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[Prompted] by faith {Abraham} dwelt as a temporary resident in the land which was designated in the promise [of God, though he was like a stranger] in a strange country... For he was [waiting expectantly and confidently] looking forward to the city which has fixed and firm foundations, whose Architect and Builder is God... {Abraham} died controlled and sustained by {his} faith, but not having received the tangible fulfillment of [God's] promises, only having seen it and greeted it from a great distance by faith, and all the while acknowledging and confessing that {he was a stranger and temporary resident and exile} upon the earth... Now those people who talk as {Abraham} did show plainly that they are in search of a fatherland (their own country). —Hebrews 11:9-10, 13-14
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 Why would a Christian have feelings of depression in spite of their faith? Or despair in spite of their hope? Or feel as though God is silent in spite of their fervent prayers?
Why would a Christian who is sitting in a congregation, surrounded by spiritual brothers and sisters, feel alone, feel as though they just don't belong?
And why is it that when we try to find another congregation, we feel that pervasive sense of not belonging? Why is it that when we look around and can see clear evidence that others are happy and joyous in their praise of God, we feel nothing but numbness and emptiness?
Reflections:
Is There Anyone Weak Among You?
 I’ve been thinking about a particular passage in the Bible for the past several days, as we’ve come to learn of some of the more difficult struggles that are being faced by those whom we care deeply for and love so much. In pondering, I’ve tried to take what the writer is sharing, tried to gain a better idea of how it might then be offered to those who are in a particularly difficult time right now.
Maybe, I thought, there was a reason why the passage was called to my mind and refused to relent until I finally grabbed my Bible to read it and to meditate upon it, and for the possibility that there was a reason, I want to share this with anyone who discovers this site.
That’s not to say that what follows is inspired in some way, or is the only way to understand the passage… but in light of what we’ve been learning about each other this past week, and given that a new week is just around the bend, it is offered as encouragement and consolation specific to the struggles we are facing right now and invariably will continue to face in the days ahead. [Read more]
Are you a Christian believer who now finds yourself ostracized or even excommunicated from your religion for doctrinal disagreements?
Are you now cut off from association with friends and even your family because the religious group you were a part of now insists they treat you as a danger, or even an apostate—an enemy of God—simply because you questioned the group's teachings?
How do you maintain a personal, maturing relationship with God, apart from a church or religious organization... out in the Wilderness?
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