War Within – Week 3
Each participant share “takeaways” from the sermon on Sunday before we begin the discussion guide:
- What was something you had never heard before on the topic of Grief & Depression?
- What tool did you hear in the sermon that will be most useful for yourself or someone else?
***For Leaders – You may not even get to the questions below and that would be OK! This is a great opportunity for people to share things that would otherwise bring shame or embarrassment.
I want to summarize a key point by Pastor Josh on Sunday about emotions in Scripture, “The Bible doesn’t sugar coat emotions and people don’t get condemned for having them.”
Read Habakkuk’s Complaint in Hab 1:2 How long, LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save?
How comfortable would you be to begin a “conversational prayer” to God with that approach?
***For Leaders – Answers will vary, but the overarching point is what was already said. As believers, we often don’t feel license to even acknowledge our state of sadness so we bury it and deal with it ourselves. Our emotions can be raw like Habakkuk’s, but it’s important to remember that we don’t get condemned for having them.
Let’s read Habakkuk’s Complaint with more verses in a paraphrased version of Scripture (NLT), “How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence is everywhere!” I cry, but you do not come to save. 3 Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. 4 The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted.
Take note of God’s response to Habakkuk’s grief while he is in the midst of it:
5 The Lord replied, “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.”
What is our takeaway from God’s response?
***For Leaders – After everyone has shared their thoughts, bring up each of these points below for further discussion:
1) He listens and doesn’t correct or condemn Habakkuk for his emotions. 2) He speaks to his imagination. Habakkuk is only imagining doom & gloom ahead, but God just says to look at something else other than doom & gloom, he says “Look!”, something amazing is on the way. 3)This leaves things a bit of a mystery with a recalibrated imagination. Imagining God doing something so amazing that it’s hard to believe is God’s way of using grief as a launching pad instead of a landing pad. 4) What God is telling Habakkuk to do isn’t easy…but nothing worthwhile ever is.
More points from the message:
- Be honest with God. Scripture shows God’s servants being sad and truly angry and HONEST with God.
- Sit with a friend and just be present. (Prov 17:17)
- Replace hopelessness and heaviness with hope and rest. (Matt 11:28)
- Depression isn’t their “new normal”. It’s not a landing pad, but a launching pad for believers in Scripture.
Rev 12:4-7 – He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son [and daughter].