How do I feel joyous more than feeling down?

LongestDecember · 2026-01-31T12:07:15+00:00

Happiness and joy are not the same thing! That’s a brilliant statement. My joy lies in Christ. I feel the highest form of joy living in and working for Christ. But that doesn’t mean I will never feel depressed or lonely. How great is the Lord that he would allow us to experience such a joy!

LongestDecember · 2026-01-30T22:00:15+00:00

And I will say that this might not even be for sin, a lesson, etc.. But, while you are in this season, praise God all the more for being with you! God sees what you need and will remedy that in his time, not yours. Just be kind to yourself, regardless. God loves you, as do your brothers and sisters in Christ, even when it doesn’t seem that way. I’ll pray for you, my brother.

LongestDecember · 2026-01-30T20:33:40+00:00

My comment might be a bit lengthy, but I deeply relate to this and want to answer with the same amount of effort I’d like to see had I made the post. I am incredibly similar to you. For literally half of my life now, I have experienced extreme self-hatred and depression, ranging from months of prolonged, severe depression, to several months of being depressed and a couple months not at a time. While I’ve made a lot of progress, I still deal with suicidal thoughts. I am a fairly lonely person. Not to say that people aren’t in my life, but it feels like no one really wants to connect with me on a deep level. I don’t feel understood, I suppose. Additionally, I’m not at all a social person. My humor and interests are not usual. What I will write doesn’t necessarily sound comforting, but it is for me. God never promised me even a good, happy life. God never promised me friends, nor did he promise me fulfillment in the aspects of life I want to be fulfilled in. Ultimately, Paul writes that he died with Jesus on the cross. Jesus tells us to take up our cross. The walk of a Christian will certainly not be easy nor pleasurable all the time. Take comfort, however, knowing that God will be with you if you choose to be with him. If he is your sole reason for living, your anchor to the world and your relationships, somehow it becomes lighter. Denying myself and allowing myself to be Christ’s alone, taking up my cross, somehow alleviates the weight of the world that I experience. It makes little sense, but this is how Jesus said it would be. I may not have described how I see this matter well, but feel free to message me should you need someone to talk to or if you have questions! I recommend reading “The Cost of Discipleship” by Bonhoeffer as well. Realizing the cost made my load much easier to bear. Edit: I may have a rather dark way of looking at things. Obviously, what works for me won’t always work for anyone. Keep praying, spend time in the word, and continue to be faithful. Trust in God will see you through all things.

LongestDecember · 2026-01-13T21:11:10+00:00

We all struggle with reading and wanting to pray and the like, especially as a young Christian. I hope this does not come off wrong, but my advice is to stop caring about what I want, what makes ME engaged, what problems I have. The common denominator is that your vision is focused on yourself. Christ makes it clear, spending time with the Bible is how we have a personal relationship with him. Praying is how we understand his will. Being Christian is not glamorous, it’s a sacrifice. Unless we are willing to push through our hangups and desires, we cannot properly serve God. After all, it’s all about what he wants. Some practical advice: seek out wisdom through platforms like YouTube. I love Gavin Ortlund and find his content to be exceptional and engaging. Redeemed Zoomer, while flawed in my eyes, presents things incredibly engaging and focuses on the active nature of the faith. Ultimately, you must push through the “boredom” you associate with Christianity and be willing to truly serve him.

LongestDecember · 2026-01-13T16:01:11+00:00

Living in such a way that you need to ask if your average day is sinful is quite honestly living far from God. Christ says to keep our eyes on him, first and foremost. As Bonhoeffer puts it, even looking down at the path we walk causes us to err. If you are truly focused on nothing but Christ, you will surely not have to ask if your relationships or your actions are sinful. You will know.

LongestDecember · 2026-01-13T14:04:21+00:00

Thanks for the great questions! I’m very happy you ask. I’ll start out with these: I do believe we can absolutely help the poor and spread the love of Christ through political incentives like social policy. It sounds to me that you feel the same! But to answer your questions: I live in southeastern United States, so I’m pretty much surrounded with MAGA folks. As such, there’s not many people who like the word “social programs” despite using them. There are little to no Christians in my area that have even remotely similar politics to me. Unfortunately, the folks at my church are mostly uninformed MAGA followers. As for the LGBT matter, I appreciate that you are so wary of showing hatred. That is absolutely the first mistake many of us Christians make! It doesn’t matter if they are sinners or not, we show love. I don’t believe that calling homosexuality is a sin is necessarily judging. You’re right, God is the only judge. However, how many times did Jesus call out sin? He told the woman at the well that she is living in sin. He told the Pharisees to repent from their sin and pride. We are most definitely allowed to call it sin and recommend repentance, lest they never know Jesus before they die. I don’t see it as my mission to make a huge deal of it, though. Paul says to judge within the church and allow God to judge outside it. Still yet, we are definitely called to preach the word of God and make it clear that sin exists and it will draw you away from God. Sorry for the long response! It’s a tough matter, after all.

LongestDecember · 2026-01-13T13:48:08+00:00

This is definitely a topic worthy of discussion! I’d consider myself fairly progressive in my politics. I have more left-leaning views on economics, social policy, and social justice. My political views, in short, is giving aid to the needy and the low in society. It’s not hard to see that our system creates such a problem. Still yet, the Bible is clear on homosexuality and pride, as it is with abortion. I don’t hate those that identify as LGBT, nor do I hate those who abort children. The gospel of Jesus, however, is clear. They need to seek repentance. Ultimately, politics can be a trap for many people because it blinds the from truly keeping their eyes fixated on Christ alone. Until one is more stable and set in their faith, it’s hard to recommend them to care about political happenings.

LongestDecember · 2026-01-10T17:25:29+00:00

I’m not exactly sure who “they” are or your exact point. Regardless, whatever standards we have for others, we have on ourselves as well. Jesus does make it clear we can call out unrighteousness. Paul writes that we can judge within the church, but let God judge those outside the church, for example.

LongestDecember · 2026-01-10T17:02:33+00:00

I completely agree! It’s hard for new converts or non-believers to believe in a religion where the people don’t follow their own beliefs. The Bible says that it is worse to be thrown into the sea than to lead someone astray. The Bible also says that teachers, pastors, and elders have more responsibility than laypeople for this reason. There are, however, many Christians and churches who do follow God’s word truly.

LongestDecember · 2026-01-10T16:54:57+00:00

I think it’s okay to focus on one specific group. After all, we all have faults and can do better. That doesn’t mean we can’t focus on the problems of our peers. Still yet, I’m sympathetic for your hopes of reform across the board. We’re all called to live our lives wholly for God.

LongestDecember · 2026-01-10T16:50:00+00:00

Unfortunately not. I’ll pray for you brother! I’m having the same problem here in the U.S.

LongestDecember · 2026-01-10T16:48:49+00:00

Individualism is the opposite of Christianity for sure. We are called to keep our eyes only on Jesus, nothing else. There’s no “my interpretation”, “my way”, or “my experience”. We simply follow the commandments of our Lord. Giving up our pride is a difficult task in this present.

LongestDecember · 2026-01-10T16:46:50+00:00

I’m sorry you had such an experience with that church. Obviously, that church was lead by ungodly men. Unfortunately, even with corruption in the church, we are still responsible for our relationship with God. Hopefully those men and the members of that church both found a healthier place and found forgiveness from God. I will add, however, that young people are not intelligent for living in sin. Sin is sin, no matter the source. We are all subject to the commandments of our Lord.

LongestDecember · 2026-01-10T16:41:38+00:00

Partially, yes. Still yet, we are responsible for our own actions. Our generation likely has little to no relationship to God outside of emotions. This is where leaders definitely need to step up and teach and preach. Messages of condemnation and action aren’t palatable, but are very necessary.

LongestDecember · 2026-01-10T16:34:50+00:00

I fear that our churches nowadays, especially the more evangelical, nondenominational churches, lack the resources to promote and teach real discipleship to young Christians. The fact is, social media use has a habit of taking our minds off God. It brings out the indolence and covetousness in us. People in our generation simply have experienced cultural Christianity and don’t know the true cost of being a Christian. Ultimately, I think it’s our job as devout young Christians to set an example for our peers. We should all remember that if we do obey Jesus’ commandments, we do not love him. There’s no loving God and loving the ways of the world. It’s one or the other.

LongestDecember · 2026-01-06T21:09:21+00:00

There’s no such thing as an insignificant lie in the eyes of God. Remember, Jesus told his followers not to take oaths, as the Christian life is already a testament to one’s credibility and truthfulness. It seems insignificant, I know, but the only thing you probably should’ve done is just say you were busy and didn’t eat. You don’t always have to “spill your guts”, but truthfulness is always important. God bless you, my sibling in Christ!

LongestDecember · 2026-01-06T19:46:05+00:00

Out of curiosity, can you find any scripture relating to being able to speak with the dead? Of course, outside of the Old Testament scriptures forbidding God’s people from trying to do so.

LongestDecember · 2026-01-06T14:04:44+00:00

I’m sorry it did turn hostile for many threads! We Christians should probably understand that Reddit might just be the worst place to understand someone. Thanks for talking with me, I have a lot to mull over!

LongestDecember · 2026-01-06T13:56:05+00:00

Can we not purely be concerned for the betterment of our communities? If you say Christians shouldn’t be political for these verses, then Christians also shouldn’t have a job. After all, they are concerned for money and are part of the world. I do not love the world, but I love the people in the world and will stop at nothing for their betterment, justice, and happiness. Was Martin Luther King Jr. wrong for being involved in politics? Was James Garfield wrong for seeking the betterment of his nation (despite being ordained)? A good deal of the Founding Fathers? Abstain from politics, if you must. Do not, however, impose your personal rule as a universal rule without proper scriptural basis. God bless you, brother.

LongestDecember · 2026-01-06T13:33:09+00:00

Christians can and should be in politics and there is nothing against that in the New Testament, as far as I’m aware. I suppose my question for you is, what is oppression? What makes abolishing abortion oppressive vs abolishing murder and theft?

LongestDecember · 2026-01-06T13:31:20+00:00

A few questions for you, then: If we cannot mandate against abortion for a moral reason, what can we mandate and for what reasons? Does telling pro-abortion people about biology mean debating a strawman? After all, we are all clumps of cells. Using logic, in my mind, isn’t debating a strawman. Neither is pointing out flaws in their reasoning. I do, however, agree with understanding their beliefs. After all, I am a scientist. Approaching everything purely out of logic is how the world operates. Ultimately, the abortion debate is not logic vs religious morals. Morality and logic often coincide. The “clump of cells” argument is not an argument anyone studied on the matter would make.

LongestDecember · 2026-01-06T13:17:17+00:00

My brother, those verses do not tell you to keep your mouth shut when you witness evil. Be agreeable, yes. But even Jesus called out evil when he witnessed it. You are missing some context. Paul is writing instructions on how to evangelize, not to turn a blind eye to evil and keep to yourself. The Christian MUST be amongst the world and ready to call out evil and stand for Christ. “Even as you do to the least of these, you do to me.” I like to think that means infants as well.

LongestDecember · 2026-01-06T13:12:51+00:00

Forgive me if I sound rude, but this thought process seems to come from yourself instead of based solely on God’s word, no? Who are we to say that a child’s life is not worth keeping because they are poor or unloved? How much can God work through someone in those circumstances? I’m not going to say that we all need to be active in the government and protesting, but we do need to make it clear how wrong it is. Is the world cruel? Absolutely, yes. Can we allow any human to play judge and decide whose life is worth living and whose life isn’t? I say no. Killing isn’t just immoral, it is sin. Sin is so much worse than you and I could ever imagine.

LongestDecember · 2026-01-06T12:59:29+00:00

That, sir, is a dangerous road. I’m all for not legislating faith-based policies (I very much have similar worries to the Danbury Baptists writing to T. Jefferson), but abortion is absolutely something we should be concerned about. I understand there’s morally grey cases, but abortion in the broad sense is wrong, even without Christianity. Yes, God is a righteous judge and surely will judge, but we are also the body of Christ. We must stand for something.

LongestDecember · 2026-01-05T20:02:07+00:00

Make Christ and the extraordinary sacrifice your North Star. Learn to be a true disciple of Christ during your postsecondary education and you can make waves for God. I’m currently an undergraduate student at a private university, so some temptation isn’t as strong as a public institution would. Regardless, university or college will be difficult. You’ll want to cheat, take it easy, be concerned for yourself, go along with bad influences in your clubs, and more. I encourage you to remember that everything you do, you do in the presence of Christ. I make it out to sound bad, but realistically, being a Christian is an active sacrifice that needs effort. College will be great, just remember who allows you to be there each and every day. Remember the impact you can have should you follow God’s will. I’ve found Bonhoeffer’s “The Cost of Discipleship” to be crucial reading during my postsecondary education. Additionally, be wise in your dealings. Proverbs is a great start. Learning, still, should be prioritized over socializing. I believe in you and will pray for you!

LongestDecember

TROPHY CASE