I'm going to spare you the messy details but this lack of a correct Biblical worldview derailed my faith journey for years. Looking back I wish I had done a few things differently to prevent years of living in the wilderness without God's presence, blessing and His protection. (Zechariah 7:13) Not to mention hurting countless people while I struggled to find my spiritual legs. I write these things in the hope that they might help someone else in their faith journey.
1) Recognize that everyone didn't believe the same way that I did. (You think that would be a "duh" but when I was young I thought that if people believed the way that I did than they must be correct, and if they didn't than that too was correct.) God was pretty clear in His Word that if you followed Him then a great number of people (hint: the world) was going to hate you and persecute you and your beliefs. Very few people are going to truly believe and keep their faith throughout their life and yet this came as a great surprise to my college-aged self. (Matthew 7:13 -14)
2) All authority figures are not always looking after my best interests. In fact, sometimes they are working off of their own agenda and are actively trying to persuade me to their way of thinking. They are not neutral, they are not always right and they definitely didn't always have my best interests at heart. (Proverbs 14:12) So each week I would change philosophies like I was changing clothes. I was the perfect illustration of Alexander Hamilton's famous quote, "If you stand for nothing, you fall for everything."
3) I didn't tell anyone about my doubts. I wasn't plugged into a church and my circle of friends were operating from the same lack of faith that I was. (Which is another great reminder that you will become who you most spend time with . . . ) Bad influences always corrupt badly. If I had been part of a local church where I felt comfortable sharing my doubts or even had friends that were dedicated Christians this challenge would have turned out much differently. (Galatians 6:2)
4) The enemy always tries to isolate those he wishes to destroy. (Which is all of us in case you're wondering, see John 10:10) If he can get you away from those will speak truth into your situation, the battle is 95% done. (Carefully observe one another, contemplating each other's situation and needs, diagnosing the other person's situation, and figuring out how you can stir him or her to love and good deeds - Hebrews 10:24)
5) I thought because I didn't have all the answers that there were no answers. Arrogance and a lack of accountability is always a recipe for disaster. Rather than seek out people who might have challenged my faith walk during my youth I hung around with equally obtuse people like myself (see number #3 again) and when faced with deep waters I discovered I didn't know how to swim. (Proverbs 28:26)
6) Being challenged in my faith was not a bad thing. The timing was horrible, but that was on me. I had not truly studied my Bible nor had I taken advantage of the wisdom in others that God had so graciously placed in my life throughout my youth. But coming face to face with my own lack of understanding was a painful yet required step to me truly becoming a dedicated follower of Christ. God in His infinite grace permitted me to fall so that I could finally learn how to walk. (James 1:2-4)
