Dying atheist husband

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Salamatu Joshua Fada on May 1, 2010 at 1:41pm

The last sentence isn't clear Hannah,do you mean"How does someone believe in what they don't see?Ï need to understand you question to comment.But remember,here it is FAITH in question,check up the definition and we continue from there.Cheers

Permalink Reply by Song of Joy on May 2, 2010 at 2:46pm

Hannah, I am sorry for what your going through.
I prayed for your husband.....
Stay strong. Can I ask what changed your mind? In your post you said up until a year ago you believed as your husband.

Permalink Reply by laraba samuel rikko on May 3, 2010 at 2:25am

Dear Hannah,
God is not a man and there is no impossibility with God. He is able to turn the heart of your dear husband to himself. Remember the thief on the cross? God can save him even at the last minute even for your sake. Hold on to God, dont give him up, that is what the devil wants, but when you trust Jesus to change him, he will show him mercy. We hold up our hands with you and trust God for the wonderful miracle of salvation that only him can give. Be strong sister, the Lord is good
Laraba

Permalink Reply by Hannah Means on May 3, 2010 at 9:40am

Actually, my husband inadvertently had a large part in it. He used to say in a dismissive way,"I wish I had that kind of blind faith but I can't believe that nonsense." I began to wish that I had it too, only i meant it sincerely. Then I read the book Godless by Ann Coulter and began to realize that it wasn't all that nonsensical. I also read Dinesh D'Sousa's book "What's So Great About Christianity?" and a friend turned me on to Max Lucado's books. I began to pray the prayer of the man in the Bible who said, "Lord, I believe. Help thou my unbelief." It took a long time and a lot of praying to get where I am now.

Song of Joy said:

Hannah, I am sorry for what your going through.
I prayed for your husband.....
Stay strong. Can I ask what changed your mind? In your post you said up until a year ago you believed as your husband.

Permalink Reply by Hannah Means on May 3, 2010 at 9:47am

You're right. That wasn't clear. What I meant is, if you believe that Christianity is just something someone dreamed up as a crutch for weak people and there really isn't any God up there who cares for you, that it's a figment of someone's imagination, how do you actually start to believe in God?

Salamatu Joshua Fada said:

The last sentence isn't clear Hannah,do you mean"How does someone believe in what they don't see?Ï need to understand you question to comment.But remember,here it is FAITH in question,check up the definition and we continue from there.Cheers

Permalink Reply by Ron D on May 3, 2010 at 4:20pm

Hello Hannah. It deeply saddens me to hear about the plight you & your husband are facing both physically & spiritually. I think that maybe I can give you some insight within a matter of a few steps, but I first have to ask you two questions. And I hope that I am not being too invasive, but ever since I read your post God has be encouraging me to respond to you. Here goes:

1) What are the major differences between Hannah 2009 & Hannah 2010?
2) How did God reveal Himself to you that made you change from an atheistic viewpoint to a Christian viewpoint? In other words, what convinced you to accept Christ?

Permalink Reply by Tami on May 4, 2010 at 6:04am

Ron asks some really good questions.

I have a prayer chain at work and only found out after a year that one person on it is an atheist. The most that I can do, since no objections were raised by this person, is to keep including them and keep praying for them.

Permalink Reply by Hannah Means on May 4, 2010 at 11:05am

I think that the main change in me, as far as my husband is concerned, is that I am more patient and not argumentative. That is what you are asking, isn't it? I don't think that there was any specific occurrence that caused me to change. There was no Damascus Road experience. I was raised a Christian - Seventh Day Adventist to be exact. I left the church when I married a non-believer. I began to doubt the things that I was raised to believe and I was persuaded that Christianity was just wishful thinking by mindless naive people and science had proved this. A couple of years ago, I began thinking about regaining my faith and working up the nerve to tell my husband, who I knew had no use for religion. To his credit, when I told him that I wanted to go to church, he just said, "Do what you have to do" but he was not best pleased. He made me feel as if I had left my brain at the door, but after reading What's So Great About Christianity, I realized that his position was not all that convincing and at the end of reading that book, I gave my heart to God. I decided to choose the word "Believe" as my "word of the year" and made a poster with that word on it. When I did decide to start trying to believe again, I found that my dear friend was praying for me and my daughter had been praying for me for years. Does this your question?


Ron D said:

Hello Hannah. It deeply saddens me to hear about the plight you & your husband are facing both physically & spiritually. I think that maybe I can give you some insight within a matter of a few steps, but I first have to ask you two questions. And I hope that I am not being too invasive, but ever since I read your post God has be encouraging me to respond to you. Here goes:

1) What are the major differences between Hannah 2009 & Hannah 2010?
2) How did God reveal Himself to you that made you change from an atheistic viewpoint to a Christian viewpoint? In other words, what convinced you to accept Christ?

Permalink Reply by Rob Caldwell on May 17, 2010 at 1:36pm

Nothing is beyond the power of our God as so beautifully stated above. I prayed that your husband would see Jesus in you, and turn to Him. Peace.

Permalink Reply by Ron D on June 2, 2010 at 2:01pm

Hello Again Hannah. Sorry for the long delay between messages. The reason for the delay is because I was doing some research and finishing off some literature that I thought might be applicable to your situation. I was hoping to get some great revelation as to what might be a good course of action for you, however nearly every source that I came across came to the same conclusions. The scripture gives us directions in Matthew 5:16 to "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" I’m guessing that your husband has to see something in you (Christ) that he deeply desires. Scripture goes on to tell us in 1 Peter 3:15 & 16 to "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander." Looking at the lessons, I think that scripture is making it clear that the greatest example of Christ your husband can see is the Christ in you. Pray for opportunities for him to ask questions concerning why, for example, you may be extra happy, or why you may be singing. I know this might be a bit corny, But God can use your specific personality to show His glory if we are willing. Also, it’s important that we know why being a child of God is not only “A” good choice but the ONLY good choice. I'm still reading "What's So Great About Christianity" but one thing that I noticed is that Dinesh D'Souza, scripturally, factually & practically addressed many of the notions that atheist use to challenge Christianity. It becomes imperative that we prepare our hearts & our minds on how to address these issues. I’m sure that your husband is very familiar with your reasons for your faith, but the physical manifestation of the changes in your life that Christ can make might be enough to cause him to question his ‘logic’ regarding not believing in God. And ultimately, prayer will have to be your fuel. “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”(James 5:16 New Living Translation)

Hannah, I’m not sure if any of this has made an ounce of difference & if It hasn’t I apologize, but I will continue to pray for you & your husband. I extend my love to you as a brother in Christ. God Bless you!