WOF: GOD AT YOUR WIT'S END STUDY GUIDE: Hope for Wherever You Are - Softcover

Meberg, Marilyn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1418506125 ISBN 13: 9781418506124

Publisher: Thomas Nelson, 2010

Synopsis

Cornered. Boxed in. On our last leg. In a pickle. Between a rock and a hard place. Sitting on a powder keg. Out of options. No where to turn. At the end of our rope. At our wits' end.

Life often sends us to our wits' end, with our backs against a wall and no idea how to escape. At times like these, there's a battle going on between our head and our heart. In our hearts we believe God loves us, but in our heads we struggle with tough questions.

• If He loves me so much, why do I hurt so much?
• Am I being punished? I thought I was forgiven.
• Who's in charge of my life? Can I trust that answer?
• Why is faith so hard? What if I don't have enough?

This study guide features:

• 8 Lessons
• Scripture-focused insightful study
• Evaluation of your strengths and weaknesses regarding faith
• Space to journal your personal thoughts and attitudes about faith

This study has been prepared with the single or small group study in mind, allowing you to build your faith and experience a refreshing hope in God.

About this title

About the Author

Marilyn Meberg is a captivating speaker, a coauthor of various Women of Faith devotionals, and the author of "I’d Rather Be Laughing and Choosing the Amusing." She lives in Frisco, TX.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

GOD at your wits' end study guide

By Marilyn MEBERG

Thomas Nelson

Copyright © 2005 Marilyn Meberg
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4185-0612-4

Contents

Introduction...............................................ixLesson 1: The Good News....................................11Lesson 2: Signs and Sin's Consequences.....................21Lesson 3: Love and Trust...................................33Lesson 4: Size and Sovereignty.............................45Lesson 5: Seeking and Suffering............................59Lesson 6: Oddities and Oughta-be's.........................71Lesson 7: Honesty and Humor................................83Lesson 8: Faith and Assurance..............................95Leader's Guide.............................................105

Chapter One

Lesson 1

The Good News

Cornered. Boxed in. On our last leg. In a pickle. Between a rock and a hard place. Sitting on a powder keg. Out of options. Nowhere to turn. At the end of our rope. At our wits' end.

What put us there? Physical pain? Emotional strain? Sometimes it's a loss we cannot face. Sometimes it's a shame we cannot speak of. A too-busy schedule, a tough choice, an unfaithful spouse, an out-of-control child, an inability to make ends meet. A plague of doubts, whispers of fear, the downward spiral of depression? The inequity of life, the fallout of war, the worst kind of news, a bad prognosis?

To be at our wits' end is, according to Webster, "to have [our] back against the wall." When we are at our wits' end, we feel lost in pain, confusion, desperation, and fear. Those are the kinds of emotions that drive us to "cry out to the Lord" in our trouble.

1. When we are at our wits' end, we feel overwhelmed by our circumstances, by our feelings, by our fears. The Psalms are comforting during wits' end experiences because they echo the cry of our hearts so accurately.

Psalm 55:5 - "____________________ and _____________________ have come upon me, And ______________ has _________________ me" (NKJV).

Psalm 61:2 - "From the end of the earth I will ___________ to You, When my _____________ is ________________________ ; Lead me to the ___________ that is ____________________ than I" (NKJV).

Psalm 77:3 - "I remembered God, and was ___________________; I __________________, and my spirit was __________________" (NKJV).

Psalm 102:1 - "A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is ________________ and ______________ out his __________________ before the Lord. ____________ my prayer, O Lord, And let my ___________ come to You" (NKJV).

Psalm 143:4 - "Therefore my _______________ is _______________ within me; My _____________ within me is __________________" (NKJV).

2. When we're at our wits' end, and troubled thoughts and questions press down on us, it's difficult to see beyond our immediate need to the promises God has made to us.

___ Psalm 6:3 a. I am so troubled, I cannot even speak.

___ Psalm 38:6 b. My heart is troubled and my eyes are filled with tears.

___ Psalm 77:4 c. My soul is greatly troubled.

___ Psalm 104:29 d. When we're troubled, doubts arise in our hearts.

___ Lamentations 2:11 e. I am bowed down by the weight of my troubles. ___ Luke 24:38 f. When we cannot see God, we become troubled.

3. What can we do when our hearts are troubled, when we're in distress?

What does Jeremiah ask God to see in Lamentations 1:20? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

How does Psalm 18:6 say God responded to a cry of distress? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

According to Psalm 118:5, the Lord who hears us in our distress does what? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

4. When we are at our wits' end, the only sensible thing to do is cry out to God.

How often does the psalmist call upon the Lord, according to Psalm 88:1? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

In Psalm 119:145, how does the psalmist cry out to the Lord? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

What does David ask the Lord to do when he cries out to God in Psalm 141:1? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

The good news is, when our back is against the wall-when we cry out to the Lord-He is there. God is always at our wits' end. How do we know? Because God is wherever we are. His promise is to never, ever leave us. Wherever we may wander, in foolishness or fear, God does not leave us.

5. What is the promise we find in Deuteronomy 31:8? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

6. Not only will God never forsake those who belong to Him, He promises to be with us.

Matthew 28:20 - "And lo, I am ________________ ____________ ________________, even to the _____________ of the age" (NKJV).

John 14:16-17 - "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another __________________, that He may __________________ with you __________________-the ________________ of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither __________ Him nor ________________Him; but you _______________ Him, for He _________________with you and will be __________ you" (NKJV).

7. Our faith is strengthened when we hold on to promises like these.

How does Psalm 138:3 say God answers our call? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

What does Jesus urge us to do when we are feeling troubled, according to John 14:1? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

When we're at our wits' end, what promise of Jesus can we cling to? It's found in John 14:27. ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

8. Let's take a look at the theme verse for God at My Wits' End-Psalm 107:27-30. What does the psalmist compare our times of distress to? And what is God able to do for us during these times? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

9. Why is God willing to do this for us? The answer is repeatedly stated through- out the entire chapter of Psalm 118. In spite of our mindless wandering into wits' end dilemmas, what does the psalmist assure us endures?

Psalm 118:1 - "Thank the Lord because he is good. His love continues forever" (NCV).

Psalm 118:2 - "Let Israel say, 'His love endures forever'" (NIV).

Psalm 118:4 - "Let all who fear the Lord repeat: `His faithful love endures forever'" (NLT).

Psalm 118:29 - "Thank God-he's so good. His love never quits" (MSG).

10. Believers today come to a love for God through His Son, Jesus. How does Jesus describe this relationship in John 16:27? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

11. God's love for us is greater than we could ever know.

What does Jeremiah 31:3 say about God's love for us? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

What does Jesus invite us to do in John 15:9? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

What does Paul pray we'll be able to grasp according to Ephesians 3:17-19? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

12. And what does Romans 8:35 assure us that even our tribulations and distresses cannot do? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

God loves us with an everlasting love, and nothing can separate us from it. It's an awesome promise but one that is difficult for many of us to incorporate into our daily living. For some reason, the truth of it is beyond our grasp. We may believe God's love endures forever in some sort of mystical, far-from-us way, but if the whole truth were known, it does not seem real for our nitty-gritty reality. And this faulty thinking causes our faith to falter.

But God won't let such roadblocks to faith stand. The God who loves you and is always there for you cares even more about your quest for faith than you do. His intent is to meet you where you are in your faith need and to lovingly show you what it means when He tells you He will bring you out of your distresses.

Notes ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

Chapter Two

Lesson 2

Signs and Sin's Consequences

It's frightening to realize how faulty thinking can alter our belief system and erode our faith. Sure, I'd like to think I could run the race of life based on faith and not on the vision of tangible rewards. But all too often I slip into that faulty thinking that says I do need a sign-a piece of visual, emotional, or tangible evidence that God is aware of my struggles and is hearing my cries for help. Without evidence of His working things out in our life, we may sink into the dirt of discouragement. And when this happens, I have to ask myself, Marilyn, is this discouragement you're feeling due to shaky faith or faulty thinking? I have to remind myself that in order to have faith I must move beyond mental acceptance. In faith I hold fast to something, or rather, to Someone, whom I cannot see. And that Someone is Jesus.

Faulty Thought No. 1

"I need a sign."

There are times when we want something we can see to confirm what we believe. We want our faith to be confirmed in an observable, tangible way. In Old Testament times, God used miraculous signs to instill belief. Faulty thinking tells us we need that same kind of sign today.

1. Faith is believing what we can't see, what is not tangible, and in some cases, does not make sense. How does Scripture define faith, according to Hebrews 11:1? _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

2. Given the choice, we would much rather put our faith in something we can see and hear and touch. But Scripture assures us that some of the most real things in our lives are not visible.

"We do not ___________ at the things which are ____________, but at the things which are __________ _______________. For the things which are _____________ are __________________, but the things which are __________ ____________ are __________________" (2 Cor. 4:18 NKJV).

3. God asks us to have faith, believing in things we have not seen for ourselves.

What does 1 Timothy 1:17 teach us about the God we serve? ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________

What do we find out about Jesus in Colossians 1:15? ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________

Who does Jesus call "blessed" in John 20:29? ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________

4. How does Peter sum up the faith and feelings of believers in 1 Peter 1:8? ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________

Faulty thinking makes us wish we had a sign that God loves us. We'd like the Lord to prove things to us before we settle comfortably into faith. But God says we don't need to see in order to believe. However, we are fortunate today that God graciously provides another type of gift to help keep our faith strong. I call this gift a faith object. A faith object is a tangible object that helps us believe in what we cannot actually see. That's because the faith object is something that can be seen, experienced, and remembered.

5. God did give us something tangible-a faith object. It's mentioned in Romans 15:4. What is it, and what is it able to do for us? ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________

God very graciously provided a faith object to encourage our continued and future faith. It helps us believe in what we cannot imagine to be true. To combat faulty thinking, we need a firm, utterly reliable faith object, and we have one. It's the Bible. It's tangible, I can see it, I always have access to it, and I have faith in what it says.

6. The Bible keeps our thinking straight and our faith grounded.

___ John 5:39 a. The Scriptures prove Jesus is the Messiah.

___ John 10:35 b. Scripture testifies of Jesus; in it we find eternal life.

___ Acts 17:11 c. The Scriptures make us wise for salvation.

___ Acts 18:28 d. All Scripture is inspired by God.

___ romans 1:2 e. Search the Scriptures to see if what you hear is truth.

___ 2 Timothy 3:15 f. The Scriptures cannot be broken.

___ 2 Timothy 3:16 g. God speaks through His prophets in Scripture.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from GOD at your wits' end study guideby Marilyn MEBERG Copyright © 2005 by Marilyn Meberg. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Edition details

• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1418506125
• ISBN 13: 9781418506124
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128