How To Keep Going When The Going Gets Tough

Life on earth is disappointing and exhausting, but that’s exactly how God designed it to be in order to help us realize how desperately we need Him. He never intended any of us frail, fragile, faint-hearted, finite creatures to live life on our own. If we trust in ourselves we will invariably feel frustrated and overwhelmed, but if we trust in Him He will take care of us and sustain us and provide us with the physical and spiritual strength and stamina we need to power through whatever He ordains for our lives. The secret to remaining confident and resilient amid the difficult, disappointing, draining problems and pressures of life is to wait on the Lord, namely, trusting and hoping in who He said He is and what He said He will do.

1. God loves us and is faithful to keep His promises to us.

2. God has always been there and will always be there.

3. God created and controls everything in the universe.

4. God is always hard at work and never gets tired.

5. God knows everything there is to know and we don’t.

6. God graciously grants us the power and strength we need to handle any situation He ordains for our lives.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS

James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” These questions are designed to help you apply today’s message to your life. We encourage you to thoughtfully answer these questions and discuss your answers with others. For more information about joining a Grow Group that uses these questions as the basis for weekly discussion, prayer, and accountability, please call the church office at (936) 582-1977.

1. Of all the difficulties and demands and problems and pressures in your life right now, what has been getting you down or wearing you out the most?

2. What are the evidences in your life that you are a frail, fragile, faint-hearted, finite creature? Is it easy or hard for you to admit that you don’t have what it takes to do life on your own?

3. Describe a situation in which you lost perspective (i.e. lost sight of God)? How did you regain your focus on God and regain a proper perspective? How would you counsel someone else who has become frustrated or depressed as a result of some problem in their life?

4. What is the most comforting/encouraging truth about God that you learned or were reminded of in today’s sermon? How does that truth apply to the circumstances you are facing right now?

5. Read 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. What can you learn from Paul’s example regarding God’s power being perfected in our weakness that will help you endure adversity He has ordained for you?

6. Read Psalm 25:1-5, 27:13-14, 33:18-22, 37:7-11, 40:1-3, 52:8-9, 62:1-8, 130:5-6, Isaiah 64:4, and Lamentations 3:24-26. Define what it means to “wait” on the Lord. What does “waiting on the Lord” look like practically in your life on a daily basis?

7. Thank God for bringing trials into your life that bring you to the end of yourself where you find Him. Ask Him to forgive you for thinking you are entitled to have an easy, trial-free life. Ask Him to grant you strength and stamina to power through the trials He has ordained for your life.