Sometimes it feels as though we just get so caught up in the words people say that we forget their actions. We become offended by the littlest things, and ignore the kind things the same people have done for us. You don't always see people's inner thoughts through their words because words can be misconstrued or misspoken. We can see the core of their heart by their actions.
We need to stop complaining about the things that aren't going perfectly right in our lives, and instead focus on the things that are going right or are within our control.
As disciples of Christ we lose sight of this, partly because our testimonies of Christ are not ingrained deeply enough in our hearts. Often this is because we have based them upon the beliefs of our parents or heroes. The best way to grow and strengthen your testimony is to research all of the arguments that combat your testimony before they ever enter your life. Know where you stand. Read the scriptures and pray to know where God wants you to stand. If you know exactly what you believe, and why, then Satan has no way to break down your testimony from the outside. The problem with this is if you allow it to grow weak, or do not put sufficient time into strengthening it. If this occurs, then you become vulnerable to the whisperings of the devil. He begins to entice you to question those beliefs you held so sure only a year or two before. Don't give him a foothold.
If your biggest obstacle to your testimony is the people who say that they love you, such as your family, ponder your options. Sometimes they are against your faith because they genuinely misunderstand it. Have an open and honest discussion with them about your beliefs, and how they correspond to their own. At least in the case of my own family members, this has relieved tension enough to lay a foundation for their loved ones to later accept their beliefs and not persecute or disown them. If your family seems completely against your beliefs, you need to ponder whether you need them or God more in your life. If you tell them unequivocally that you will choose God before them any day of the week, then they may come around when they realize that it isn't just a passing fancy. And sometimes, you just have to accept that by choosing God over your loved ones that you will lose them. If this is the case, trust me when I say that they never loved you adequately in the first place if such a thing as your religious choices caused them to leave you. God will replace them in your life with far more loving and caring people.
You have to have a testimony of Christ completely within yourself, and not based upon anyone else's. It needs to be freestanding and independent. If your testimony is rooted anywhere outside of your own heart, and not rooted deeply, then Satan will do anything and everything he can to destroy it. The sad part is, you will help him without ever intending to if you don't work to strengthen it constantly.
By studying and applying the words of Christ you will grow your testimony and know what you should do in all situations. If it is a place where the scriptures have no comment, then prayer and following the principles that Christ taught will help you come to the right decision. By reading and pondering upon his words, we can extrapolate more meaning from them, especially in situations that didn't exist in his time on the Earth (modern medicine and diet, technology, ethical situations like abortion). We need to rely upon the roots of our testimony to handle hard situations, and we can't do that if it doesn't have strong roots.
I challenge you to fast, pray, and read the scriptures in order to find the truth for yourself.
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