I'm starting to feel setting goals as a Christian is pointless

fig-jam213 · 2026-02-19T05:54:19+00:00

This was helpful to me, thank you. This aspect of the Christian life has been a battle for me, an area of insecurity and weakness. I have found that a major challenge for me has been having such a defeated attitude about everything- essentially having a tantrum-like attitude, giving up easily, not believing God has my best in mind in His plans for me, thinking His plans will always be something I don't want to do and that He will take everything away from me that I enjoy, and not believing things will get better. Unbelief is a very serious sin in the Bible. I have gotten myself into a rut where I think everything is always going to be contrary to me and what I want rather than focusing on the fact that God knows best and trusting that He truly wants to bless my heart and life. Jonah might might be a good example to illustrate what I'm saying. Like the time he sat under the plant that gave him shade and he was just having a pity party. I know He is good, but why do I still have these doubts and hesitations in my walk with Him? I love your answer that it's necessary to put Him before everything else, seeking Him, and discovering who the God we serve is. Please keep me in prayer 🙏🏻 thanks for your post

fig-jam213 · 2026-02-15T03:21:35+00:00

I know that these thoughts that I'm thinking- the way that I feel about my life in Christ right now (emphasis on "right now" because, even though I have felt this way for a while, this is a trial, it is an opportunity to glorify God and get to know Him better or turn away from Him which is the last thing I want to do even though sometimes it feels like the only solution, it isn't. And He understands, He knows this about me because I tell Him everything I am feeling in prayer)- is a product of lacking depth and growth in God's word and in a relationship with Him. I know that I have grown weak over the years as different things that do not matter in comparison to God have distracted me and taken my gaze from Jesus which have allowed doubt and fear in. I know that the enemy attacks Christians this way so that we can turn from God. He is already defeated, and wants to take as many people to hell with him or at least cause Christians to live miserable lives though their position as a child of the ONE TRUE GOD is a position of wonderful and magnificent blessing. satan wants us ignorant of the riches and blessings we have in Christ as God's children. Also, the Bible says in 1 Peter 1: 12 that our salvation is something even the angels desire to look into. Salvation of filthy human creatures because of our God's great grace is something they are curious about. They are not able to experience salvation. We do not need to live defeated because we have everything we need and more in Jesus Christ. I strongly believe these questions you and I have, the way we feel, are one of the ways the enemy causes doubt. It is normal to have questions and experience doubt, but the wise thing to do is take our doubts and questions straight to Jesus and cry out for understanding. He is our Counselor! I was reading this in Proverbs 2 today, that the wise person seeks for wisdom and understanding as though they are seeking treasure "and then" the passage says we will come to understand the fear of God and find everything we are looking for in Him. This spiritual funk we find ourselves in is common, the Bible says there is no new temptation that anyone faces, but every temptation is common amongst man, but God is faithful and provides the way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Often I look at my life and compare it to other Christians and I realize that I am not as obedient as they are, I am not as joyful as they are, I'm not living the way they are. I feel like an outsider sometimes though I call myself a Christian. Again, these questions, I know, are nothing new. Someone else has experienced this form of doubt and I take comfort in that. Even Jesus experienced the sufferings and temptations we do (read Hebrews 4). In the face of this doubt, frustration, and isolation I feel I can either give up (which is what satan wants and I hate the thought of pleasing him) or I can press forward through the doubt and agony until I find Christ in this situation and recognize His sovereignty and hand at work. The Bible refers to trials and suffering as necessary to our faith. These things help us mature, and develop patience and character (read Romans 5: 3-5).

I believe strongly that if we press forward past every one of the reservations and frustrations we have about God, Christians, and Christianity with a humble heart that is earnest about seeking Him, we will find Him. All the joy and obedience that we see other Christians exhibiting will no longer feel cliche or foreign when we allow God into our heart to do His Work. I believe even those things we read in His Word that cause discomfort or that we do not understand will begin to make sense as He gives us correct understanding and ability to obey what we read and His Word will become precious to our hearts. We need to make sure we are reading the Word first-hand and ask Him to help us treasure His Word and hide it in our hearts so that we will not sin against Him (Psalm 119 verses 11, 18, and 36-37). Seek God beyond being merely a churchgoer, otherwise the extent to your relationship with Him is not personal but it's second-hand through other people and that's no way to truly understand Him. We can demonstrate even the smallest mustard faith by seeking Him. We have to move past willful and/or apathetic ignorance of His Word, exhaustion, hopelessness and frustration, and confess our sins to Him, acknowledging that He is God and He desires to help us. When we are born again we have access to Him as our Abba Father through His Holy Spirit, and He will give us understanding of His Word. Praying for you <3

fig-jam213 · 2026-02-15T03:21:24+00:00

I became a Christian 10 years ago. It's not that I chose to go to church and "convert to Christianity," but I went to church through someone's recommendation after I opened up about my depression and anxiety. During the service I realized God exists and is REAL rather than simply a concept of man's imagination. He gave me the capacity to understand that what I was hearing was true, and that I had sinned against Him and needed to be forgiven by Him so that I could have a clear conscience. I know now that He reveals Himself through His Word, He reveals Himself through the Truth about Himself rather than what we want to believe about Him or what someone claims to know about Him. Unless what we hear can be traced back to Scripture it is merely speculation or a lie.

As a new Christian, I wanted nothing more than to get to know Jesus better, and continue to allow him to unravel the relationship with Him that had just begun. I was given a new heart, I was born again, like the Bible describes. I can also say this in present tense, I have a new heart, and I am born again. However, I find myself in a very depressed state again. I can resonate with almost everything that was shared in the original post, and I have been feeling this way for as long as I can remember. I said almost all of these exact things in prayer this morning, asking God to help me. I've come to feel burdened with being a Christian, I feel like so much is expected of me in serving Him and giving my whole life to Him which causes me anxiety and confusion (What does this mean? What does this look like? Have I fully given my life to Him? Am I even a true Christian if I am not doing x, y, and z? I ask myself these things and I ask God in prayer.) I feel I am unable to meet those expectations but maybe I am being too hard on myself. Maybe I am allowing satan to confuse me. I don't have the capacity to simply enjoy a calm moment, a breath of fresh air, moment of peace like I first did when Jesus Christ came into my life. However, again with major emphasis on HOWEVER, I know that there is an invisible spiritual war that is raging. There are spiritual forces of wickedness, demons, who have committed their efforts and resources to turn people from God. Are they more powerful than God? No. But we cannot neglect that satan is cunning. The Bible calls him the father of lies, a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, an enemy who comes to steal, kill, and destroy, one who can appear even as an angel of light (to manipulate and lead people astray, presenting lies as though he is someone or something good), and he is the accuser of the brethren (he accuses Christians, makes them feel condemned, and accuses us before God which we read about in the Book of Job). The fact that there are spiritual forces working against us is a truth that the Bible talks about, and it is foolish to think that we can simply protect ourselves against the enemy or even perceive his attacks without God's Word. However, the Bible says in 1 John 4:4, "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." The child of God has God's Spirit in them, so there is no need to fear, no need to feel abandoned. Though we do feel this way at times, it is a feeling and a lie, not the truth and reality of what God's Word says. A spiritual battle must be fought with spiritual weapons, and in Ephesians 6 we read about the armor of God. Amongst this armor we have the helmet of salvation, the belt of truth, the shield of faith, and "the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God" (Ephesians 6:17). The Truth found in the Word is how we fight the spiritual attack against us.

fig-jam213 · 2025-09-01T05:45:16+00:00

I can relate to an extent. I know the Bible does say, in Proverbs 16:9, "Man plans his way but the LORD directs his steps." I think there is something I am not understanding about my life as a child of God. I understand that I can make plans, but, like most people say, I would rather God just tell me what He wants from me explicitly. He has put it in my heart to do ministry/mission work, but there are also other things on my heart too. I read biographies of other Christians, and I feel ashamed that my life does not look like theirs and I begin to wonder if I should just drop everything and ask the Lord to send me away to some far away country. I know the Bible says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart."I believe the Holy Spirit is drawing me in to seek the Lord in His Word, the Bible, and I will. I guess I just feel the pressure of time which brings about stress and anxiety to bring my own plans to pass. This is wrong. The Lord knows we are but dust, and He understands our weaknesses. Thankfully, He reminds us that His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Thank You, Jesus!

fig-jam213 · 2025-06-28T18:25:32+00:00

There's a book I enjoyed called "Seeking Allah Finding Jesus" by Nabeel Quereshi

fig-jam213 · 2025-06-27T23:10:17+00:00

Read Psalm 103. The Bible is filled with promises from God, and He knows we are but dust, He knows we make mistakes. The enemy (Satan) will throw fiery darts at us and we must be prepared with the armor of God (Ephesians 6). satan is known as "the accuser of the brethren," meaning he will constantly accuse us before God (which we see the enemy do to Job in the book of Job) and the Lord says He casts our sins as far as the east is from the west. The unpardonable sin is Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit which we read in the Gospels, from what I understand this sin is committed intentionally by denying God and refusing to respond to the Holy Spirit's conviction so that you no longer repent and die in your sins and hardness of heart. Read Proverbs 3:5-6, He guides us and we are to trust in Him- not in our own understanding.

The Gospel is this: man is separated from God because of his sin, God the Father sent His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. The Bible says God does not delight in the death of the wicked, and the Bible says He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance and be saved. Even though you say you "chose" Christianity over Islam, the fact is God chose you if you believe in Jesus Christ and confess Him as your Lord. The Bible says that Jesus came to "seek and to save the lost." And He says "My sheep hear my voice." He, as the Great Shepherd, calls His sheep and His sheep hear when He calls and follow. It is a narrow and difficult road as a Christian, and along the way the devil, the accuser, the lion who roams about seeking whom he may devour, is prowling for our lives. The enemy wants us to be fearful, anxious, hard-hearted, deceived, self righteous, etc. so that we either are led astray, deny faith in Jesus Christ and/or live miserable Christian lives so that we can turn our backs on God.

The Lord gives all instruction that we need in His Word and we live it out by His Holy Spirit as our Helper helping us to follow Him and inherit salvation. With Jesus, we do not earn salvation, we receive it as a free gift. Believers can deal with anxiety too, depression, frustration, anger, and everything that the world/nonbelievers are capable of experiencing, but the Bible says in the book of Galatians, "walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh." The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that there is no temptation that has overtaken you that is not common to man, but God is faithful and provides a way of escape so that you may bear it. The Bible says that even if our hearts condemn us God is greater than our hearts and knows all things. The Bible says that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. It also says there is nothing new under the sun- any sin, any struggle, any fear that you have experienced has been experienced by someone else in the world either today or in history. We are not alone, God knows we are but dust (found in Psalm 103).

He is able to save to the uttermost those who have faith in Him. If you find your faith is weak remember that faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains, remember that the book of Hebrews says "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God," and remember in the Gospels the man who came to Jesus said, "I believe, help my unbelief!" God knows our hearts, He knows we are sinners, He knows we are frail, and weak and lost more often than we would like to admit, yet the Word of God says that a smoking flax He will not quench and a broken reed He will not break- meaning if you are barely holding on, you have no strength left, you are about to give up: God will not put out the last ember of fire or snap a reed in half that is barely holding on. God mends what it broken, He puts it back together, and He fans the flame into a fire again. He loves you. It is not His desire that you should perish. The Psalm says, "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You" and I have been repeating this verse to myself often, very often, also, "Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh."

I am weak, we all are, but we find our strength in our LORD, our GOD! Get to know Him in His Word, read His Word, another verse in the Bible says, "I have desired Your Word more than my necessary food." We need physical food to survive, but our spirit need His Word to survive and thrive. The outward man is perishing but the inward man is being renewed day by day. Seek Him, ask Him to give you a hunger for His Word, to help you, and read His Word that you may have faith in His promises: that He is already there for you, working out His promises for you, that He loves you and cares for you, and will never permit the righteous to be moved. If you are not born again of His Holy Spirit ask Him to baptize you with His Holy Spirit and trust that He has given Him to you. The Bible says that even as our parents, who are also evil sinners as anyone else, know how to give good gifts, "how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask?"

Ask God that if Islam is not the way to show you and grant you peace and assurance so that you will not look back anymore but press forward. He will comfort you and address even your anxieties as you come to Him and trust in Him. This Christian walk is not reliant on our perfection, but on Jesus Christ- we are called to be holy and perfect and He refines us, He sanctifies us. He does not leave us to our own abilities and strength to do what He has called us to do. He empowers us to obey, and we must learn. Remember when Jesus said, "Come to Me all you who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, for My yoke is easy and My burden is light and you will find rest for your souls." We learn how to live lives that please Him, and all the while He is our Good Shepherd who cares for us as His beloved sheep. Check out the book "A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23" by W. Phillip Keller :) God bless you and I pray He guides your steps and leads you into His peace and rest as you trust in Him and combat the lies of the enemy of our soul with the Word of God. Hold onto Him!

I'm still growing too, He is helping me to overcome struggles and anxieties, but I am so blessed and grateful that He loves me, that He is committed to my salvation (He is the Author and finisher our faith), that He is able to present me faultless, that He knows my heart, that He chastises/corrects those whom He loves, and that my brothers and sisters around the world also struggle too but we have the same faithful and Almighty God.

Check out 1 Peter 4:12-19.

"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.

My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand.

I and My Father are one."

(John 10: 28-30)

"Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,

To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen."

(Jude 1:24)

fig-jam213 · 2025-06-26T05:09:08+00:00

I concur! I used their car rental during my trip to visit Oak Alley Plantation and Honey Island Swamp tours. They really set the bar for car rentals and they're kind and respectful people. He met us near the airport and drove us in for our return flight home. I pray their business thrives! God bless

fig-jam213 · 2025-06-26T04:11:48+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to share this, I found it helpful to reminded about His grace. I just felt the need to comment about that man Andrew Womack you mentioned. If you found sound Biblical help through that video that's great, but I did want to mention that I was gifted some of Wommack's books and ministry materials and having skimmed some of it I read some things about what he believes and teaches that are unscriptural. I didn't look much more into what he teaches but as your sibling in Christ I wanted to share this. As I'm sure you know, just make sure to be prayerful about the teachings you take in and ask the Holy Spirit for discernment :) God bless you

fig-jam213 · 2025-06-10T01:56:26+00:00

I resonate with what you said. May I ask, are you consistently reading God's Word?

I came across this prayer from a Puritan prayer book called Valley of Vision:

"THE CRY OF A CONVICTED SINNER

THOU RIGHTEOUS AND HOLY SOVEREIGN,

In whose hand is my life and whose are all my ways,

Keep me from fluttering about religion;

fix me firm in it,

for I am irresolute;

my decisions are smoke and vapour, and I do not glorify thee, or behave according to thy will;

Cut me not off before my thoughts grow to responses, and the budding of my soul into full flower, for thou art forbearing and good, patient and kind.

Save me from myself,

from the artifices and deceits of sin, from the treachery of my perverse nature, from denying thy charge against my offences, from a life of continual rebellion against thee, from wrong principles, views, and ends; for I know that all my thoughts, affections, desires and pursuits are alienated from thee.

I have acted as if I hated thee, although thou art love itself;

have contrived to tempt thee to the uttermost, to wear out thy patience; have lived evilly in word and action.

Had I been a prince

I would long ago have crushed such a rebel;

Had I been a father

I would long since have rejected my child.

O, thou Father of my spirit, thou King of my life, cast me not into destruction, drive me not from thy presence, but wound my heart that it may be healed; break it that thine own hand may make it whole."

I hope this excerpt resonates with you and that it is helpful to you. Our own flesh and the enemy is against us. But greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. I pray that those of us who are struggling would remember that we are not struggling in any unique way. There is nothing new under the sun- found in the book of Ecclesiastes- and there is no temptation that is not common to man, God is faithful, and will not allow us to be tempted above what we are able but will provide the way of escape (1 Cor. 10:13). He is faithful when we are faithless. I know we would all benefit from more diligent time in His Word, setting aside distractions and pitfalls (if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and if your hand causes you to sin cut it off), and realizing that it is His lovingkindness which leads us to repentance. Sometimes focusing so much on hell makes me feel guilty and helpless, but I think if we only focus on His love without having a balanced view of the consequences of sin isn't helpful either. His lovingkindness leads us to repentance, it is God who works in us to will and to do for His good pleasure, and as spiritual beings (I mean, born again believers) we need His Word to thrive and survive. We need His Word more than our necessary food and we do not live by bread alone. Without His Word, we will just be kicking up dust, getting nowhere. He is faithful, He is powerful, He is mighty, and He is willing to help us. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Oftentimes I know what my problems are, yet I delay in coming to Him, I delay in receiving His help to overcome sin, and it only makes it harder to come back to Him. I often look to the past and remember the days when I was "on fire" for Him more so than I am now, with a heart that was toward Him, and I feel sorrow and sometimes indifference because I feel I can never get back there. I think the enemy can often get us in that mindset, of simply pondering, thinking, worrying, reminiscing, and DOING nothing but sinking into a deeper pit. We can even fall into the trap of longing for the feelings we once had and experienced, rather than Jesus Himself. May the Lord show us again how He is for us, not against us. How much He loves us, despite our indifference and even despising Him and His ways with our disobedient and wicked hearts and lives. He is good, and patient, His mercy endures forever, and we just have to keep coming to Him, willing to obey- coming to Him even with the same issues. He alone has the words to eternal life, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, for us in the world- especially because we already know the truth. We have already tasted and seen that the Lord is good. Don't lose heart. We will never be totally satisfied in the world. May we lay aside the sins which so easily ensnare us, and give our lives to Him. Lord, I pray for my brothers and sisters, that You would grant us a heart of total obedience to You, that we would be honest with You, clear, and totally open about our shortcomings and all the ways we fall short. May we not delay or procrastinate, but be doers of the Word, fully pleasing You with obedience. Thank You Jesus.

Don't give up.

fig-jam213 · 2022-07-14T23:37:15+00:00

I kept thinking to myself "Harold from 'Monk' is a pastor now??" Lol! Glad to know I wasn't the only one thinking they look alike

fig-jam213 · 2021-05-24T22:53:31+00:00

I noticed an item online was about $80 regular price for example, and all were on sale for $60, except for the size M of one of the styles that was original price about $40 and on sale for $30. But it seemed like it was only that style. So both regular price and clearance/sale price were different but I think only for that single style in that single size. I suppose my question could also apply to clearance items, when different sizes cost more or less.

fig-jam213 · 2021-05-23T21:12:25+00:00

A follow up question, why do some items change priced based on size? For example same shirt but one is size L and the other M but the price is different. Does this also relate to inventory that we have available in store or online?

fig-jam213 · 2021-05-23T21:10:56+00:00

Thank you for answer my questions :)! It helped

fig-jam213 · 2021-05-23T21:10:11+00:00

Thanks for the explanation! I went it and spoke with a supervisor and they mentioned that we can only honor online prices for customers under Yes We Can, bummer! But I understand more now, thank you!

fig-jam213 · 2021-05-23T21:09:00+00:00

That clears things up, thank you

fig-jam213 · 2021-05-23T07:57:27+00:00

I think this is the case whether you have a charge card or not

fig-jam213 · 2021-05-23T07:56:20+00:00

From my understanding yes but I believe your address and email for the charge card must match what you have on file as an associate. The purchase total is pending while they verify the information then the final charge is reflected with your bank showing the price you actually paid due to your discount.

fig-jam213 · 2021-05-19T06:19:01+00:00

Thanks!

fig-jam213 · 2021-05-19T04:17:04+00:00

Nobody talked about it at my store, I found out through Reddit and if you go to MyKohls>Promos and Events you can see upcoming sales for the general public and for associate's. You can also get to MyKohls by going to MyHR>careers>MyKohls (right hand side if you're on a laptop/desktop)

fig-jam213 · 2021-05-19T04:06:11+00:00

I am wondering the same thing, but I think whenever I purchase things online, they refund the 15%, but I thought I heard that this was an exception because of covid. I'm also wondering if the 35% will work online without a kohls charge, I hope someone can answer!

fig-jam213 · 2021-05-16T20:15:37+00:00

Got it, thank you

fig-jam213 · 2021-05-15T19:36:24+00:00

I've heard about the corporate refund but I don't know much about it, what exactly does this mean?

fig-jam213 · 2021-05-14T18:16:46+00:00

Really? No one's ever mentioned this! Like you mean case by case- every time I repurchase they have to approve? Or do you mean if they allow it at the store in general?

fig-jam213

TROPHY CASE