My life has been very hard

Dear Pastor,

I have written to you before. I am a reader, and I have listened to you. I have read your stories, and you have helped me.

But this time, it is about something different. This time it is about what we struggle with as young Christians. I am a young Christian -- baptised for over 10 years -- and it is not easy.

In your column, I shared with you before that I was raped. I have never had intercourse with anyone willingly before. The rape is where all the feelings started. Because of the rape, I think my body has been drawn more to sex. As a young Christian, it is very challenging, very hard to cope with all of it. Sometimes it feels as though I am losing my mind because I do not want to do things I am not supposed to do. I want to honour God with my body, but my body and my past feeling like they are fighting me.

As a Christian, it is not easy. Sometimes others tend to judge young Christians when things happen, but as someone who has been through it, I can say it is definitely not easy. It is not easy to deal with being single. I haven't been in any relationship since I have been baptised and it is very hard -- especially when you see others getting married and moving on.

In the same breath, I want to encourage someone to just wait on the Lord. People will say 'wait, wait, wait', but it is easier said than done. Please wait on the Lord. Don't rush things. But also don't allow the pressures of life to break you.

I am 28. People say I am taking too long to get married. I am single. I don't have any child. I don't have anything for myself. I am currently unemployed. I lost my job. Loans are up to my neck, and it's very discouraging. Some days I feel as though I won't make it. But God always shows up. He always sends a word. He always sends a Scripture.

So I just want to encourage someone to continue waiting on the Lord. It might seem long, but it won't be forever. Psalm 27:14 says, "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."

We need the church to know: waiting isn't passive. It is war. And young Christians need more than just wait -- we need people to wait with us, pray with us and remind us God sees us.

I am still here, still saved, still believing. Isaiah 40:31 says, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength."

Blessings.

Sincerely,

Still waiting, still worshipping

Dear Writer,

I thank you for your letter. I believe that you have tried to explain yourself very well. The Bible talks about a young man whose name was Timothy. Timothy was converted under the ministry of the Apostle Paul, and he's generally referred to as Paul's Spiritual son.

Paul gave him lots of advice; he told him that he should not allow any one to despise his youth. He also tells Timothy to fight the good fight of faith and to lay hold on eternal life.

Paul explains that there are three fights that Christians must undergo and I will mention them to you. One, there is the fight of faith. I have often said that Christianity is a fight. The devil hates Christians. And ungodly people also hate Christians.

One day, I was standing on the property of the First Baptist Church and a man came by begging. We did not have much to offer him, but what we had, we had given him and he tossed it on the ground and cursed us because he felt he should have been given more. And then he said if he had a gun, he would line up all Christians and shoot them one by one. There are those who hate the Lord Jesus Christ. Some call him a blue-eye boy. And they would have nothing to do with him, so one has to fight the fight of faith.

There is also another fight Christians ought to fight. It's the world and its enticement. In your letter, you say that it's not easy, but indeed it's not easy, but you should never give up. So they must fight the fight of faith and fight the flesh.

You know what you have gone through, you have been raped. But thank God you are leaning heavily on the Lord for strength and so far, God is watching over you.

Continue to fight. Continue to wait on the Lord as you have mentioned many times in your letter. I would encourage you to read Romans chapter 7. The Apostle Paul says that the things he would love to do, he finds himself not doing them and he calls himself a wretched man.

When you read Romans 7, you should be encouraged, by the writing of Paul. But don't stop at 7, read chapter 8 and in chapter 8, Paul says nothing shall separate Christians from the love of God; not even the devil can separate Christians from the love of God.

I assure you of my prayers. Thanks for writing, please write again.

Pastor