Starting your Faith Journey.

 

I properly started my Faith journey about two years ago now and I am still very much at the beginning of it. I still have so much to learn, so much to understand and ultimately I still have a long way to go. However, that's okay because I have the rest of my life to do so. These past few years have shown me that having Faith and allowing myself to open my heart is the best and most rewarding thing I have ever done. Don't get me wrong though, I still have so many ups and downs with my Faith through different seasons of my life. However, unlike before where I didn't understand why I was going through what I was going through, now through my growing relationship with Jesus I have a much clearer understanding . I am so excited to see where my faith journey is going to take me next and I will carry on sharing my experiences  and advice throughout my journey with you all.     

I have written this  particular blog to share with you all some personal advice on taking them first steps in Faith, in hopes that it will help you all on your own personal journeys.

 My first and possible most important bit of advice is to not be afraid or embarrassed. Taking them first steps in faith is scary and daunting I can promise you though  that everyone has been in your position at some point and there are so many people who will help you and guide you, you just need to take them first steps and I promise Jesus has your back. Don’t be embarrassed or afraid to ask questions, I massively struggled to open up and ask people questions, but a special person in my life made me realise that there was nothing embarrassing about asking them or anyone with faith questions: "there is no such thing as silly questions” he would say to me. People will be able to give you the answers that you are seeking or if not, it will challenge the person you are asking the question to and help them grow their faith as well. My next piece of advice to you is to find a church that suits you! Find a church where you feel you can connect the most to God and feel most at peace because it will help you so much on your journey. I fell in love with my church back home, but I have just joined another bible-based church now that I’m at Uni which has already given me the same feelings as my one from back home and has allowed me to meet a whole new group of lovely Christians. However , if you go to a church and it doesn’t feel right to you and you don’t feel like you can connect to God then don’t be afraid to do a bit of trial and error when finding the best church that suits you, that is perfectly okay, many other Christians have done the same thing.

I also really recommend to you to read Christian books alongside the Bible it will help to deepen your understanding, answer some questions you may have about the Bible or about Faith in general and not to mention you can read real life stories which will help open your eyes up to seeing Faith from different perspectives and views.  I have only recently started to do this, but it has already helped me so much so I really recommend you do the same.

Another vital bit of advice I want to give you is to Pray and find ways to connect to God. Many people have different ways of hearing the Holy spirit whether that be through gospel music, reading the Bible or sitting in silence and allowing themselves to just be in his presence. I know that Praying can be a bit overwhelming and to some a bit forced. However, you have to remember that Our God is also our best friend as well as our Father, he wants to have conversations with you. So just talk to him like you would your best friends, tell him about your day, tell him your highs and lows and know that he is listening to you. I must add though that it is still so important to say certain Prayers to him for different circumstances and if you don’t know how to say them or what to say then I really recommend getting a book of Devotions it will help to start you off and you can adapt the prayers however you like for your life and journey. And if you still are unsure on how to Pray or more importantly what to Pray for, because sometimes I don’t know either, then say the Prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to say, the Lord’s prayer.  God hears you and God wants to talk to you but the only way he can do so is if you truly listen to him and communicate with him even if on some days you don’t know what to say.

The last thing I want to leave you with, is to surround yourself with likeminded people to you as much as you can and I can’t emphasis enough how important it is to take your time on your journey. You will spend the rest of your life learning about God and building a relationship with him and living for him, therefore you don’t need to rush your Faith journey even if you feel like others are further along than you. It is so important to remember we are all on our own separate journeys and that is okay! It is also so important to remember that we all have our own pasts, and we all have sinned. I feel like when you are at the beginning of your Faith journey it can be really hard to not feel ashamed about your past and the sins you have committed and sins you still struggle with, but it is so important to remember that Jesus died on a cross for a reason. He died for us, for our sins and we are forgiven just as long as we confess to our sins and acknowledge them with a heart to repent and do better going forward.

I truly hope that has helped anyone who may be struggling with where to start on their faith Journey.

God bless you all.

Love always

Ruby xo