This is our new Bible study at our church that we will be going through. So far, I have really enjoyed it. I love Bible studies of all kinds, but I especially love the kind that are very life-application themed. They are all life-application themed in some way, but some, like perhaps, particular studies over a certain book of the Bible, aren't as life-application themed as this one is. This one asked you to focus, a lot, on your own life and how you get strength from God.
How DO you get strength from God?
I was watching my newsfeed on Facebook the other day, as I've been really focused on this topic for the last couple of weeks. I wanted to see what people said about it. I saw a lot of these -
(Ironically, a few of these versus come from Isiah...maybe a good book to read, huh?)
I saw so many pretty pictures with verses from the Bible in them. A lot of them made me feel good. Verses like this are encouraging, aren't they? They remind us of God's promises.
I wonder, though. How many people actually believe these things in their heart of hearts? I saw many of these verses, followed by status updates full of questioning, full of uncertainly. If we know these things to be true, why are we still so weak?
I just want to challenge myself to not just read these verses for a quick "shot in the arm." To temporarily make me feel good for a moment or two, but to know these verses and the stories behind them. To know WHY these verses are important. These verses are important because they are part of bigger stories the Bible tells us about how God provided this strength to certain people. These verses help us to truly have strength, not just make us feel better when we are having a hard time, but to know with all of our heart that our God really is bigger and stronger than our problems, if we just ask Him to be, and then do things His way when He shows us the path to take. It's so simple, yet it is just so hard sometimes.
I came across this quote in the Bible study: "It often seems more difficult to trust God than to obey Him...The circumstances in which we trust God often appear irrational and unreasonable...Obeying God is worked out within well-defined boundaries of God's will. But trusting God is worked out in an arena that has no boundaries." - Jerry Bridges
This is so true. I have just really loved this study and am looking forward to learning and seeing what more God has for me.
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