In real life, every time I face unfortunate events such as setbacks or illnesses, I would think God has forsaken me and no longer protects me, and thereby I sink into negativity and lose my faith in God. Isn’t this view not in line with God’s intention? How can it be turned around?

March 29, 2021

Relevant Words of God:

Believing in God is not easy in the slightest. Those religious practices should be purged; pursuing the healing of the sick and the casting out of demons, focusing on signs and wonders, coveting more of God’s grace, peace and joy, pursuing the prospects and comforts of the flesh—these are religious practices, and such religious practices are a vague kind of belief. What is real belief in God today? It is the acceptance of God’s word as your life reality and the knowing of God from His word in order to achieve a true love of Him. To be clear: Belief in God is so that you may obey God, love God, and perform the duty that should be performed by a creature of God. This is the aim of believing in God. You must achieve a knowledge of the loveliness of God, of how worthy God is of reverence, of how, in His creatures, God does the work of salvation and making them perfect—these are the bare essentials of your belief in God. Belief in God is principally the switch from a life of the flesh to a life of loving God; from living within corruption to living within the life of God’s words; it is coming out from under the domain of Satan and living under the care and protection of God; it is being able to achieve obedience to God and not obedience to the flesh; it is allowing God to gain your entire heart, allowing God to make you perfect, and freeing yourself from the corrupt satanic disposition. Belief in God is principally so that the power and glory of God may be manifested in you, so that you may do God’s will, and accomplish God’s plan, and be able to bear testimony to God before Satan. Belief in God should not revolve around the desire to behold signs and wonders, nor should it be for the sake of your personal flesh. It should be about the pursuit of knowing God, and being able to obey God, and, like Peter, obeying Him until one’s death. These are the main aims of believing in God. One eats and drinks the word of God in order to know God and satisfy Him. Eating and drinking the word of God gives you a greater knowledge of God, only after which can you obey Him. Only with knowledge of God can you love Him, and this is the goal man should have in his belief in God.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. All Is Achieved by the Word of God

My deeds are greater in number than the grains of sand on the beaches, and My wisdom surpasses all the sons of Solomon, yet people merely think of Me as a physician of little account and an unknown teacher of man. So many believe in Me only that I might heal them. So many believe in Me only that I might use My powers to drive unclean spirits out from their bodies, and so many believe in Me simply that they might receive peace and joy from Me. So many believe in Me only to demand from Me greater material wealth. So many believe in Me just to spend this life in peace and to be safe and sound in the world to come. So many believe in Me to avoid the suffering of hell and to receive the blessings of heaven. So many believe in Me only for temporary comfort, yet do not seek to gain anything in the world to come. When I brought down My fury upon man and seized all the joy and peace he once possessed, man became doubtful. When I gave unto man the suffering of hell and reclaimed the blessings of heaven, man’s shame turned into anger. When man asked Me to heal him, I paid him no heed and felt abhorrence toward him; man departed from Me to instead seek the way of evil medicine and sorcery. When I took away all that man had demanded from Me, everyone disappeared without a trace. Thus, I say that man has faith in Me because I give too much grace, and there is far too much to gain.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. What Do You Know of Faith?

Many people begin believing by their seeking based on a false premise, with the result that they are most often negative and weak, and cannot remain standing. To take an example: Some people feel in their conceptions that God gives them a promise that they will not be caught, or that now they have abandoned their family, God will guarantee to look after them for the rest of their lives. They feel that God should be this way, until one day something arises that falls short of their desires; it could be an illness, and living with their host family is not as comfortable as living with their own family had been, when they had been able to eat what they wanted and lie down when they wanted, and they feel unable to cope if others’ care of them is a little bit lacking, so they become weak under these conditions. Something like this can lead to them becoming disheartened and weak, and they will complain for a long time, even to the point where they cease to seek the truth and deny the significance of belief in God. So there are some states within people that, if they do not understand them and do not feel that they are wrong, then, no matter how earnestly they pursue or how enthusiastic they are, they may fall one day. Only a minority of people can obtain the truth, after all. Understanding the truth is not a simple matter. It takes a long time to understand even a little of it, a long time to gain a little experiential knowledge, to attain something of a pure understanding or to gain a bit of light. If you do not resolve all the impurities within you, then that little bit of light can be drowned at any time or place. Man’s main difficulty now is that every person has within them some imaginings, notions, desires and empty ideals that they are themselves unable to discover. These things constantly accompany people as adulterations inside them. This is indeed very dangerous, and people are liable to voice grievances at any moment. There are so many adulterations inside man. Although people may have good aspirations, wishing to pursue the truth and to believe earnestly in God, they are yet unable to achieve it. This kind of thing happens often in each person’s experience: They encounter a small matter, and others think that they should be able easily to relinquish it. Why is it they cannot? Why do they who are relatively experienced most of the time, who look relatively strong to others, and who have a clear head fall when they encounter a small matter, and fall so quickly? Man is truly subject to the fickleness of fortune; how could he possibly predict it? Inside every person, there are some things they are willing to pursue and obtain, and everyone has their own preferences. More often than not, people cannot perceive this themselves, or they believe these things are fine, that there is nothing wrong with them. Then, one day, something like this comes along and they stumble; they become negative and weak, and they cannot get back up. They may not know themselves what the problem is, feeling that they are justified and that it is God who has wronged them. If people do not understand themselves, they will never be able to know where their own difficulties lie, or in which areas they are liable to fail and fall down. They are pitiful. Therefore, people who do not understand themselves may fall down, fail, and ruin themselves at any moment.

—“Only by Understanding Your Own State Can You Embark on the Right Track” in Records of Christ’s Talks

In the past, people would all come before God to make their resolutions, and they would say: “Even if no one else loves God, I must love Him.” But now, refinement comes upon you, and since this does not align with your notions, you lose faith in God. Is this genuine love? You have read many times about the deeds of Job—have you forgotten about them? True love can only take shape from within faith. You develop real love for God through the refinements you undergo, and it is through your faith that you are able to be considerate of God’s will in your practical experiences, and it is also through faith that you forsake your own flesh and pursue life; this is what people should do. If you do this, then you will be able to see God’s actions, but if you lack faith, then you will be unable to see God’s actions or to experience His work. If you want to be used and perfected by God, then you must be possessed of everything: the will to suffer, faith, endurance, obedience, and the ability to experience the work of God, grasp His will, be considerate of His sorrow, and so forth. Perfecting a person is not easy, and every single refinement that you experience requires your faith and love. If you want to be perfected by God, it is not enough to merely rush ahead on the path, nor is it enough to merely expend yourself for God. You must possess many things to be able to become someone who is perfected by God. When you face suffering, you must be able to lay aside concern for the flesh and to not make complaints against God. When God hides Himself from you, you must be able to have the faith to follow Him, to maintain your previous love without allowing it to falter or dissipate. No matter what God does, you must submit to His design and be prepared to curse your own flesh rather than make complaints against Him. When you are faced with trials, you must satisfy God, though you may weep bitterly or feel reluctant to part with some beloved object. Only this is true love and faith. No matter what your actual stature is, you must first possess both the will to suffer hardship and true faith, and you must also have the will to forsake the flesh. You should be willing to endure personal hardships and suffer losses to your personal interests in order to satisfy God’s will. You must also be capable of feeling regret about yourself in your heart: In the past, you were unable to satisfy God, and now, you can regret yourself. You must not be lacking in any of these regards—it is through these things that God will perfect you. If you cannot meet these criteria, then you cannot be perfected.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Those Who Are to Be Made Perfect Must Undergo Refinement