Question to religious people: why do you believe?

I grew up in an orthodox jewish family in Toronto. We strictly followed all the laws of judaism such as pray daily, keep kosher and observe sabbath. When I was growing up, we were maybe a 7 on a scale of 1-10, 10 being fanatic. The minutia of rules lived in every moment of every day. There were specific blessings to say when you ate, slept, went to the bathroom. Rules about what women may not do, say, be. Rules for men too, but much less limited.

For me, it was too much. I defected from that world 20 years ago. (It was hard.) My parents and siblings have only become more fanatical as the years go by, they’re all at a 9 by now. We do speak to each other and get along OK.

But I have trouble understanding how they or anyone can truly be happy in that life.

So I ask, why do YOU believe?

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

SW-User

My parents are very ritualistic too and the way they treated me made me stop believing in God but I had the worst life depending on my own will power so I started to seek God independently which helped change my life and theirs too

SW-User

@SW-User Something similar happened to me, I guess. I started to notice that when I did as I pleased ( according to my own will) I always ( not usually) wound up in some deep 💩 barely able to get out of it 😅. I even prayed for things so hard and they were not granted or given to me. At that moment I started to get angry … only 10 years later I realized that had God given me what I WANTED then my life would be hell now. So, I stopped being stubborn, started to gave up on my will seeking more of the will if Jesus Christ and actually thanked Him for not answering my prayers and not granting me my wishes. I didn’t know what I was asking for and He spared me from the consequences.

SW-User

@SW-User wow you described it so well I had same experience in my godless years, I always felt like it was me against the world and all I did was lash out at my parents and my life was going nowhere with the way I was fighting god; thank you for your comment as it made me remember how forgiving God; it’s like we literally said Jesus take the wheel lol

SW-User

@SW-User ya, same thing. I just regret that I didn’t let God take the wheel early in my life. But still late is better than never…

LadyGrace ·

@SW-User Brilliant deduction and great wisdom displayed. Yes, sometimes we ask for things we shouldn't have or are not good for us, and don't even realize it. It reminds me of that Bible verse that says we sometimes ask amiss. God, in his wisdom, gives us not what we want, but what we need and that's really important because he always knows what's best for us.

Your answer shows great maturity in Christ. Sometimes God has to say no to our prayers, because he's protecting us from something we don't even realize. He can see into our future. And sometimes he has to have us wait for things, so that other things can fall into place, so our prayers can be answered for the best outcome. And then other times, we get ahead of God and that's when we must slow down and wait for the answer, because when we get ahead of God and try to fix things, as you have mentioned, it never turns out good, either. haha. God's timing is everything, as you have so wisely pointed out.