always consider myself a Christian, but I don't have any Christian friends or am very involved in church. I feel like I'm beginning to drift away from my faith and doubt myself and God. Maybe having some new online friends would help!