How often do people lose their faith in God after a traumatic experience?

[Chikapeter+110]

Most people lose their faith in God after a traumatic experience because they tend to have this feeling that God does not care. After all, if He does He wouldn't allow such a thing to happen. But people fail to understand that the ways of men are not the ways of God.

[Amy Luman]

Faith is not based on God doing what you want. Faith is believing that God will use even the most horrific experience for good, eventually. It’s also knowing that you may never see the intended good come from the experience. I think that Mr. Tripodo’s experience is so inspiring because he knows where his wife ends up and that he will see her again. At least that’s my opinion.

[anne Irungu]

i think the more appropriate question is whether it is okay to lose faith in God after a traumatic experience? I think losing faith is more of a first response to the situation because a person is usuaaly in aplace where he/she is looking for somebody or something to blame.

[Ian Muchiri]

I think people's faith in God after a traumatizing experience varies; for some, it gets stronger, while for others, it gets weakened.

[Jennifer Coxon]

I think it varies from person to person how much their faith wavers in the face of tragedy. Some are completely shuck and struggle to define how God could let that happen to their loved one. Some never find their way back to faith. Others remember that God is their to help them through their troubled times - the story of the footsteps in the sand is key, when only one set of footsteps were there it is because He was carrying you. I think Ron’s story does stand out though because I’ve not heard of anyone else being so certain of their faith to publicly proclaim that God had saved his wife before it was true.

[siusantos]

I believe that it would depend on the person's personality and the weight if the problem one is going through in regards to losing faith.

[Krispies]

I think the ones who lose their faith due to a tragic event, do so because of one of two reasons:

1. The faith was never that strong to begin with.
2. The lost person was a vital pillar in their life as well as an ardent believer in God

[Jackie Kook]

What an intriguing question you have posed, and so many ways to go about answering it. This is something I've also pondered, most specifically when reading The Shack by William Young. There are some things I just don't know how people come back from, and how they keep their faith through it. Sometimes it seems like there's nothing else to do but turn to a "God" figure, because then at least you can say "it happened for a reason" without needing to explain it. There are also people whose hearts are hardened by tragedy, people who can't just move on and seek a reason. I should think that in the end it would depend on the nature of the relationship between the person and their faith. Thanks for posting this; it's very interesting to consider!

[Alis Mehic]

They feel like God betrayed them and is punishing them for something they did. So they lose any faith they had and believe God is bad or He is evil. Neither are true. God would never let you deal with something He knows you can't. He will help you along the way. God takes the wheel and leads you into directions you never thought were there

[Abegmos]

I that most Christians hold on to God after a traumatic experience because He is their source of comfort. So, I can easily understand why many OBC readers resonate with Ron Tripodo's life and travails, as portrayed in the book.

[Amarachi Nwankwo03]

Honestly, everyone talks about having faith, but nobody talks about how difficult it is to actually trust and believe in a thing when the situation is totally hopeless. This is why Ron’s faith is being admired. Sometimes we talk about having faith but we don’t actually practice it. Ron’s situation can be described as an extremely difficult situation, one that renders you hopeless and faithless. This is the kind of situation that tests your faith on every level. At this point, it goes from the hypothetical belief to a practical situation that stretches you on every end. It is not easy to trust when all hope is lost. He persevered through it. Many people lose hope along the way, some turn away from God in anger and so on. I would also love to add that God is faithful and good. His ways are not our ways, and nothing that happens on this earth can change that. God is always God, even when we don’t understand it. Our troubles don’t take anything away from Him. They’re only situations to help strengthen our faith and trust. In the end, God does what is BEST and not what you expect/want. He doesn’t live by our rules. That’s what makes Him God.

[ThankGod Onyishi]

I think it is as inspiring as the story of Job in the Bible. Job was severely tested but never lost faith. Perhaps even God was very happy. It is not as way as it sounds not to lose faith. Some Christians give up when they feel God is not coming to their aid in times of need.

[itsme_shahi]

It is human nature to get affected by the hurdles in life and start questioning their faith and belief system. We see a lot of examples of people blaming God for anything bad that happens to them. We also see people losing hope during days of misfortune due to their never-ending painful experiences. Traumatic experiences can easily sway a person away from God and raise doubts in his mind, but it is of utmost importance to hold on to our faiths irrespective of any situation.

[Adaeze Joan]

After a traumatic experience it is natural to loose faith in what you believe because you are in doubt. But I feel this is only temporal because you finally accept your challenges and move on.

[Alice Fu]

I don't think most people directly lose their faith in God, per se. However, I am friends with many Christians who regularly question their faith and will have temporary moments where they question whether everything they follow is truly real or not. The ultimate journey in the end is about fighting through everything, and learning to believe in what has been set to be yours in the eye of religion, and when someone can follow through with their beliefs until the very end, that's a sign of having remained strong and being able to return to God no matter what.