Things happen that shake our faith. Situations arise suddenly like a storm. They shake us up, spin us around and overwhelm our mind and emotions.
When this happens, we discover what we really believe.
Our faith isn’t shaken when things are calm. It’s when the pain is overwhelming, and we can’t see straight that what’s inside us comes out.
Sometimes we shock ourselves.
I’ve had my faith shaken and it’s scary. When our faith gets shaken, we question what we believe about everything. About God, ourselves, even life.
But there’s hope.
We can hold onto our faith amid being shaken.
We can hold onto our faith amid being shaken. Share on X
HOW TO HOLD ON
Faith is putting your trust in something or someone. When your faith is being shaken, the trust is being put on trial. When we feel the unsteadiness of our faith being shaken there are things we can hold onto to get us through the storm.
I have things I use, but I asked a group of people what they do too. I asked them:
When your faith gets shaken what do you hold on to?
Their answers reflected what I do but in a variety of ways.
Here are three things you can use to hold onto your faith with a variety of applications.
- ONE – Stick with what you know.
My prayer journal and seeing all the prayers he’s answered for me. Also, I’ve written my testimony and about my faith enough that I can turn to those in challenging times.
God’s word. It is soooo important to hide God’s word in your heart, any way you can. 23 years ago I was headed into the OR for an emergency C-section. My daughter Rachel was already dead, and my daughter Christa had a dangerously low heart rate. I tried to pray, but all that came to my mind was the verse “When I am afraid, I will trust in you.” I clung to that. Christa survived and thrived, and God stayed close while I mourned Rachel. And then my awesome friends from Michigan came to help in my recovery!
Reciting scriptures
I am at a point in my life where I have to remember Every time my world has been shaken God has carried me through. He is Faithful to get me through this! I will look back on this time and Thank Him again!!!
God’s unchanging hand.
Remembering scriptures, answered prayers, and your history with God are examples of sticking with what you know and can quiet the raging questions of what if, what about, and why.
- TWO – Have faith in God
Worship, talking to God honestly, sometimes that means anger rears its ugly head…( he knows anyway right?!) Scripture i’m not gonna lie, that is the hardest to hold onto when my faith is shaken, but it’s what comes from the heart when i’m hurting, angry, happy, sad, and every in between.
My faith has been really shaken a few times. I pray, listen to worship music, read my Bible, and honestly… I yell at God. He knows what each of us are going through and He carries us through the storm.
That God is far larger than my faith/theology/doctrine. That even when I feel these outward things I cling to shaking apart – God is big enough to still be there when they fall. After all it is not about MY faith or love to begin with, rather GOD’s faith and love in ME.
I have a firm understanding of God’s Plan of Happiness. I know that we were all given agency and something people’s choices and the consequences of their choices negatively affect my life. Of course, my choices also come with consequences, so I don’t blame God when that happens. I accept responsibility for my choice and the consequences that follow and often recognize other’s consequences, due to their choices, that affect me and those I love. This world wears on me. People wear on me, but my faith remains strong. That fountain is bedrock. Let’s hope it’s strong enough to withstand all this world throws at me.
Reminds me of something Abraham Lincoln said: “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.”
Like a child reaches for a parent when they’re scared we can reach for God. Prayer, worship and simply choosing to believe He is bigger than the storm that rages are examples of having faith in God.
- THREE – Reach for help
When I woke up July 5th I had nothing. I could not even pray. A first. I went to two friends. For the prayers I could not pray
Good Christian friends help as well. Sometimes it helps to talk to a friend.
Sometimes the storm knocks the wind out of us. Asking others to pray for us and seeking the counsel of a friend or pastor are good examples of reaching out.
The Bible tells us that two are better than one. You’re not alone, so don’t let yourself be.
Having your faith shaken isn’t a sign of weakness but evidence of your humanity, Share on X
YOU ARE NOT ALONE
Having your faith shaken isn’t a sign of weakness but evidence of your humanity,
In fact, if you’ve had your faith shaken, you’re in good company.
Here are 3 examples from the Bible and how they used the same three things we have to hold onto.
- John the Baptist preached about Jesus: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” And, “I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
But when he was thrown in jail he questioned if Jesus was really the Messiah. John reached out to friends to ask Jesus if he was “the one”. Jesus answered with evidence so he could stick with what he knew.
- Simon Peter was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. It was Peter who received the revelation that Jesus was the Son of the Living God.
But after Jesus was arrested Peter denied knowing Jesus with cursing and swearing. Peter was shocked at what he’d done. Jesus wasn’t. Jesus had predicted it and prayed for Peter’s faith to not fail and it didn’t. Peter chose to have faith in God. He believed Jesus was bigger than His denial. Jesus was indeed bigger and not only reconciled Peter but asked him to help others.
- Jesus the Christ knew who He was and how He was going to die. He said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.”
But it the garden of Gethsemane under the intense pressure He asked if there was another way. There wasn’t and He stuck with what He knew and fulfilled His mission of laying down His life for us.
Having your faith shaken is not the same as losing it. It’s testing it to see if it’s real. The Bible says our faith is more precious than gold.
When your faith is shaken don’t condemn yourself. God doesn’t. Hang on, His grace will see you through.
When your faith is shaken don’t condemn yourself. God doesn’t. Hang on, His grace will see you through. Share on X
WHAT NEXT
- Were you surprised to see Jesus in the list?
- Which of the three things do you find most helpful?
- When was your faith shaken?
- Grief can shake faith. Get help here.
Very encouraging post! I have found what you say in the quote below to be so true!
“Our faith isn’t shaken when things are calm. It’s when the pain is overwhelming, and we can’t see straight that what’s inside us comes out.”
I too love reflecting back on my prayer journals. Like you say here doing this reminds me too in challenging times of all answered prayers.
Awesome, Cori. I’m so glad you were encouraged.
It can be shocking to hear something we didn’t expect or even contrary to what we say we believe come out of our mouths when we’re under pressure. I’m thankful for grace. Not only the grace God gives us but also the grace I’ve learned to give myself.
I’m all for whatever way we can remind of ourselves of what we believe and the character of who we’re trusting when that trust is put on trial.
Thank you for sharing, Cori.
What a beautiful and inspiring piece. There are so many helpful tools here for people who are going through challenges. I really like the line that it is not about faith in God but God’s faith in us. Also, I think “stick with what you know” is great advice because whenever we are going through challenges, we can think of all the times in the past when we were able to overcome those challenges.
Thank you, Kate. Glad you enjoyed it and found it helpful.
That line stick with what you know I got a while back from a former pastor. It impacted my life so deeply I’ve been looking for a way to write about it to help others. I’m so glad I finally found a way to convey it properly.
Thanks for sharing.
Wow. Stick with what you know–I second Kate on that one. But also, in these times, it’s really helpful to have something in place…that you know. Something you can return to. And it’s funny, I just wrote a post on rewriting your tough moments…
Thanks, Trisha.
I agree it’s good to be prepared with what we know. I have certain things I review daily for that very purpose. Scriptures. Affirmations. Etc. THey’ve made a big difference in my life when the shaking occurs.
That’s so cool that you just wrote a post like that. Thanks for sharing.