1) It is impossible to consider the perfect holiness of God and gaze into His unending righteousness and blameless ways without becoming acutely aware of our own broken and sinful hearts. We are not simply good people who sin occasionally, we are sinful people who therefore make sinful choices as a result of our sin-nature. We are utterly sinful. This begs the question, how can a holy God be in our presence? Do you view yourself as a sinner separated from God? How well does your view of God’s holiness line up with what the Bible teaches? As you spend time wrestling with these question, be overwhelmed by the radical love of a God who decided to come down to earth and dwell with us in order to die for us and declare us righteous as He cleanses us from sin when we trust in Him!

2) Giving space to process pain and suffering, especially when we are watching someone we love walk through it, or as we go through it ourselves, can be…. well, painful and difficult! So much brokenness, sorrow, and anguish caused by physical sickness. It’s important to carry two truths as we process our grief. One, God grieves with us; we are never abandoned in our suffering. Two, God wants to heal all, but sometimes, He allows suffering for reasons beyond our understanding, for purposes bigger than we can imagine. We can trust His heart, and know that, more critical than physical healing, God passionately longs for our spiritual healing so that one day, He can heal our bodies along with our hearts for eternity! What kinds of tension do you wrestle with as you think through these things? Take them to the arms of the Lord, asking Him to show you more of His heart through the processing!

3)  What would you consider to be an easy life? Go ahead and write down some thoughts. Be specific! As you consider what you wrote, look back through the list and mark which ones would make a positive eternal impact. Now go through and mark those focused on other people. Last time! Go through and mark the ones that are about yourself. Pretty clear, isn’t it? Wanting an easy life goes counter to everything Christ has called believers to in this life on earth. Pushing against everything we feel, Jesus teaches that in order to gain everything that matters, having the richest of everything, it requires complete surrender to Jesus. Take this weekend to think through how much you worship your own comfort and ease in life. Ask the Lord to lead you into greater surrender, knowing the only way to save your life is to give it all to Him. (Matthew 16:25-26)