Need help - nothing seems to make sense ...
Dear friends,
I am really happy that I found this community and that there are people willing to pray for each other even if they have never met personally.
Today I want to ask you for help - I feel completely lost in almost all areas of my life and although I have asked God for guidance, he doesn't seem to answer ... maybe I have to learn patience.
I grew up in a Christian home but for many years I ignored God's plans for me and decided to take control of my life and take the decisions that I considered best. I was so proud of my strength and independence... Until some things happened that showed me that I was not able to solve my own problems at all. It was a hard time but the good thing about it is that when I was completely down, I was ready to come to God again and ask him for help. I have asked him to repair the many mistakes that I have made in my life, and to show me what are his plans for my future.
I feel stuck in so many things - my work, my relationship ... but the biggest problem for me right now is that I have new neighbours who live on the floor above me, and they make so much noise all the time, that it has been impossible for me to sleep more than 3 or 4 hours every night during the last 5 months, and sometimes I feel that I am close to a nervous breakdown. I have tried to talk to them several times, they said they don't make noise, that I must be crazy to accuse them, they even shouted at me and insulted me. The only thing I didn't try is to call the Police, but I don't really want to go that far. My lawyer advised me to leave that appartment, but it is not so easy, I still have a big mortgage to pay and right now it would be very difficult to sell the property. And, more importantly, I don't want to move anywhere before I see clear what God wants me to do. So you can imagine that under these circumstances it is really hard to be patient ...
Please pray for me, that God may show me the way, and that I learn to be patient and to trust in his wisdom and love.
May God bless you all!
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Wanda Graham on -
Is sounds to me like the Lord is giving you direction by placing the boisterous neighbors above you. Sounds like he IS telling you to move even shouting at you to make that change.Can you rent it out to cover the mortgage? Maybe you should do it.
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Permalink Reply by Anne on
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Dear Wanda, thanks for your comment, I really appreciate it. Yes, I think it's possible that God uses the neighbors to give me a sign. My problem is that I still don't see in which direction to move... (because I feel that leaving my home will not be the only change, leaving my job and moving to another country are also things that I have in mind). I just want to be sure to take the right decision, the one that God wants me to take.
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Permalink Reply by Murray on
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Difficult circumstances are not easy to understand. At times it seems like a one way conversation. However one thing I have learned is that God sometimes uses others to communicate back. It may be through a sermon or book from a true teacher. When I went through a recent trial I received encouragement through men of God such as David Jeremiah, Max, and James MacDonald. They have excellent web sites and you can access past radio programs on a subject you are looking for. James MacDonald also had a great book called When Life is Hard that gives real life answers to situations we struggle with. One chapter deals with "God is never more present than when His children are suffering ."
We have to be alert to His promptings and willing to obey. Whatever our circumstances we can give them to God. If we trust our souls to Him can we not entrust our present circumstances to Him? Here is a great promise from God Psalm 55:22. "Cast your burden on the Lord, He shall sustain you." I will keep you in my prayers.
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Permalink Reply by Patricia Violet Joy on -
Dear Anne,
Firstly have you apoligised to Jesus for neglecting him, in other words repented, I was as bad, you say to someone, 'Help me' but don't always think to say sorry and that includes God. Secondly, do you listen. He doesn't shout, He whispers, so we have to listen. Set a quiet time aside each day, make a list of the problems, but also pray for the people upstairs. It's surprising how often praying for those who hurt you, help them and in the process help you to. Also I can associate with this problem. When we first moved to Ukraine we rented an apartment and the people upstairs used to go out, come in at about 2-3 am and then put music on, very loud and they had their kids running backwards and forwards. We don't speak the language so couldn't even go up and complain. We prayed about it and one night (or should I say early morning) there was a hammering out our door. Turned out that the people next door to us were being kept awake too, but because it was English and American music had assumed it was us. He took one look at me and stopped ranting as he could see that I was as shattered. I took him into the living room and pointed upstairs. He went charging out and I heard him hammering on the door upstairs then his shouting. Music turned off and no more problems after that.
You also must remember that he doesn’t always answer the way we expect. You may get a job offer in a different part of your country, so you move. The people upstairs may get a job offer in another part of the country so they move. We wanted to do something for God, but didn’t know what so we prayed. It took Him over 20 years to answer. Keep praying and after have a quiet 10-15 minutes to listen for His answer.
This was on one of my devotionals today. I feel He meant me to send it to you.:
“If benefits of vast magnitude are to be bestowed, they must therefore be preceded by prayers of fervid pathos; and God often delays an answer to supplication, not that he despises the anxious voice of our humble entreaty, but because he waits till our desires gain an accession of strength, and are somewhat commensurate to the vastness of the mercy that is stored up for us; and for this purpose he sometimes circles us with an array of troubles, that they may enhance the frequency and earnestness of our addresses to the throne of grace.”
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Permalink Reply by Anne on
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First of all THANK YOU all for your kind words, advice and prayers. It is a real comfort to know that there are people who understand you and have gone through similar experiences.
I have asked Jesus to forgive me for ignoring him for so long ... I am really sorry for turning my back on him, while he was always waiting for me to come back. But the Bible says it's never too late, so I want to believe that He still can use my life to do something good.
Maybe I am not prepared yet to know His plans... I think he DID talk to me about other things in my life and I am still struggeling to obey in some of them. I know I have a lot to learn.
Yes I have tried to pray for my neighbors, but it's hard sometimes. I try to remember that He loves them, too, and that He knows why all this has to happen.
I will try to remember the formula TRUST + PRAY + LISTEN.
Yesterday I read a chapter from Max Lucado's Book 3:16, where he talks about Mark 4, when Jesus and his disciples were in a ship, a big storm arose, everybody was scared but Jesus was sleeping! And I thought "if He can sleep in a boat shaken by a storm, He can also help me to sleep in a house "shaken" by noisy people."
May God bless you!
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Permalink Reply by Patricia Violet Joy on
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One of our neighbours rang the police and told them we were selling children. It didn't work and a few days later they came to investigate him for how he was treating his children. I prayed for him and carried on as if nothing had happened. He hasn't changed in his life style, but has stopped trying to get at us. I did have to pray hard for a few weeks before I could get to that stage though.
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Permalink Reply by Anne on
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I am really sorry to hear that, it must have been a hard time. But if you could pray for that neighbour, YOU are the winner in this story. God will judge him for what he did.
Patricia Violet Joy said:One of our neighbours rang the police and told them we were selling children. It didn't work and a few days later they came to investigate him for how he was treating his children. I prayed for him and carried on as if nothing had happened. He hasn't changed in his life style, but has stopped trying to get at us. I did have to pray hard for a few weeks before I could get to that stage though.
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