Happy Friday, friends! Let’s dive right into this week’s questions:
Chapter 5: Someone Worth Fearing
*How do you tend to respond when things go wrong?
*Thinking back on your life, has God been someone you have feared? What definition of fear would you ascribe to your own fear of the Lord (i.e. respect, reverence, fall flat on your face awestruck)?
Chapter 6: Smaller Gods
*Thinking about where we may have put other gods before God is never easy or fun but is necessary. Where do you find you have smaller gods in your life?
*“Fear is a given. What we fear is what we see as worthy and in desperation, our souls get hungry for news, for hope, for something steady to hold on to. And in choosing something else, in our idolatry of anything that will soothe or console, our quick fix, we are doubting God” (pg. 70). How do you see your fear become idolatry? Had you ever thought of it that way before?
Chapter 7: On Trend
*Have there been any trends you have noticed in Christianity? What would you say are the current Christian trends?
*How can trendiness in Christian be a good thing? How can it be harmful?
Chapter 8: Curiosity and Obedience
*Are you a curious person? Do you think you respond to God with curiousity?
*The author uses the example of Paul to show that that curiosity towards God can lead to obeying God. Do you believe this to be true? Why or why not?
Chapter 9: Vulnerability
*Have you seen vulnerability gain popularity recently? In your opinion does this type of vulnerability (as seen on social media for example) truly understand what vulnerability really is?
*How does Jesus’ vulnerability in the Garden of Gethsemane act as an example for us when we are vulnerable and in pain?
Scripture of the Week
Isaiah 50:10
Hebrews 4:15
Isaiah 46:8-11
Prayer of the Week
Father God, we desire to hunger and thirst for You, for all that You are. We don’t want smaller gods to take up room in our hearts. We don’t want on trend Christianity if it makes You less than You truly are. We desire to walk in obedience with You. We want to step closer to You and know You more. Thank You for being a God who desires to be in fellowship with His people. You said that if we draw near to You, You would draw near to us. We believe this to be true and we stand on it. Help us to choose brave and have a holy fear of who You are. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
For Next Week
*Read Chapters 10-14
How I respond depends on what goes wrong. If it’s something I believe I can’t control (car accidents, health issues or deaths of loved ones or friends, etc.), I tend to be fearful or helpless. If it’s something that interferes or interrupts me personally (car problems, my boys’ behavior, etc.), I tend to be annoyed or frustrated.
Sadly, I fall into the category of believing, as the author states, that “scary situations can be remedied with more of you.” (Page 56). Most of the time I take matters into my own hands and start coming up with ideas to fix the situation.
I’ve never been the type to be afraid that certain things would happen – but in the last few years, this fear has started to take root. I don’t know if I didn’t have that fear because I was ignorant of truly fearing God or had a “healthy dose” of faith…probably the first reason.
When talking about fearing God, I grew up understanding it as a simple respect or reverence. He is the Creator, knows all and sees all, so He is to be respected because He’s in control.
In recent years, I’ve come to understand how much I haven’t seen God as Lord of my life, and believe this is something the church doesn’t emphasize enough. We can grasp the Savior aspect, but we would have a better understanding of what fearing God really means if we would focus on His Lordship and how it needs to be incorporated into our lives. By not making Him Lord – or Ruler – over every area of our lives, we become that lord and as a result, idols/gods (besides ourselves) take His place.
Control (as well as fear of lack of control) is the overall smaller god in my life. In the last few months my family has dealt with a few serious health scares and one unexpected death. The reminder of being mortal allows fear to creep in and pull up a chair, making itself far too comfortable next to you.
Fear can become an idol because we are focused on the terror rather than the Trinity. With all the chaos that’s been happening in my life lately, I’ve been reminded how the Holy Spirit is our Comforter, and that He even intercedes for us! So when we’re paralyzed with fear and can’t even pray, we can be encouraged because He is praying!
Prayers reveal our vulnerability, and our vulnerability exposes our fear. As much as we may want to hide or deny our vulnerability, we have to face it eventually.
Our culture’s current definition of it tends to encourage us to express ourselves without apology. However, in a world where “cancel culture” is prominent, we’re not really supported when we are vulnerable. This is because society really doesn’t care about us – and yet we strive so hard to please ourselves and others based on what society approves/disapproves of.
Being truly vulnerable means being honest and presenting our fears to God. Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, modeled this perfectly. Granted He was (is) God, and yet in His fully human state, He released Himself and His fears to God…being completely vulnerable, trusting God to make the right decision regardless if the situation changed in His favor. Jesus shows us how we can ask God to make something different if it’s His will, and help us get through whatever turmoil we’re in, if God allows the situation to remain unchanged or even become worse.
We aren’t going to become fearless – we shouldn’t try because that’s not the goal anyway. We can, however, place our fears in His hands, and be encouraged because “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)