When we see how significant our inability to control our lives actually is, it’s then that we can draw near to Jesus in a new and deeper way.
James 4:13-17 – 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
Isaiah 46:8-10 – “Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, 9 remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
Acts 2:23-24 – 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
Discussion Questions:
How are you responding to all that’s happening in our world and in our community right now?
How does having a better understanding of what God says about himself help you to respond to your present circumstances?
How does Jesus’ providence help you to see and respond to your circumstances?
How is trusting Jesus’ providence a matter of faith? How is it a spiritual discipline?
How and Why is waiting on God to act in your circumstances active and engaging rather than passive?
According to James 4:15, how should we make plans for the days to come?
According to Peter’s Sermon in Acts 2:23, who did God’s providence and man’s responsibility connect in Jesus’ death? What was the result?
How does remembering the Gospel (Jesus’ life, suffering, death, resurrection, and coming) affect us when we are overwhelmed by our inability to control parts of our lives or when we are frustrated, anxious, fearful, hopeless, or angry?
Why are all of these emotions signs pointing us to seek God in his Word?
Psalm 16 – 1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” 3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. 4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. 5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. 6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. 7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 8 I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to the grave or let your holy one see corruption. 11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Shore Community Church 