I empathize with your situation. I asked about your faith in Christ, since you mentioned asking Jesus taking the fear and pain. Being baptized and growing up in a certain tradition is not something that would initiate a saving relationship between you and Jesus. I would caution anyone to approach Christ as some kind of genie to help you when life is hard.

So, I think step one would be aiming your prayers at your faith, salvation and ultimately confessing Him as Lord and Savior. I will gladly be praying for you for this. I would also encourage your reading of the scriptures, perhaps working through the 4 gospels as well as working through Genesis as well.

I don't mean to be overstepping boundaries either, so I hope you take my forwardness in good spirit. Following after Christ is not going to magically make life easier; quite the contrary in that we are promised to face persecution, trials and whatnot. However, we are also promised a special kind of rest in Jesus our Lord and Savior.

Matthew 11:25-30
Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest
At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

dermdoc said:

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10andBOUNCE said:

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I empathize with your situation. I asked about your faith in Christ, since you mentioned asking Jesus taking the fear and pain. Being baptized and growing up in a certain tradition is not something that would initiate a saving relationship between you and Jesus. I would caution anyone to approach Christ as some kind of genie to help you when life is hard.

So, I think step one would be aiming your prayers at your faith, salvation and ultimately confessing Him as Lord and Savior. I will gladly be praying for you for this. I would also encourage your reading of the scriptures, perhaps working through the 4 gospels as well as working through Genesis as well.

I don't mean to be overstepping boundaries either, so I hope you take my forwardness in good spirit. Following after Christ is not going to magically make life easier; quite the contrary in that we are promised to face persecution, trials and whatnot. However, we are also promised a special kind of rest in Jesus our Lord and Savior.

Matthew 11:25-30
Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest
At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

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I only found true peace when I deepened my relationship with Jesus.

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100%

I will be praying for you. I agree with reading the gospels as a place to start, particularly the Gospel of John.

My faith in Jesus is the only thing that gives me true peace. It conquers all fears.

I wanted to add that I felt a tremendous burden in my work life in 2023. Always took the stance that I'm the man, I can do this, I can do anything, instead of getting up at 5am I'll get up at 4am, I'll do more workouts, I'll eat better, I'll make more work phone calls, answer more emails etc. I'll never forget how heavy the burden was and I thought I could do this on my own. I was on an early morning walk in March of 2023 when I wept. I completely surrendered to Jesus, asked him to take the weight from me, to help with my problems, asked for Him to change me, to change my desires to his, to renew me, restore me and to keep my eyes focused on Him. My life was forever changed, my eternity secured.

Now, like someone mentioned, life wasn't all of a sudden better or easier, in fact, in MANY ways it was more difficult, but I can't even begin to explain the PEACE that I felt, the insurance that my soul was secured with Jesus and that no matter what happens down here, Jesus is in control and my destiny is secured with Him.

I'll add that becoming a member of a local church and being surrounded by other believers has been tremendous in my walk, growth and help with telling people anything I'm struggling with. Also, reading my Bible first thing in the morning to see who God is, read His word and know more about him is my non-negotiable.

Hope this helps. Will be praying for you.

Thanks to all of you.

I think the intent of the question above was to ask, are you a dead man walking?

If you are suffering, it's temporary, if you have peace, it's temporary as well. If your circumstances are more or less tolerable now, will that matter if you do not have the question of eternity answered?

The intent behind the answer is that everyone who has entered a relationship with Jesus through faith (not baptism) has peace and joy guaranteed for eternity and more resources to leverage in this life (the Holy Spirit) to help with pain and suffering now.

To enter into a relationship with Jesus is free because of the price He paid for you!

We all are sinners and have broken God's rules. Our sin separates us from God on a macro level in the same way our sin separates us from one another on a micro level. God has initiated the forgiveness up front in order to restore the broken relationship if we by faith accept the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus as the only acceptable payment for our sins.

This is the help we all need...

16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvationhaving also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.


Summery: If you have never accepted God's offer I would argue this is the priority as nothing else matters. If you have believed, then you are doing the right thing by continuing to pray, but add getting to know Him and believe what He has said.

Pray is us talking to God. Reading scripture is how God talks to us. Understand who He is and who you are.

Perspective:
25 "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

General Jack D. Ripper said:

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I'm not asking for a Jesus to make things better. I'm asking for some grace to bear this constant fear.

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2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ESV
[9] But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [10] For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

https://bible.com/bible/59/2co.12.9-10.ESV

That's my life verse. I meditate on it quite often. It helps!