Week 6 Getting Back on the Path of Faith
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones.
Proverbs 3:5-8 (NASB)
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“Faith and doubt go hand in hand, they are complementaries. One who never doubts will never truly believe.” Hermann Hesse
Quote- Hermann Karl Hesse (2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include Demian, Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game, each of which explores an individual's search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. As reflected in Demian, and other works, he believed that "for different people, there are different ways to God"; but despite the influence he drew from Indian and Buddhist philosophies, he stated about his parents: “their Christianity, one not preached but lived, was the strongest of the powers that shaped and moulded me".
Passage- The genre of Proverbs is mainly “Proverbs” as the name describes, there are also some Parables and Poetry. This book was written mainly by Solomon, the wisest king ever to rule, however some of the later sections are written by Lemuel and Agur. It was written during Solomon’s reign 970-930 B.C. He asked God for wisdom to rule God’s nation and He granted the request.
The main purpose of this book is to teach wisdom to God’s people. Proverbs are short clever explanations, which are easy to remember. They contain truisms. These are things which are typically true however, not always. For example, "He who tills his land will have plenty of bread” (12:11), it is typically true that one who works his land will have bread but it is not a guarantee to always be true. They deal with life, principles, good judgment, and perception.
Opening Statement
The Christian world talks a lot about faith. Some blame calamities on a lack of faith. Some blame a lack of getting what we desire on a lack of faith. Some put all the effort, work, and load on us. God has a role to play in our faith too but before He can do his part, we have to harness our doubt and turn it into trust or the basic fuel of faith will be in short supply.
Ask: What is doubt?
Point: See Definitions
Ask: What is faith?
Point: See Definitions
Ask: What is Trust?
Point: See Definitions
Re-read today’s Passage
Ask: What does today’s passage give us that we can use as instructions for when we doubt and find our faith wavering?
Point: Trust in the Lord, God Almighty. Trust His ways. Trust the things He thinks are good and He thinks are bad instead of leaning on what I think, what the world thinks, or what others think that contradicts what He says.
Ask: How can we know God is trustworthy?
Point: First Reading (Jeremiah 29:10-14 (NASB)
Ask: But that was God talking to the Jews whom God sent into exile. How can I trust God won’t send me into exile? I don’t want to go into exile.
Point: The point isn’t that God won’t send us into exile but that if something like that does occur in our lives we can trust that God knows we are His, has a plan for what is His, and it is a plan that is for our welfare, our good rather than something that harms us.
Ask: But exile is a bad thing and that passage says God isn’t going to do bad things to His children right?
Point: If you look at the events of life as things that are out of our control and controlled by God always (predestination) then all you need is Jeremiah 19:11 and trust that God has a plan. However, if you carry the idea that Man has the ability to choose things in his life (Free-Will) then the larger picture becomes not what God is doing or allowing but how we as participants of Life view them.
Ask: What difference does how we view life make to our doubt, faith, and trust?
Point: Attitude is everything. If we view things as God being mean, we looking at God contrary to what God is as explained in scripture. If we have identified something as God causing it in our lives then it isn’t because He is mean.
Second Reading (Hebrews 12:4-6 (NASB)
Ask: What if I don’t think it is God doing something to me but a trouble either I caused or someone else?
Point: Third Reading (James 1:12-22 (NASB)
Ask: What should we do when something is happening in our lives that we see as a difficulty, bad, or a hardship and we don’t know what to think about it, that it is neither something God is doing nor any other reason for it happening?
Point: Fourth Reading (James 5:7-11 (NASB)
Closing Statement
Job was a very righteous man. He did nothing wrong to offend God, didn’t break any rules, and was in fact held in quite high regard by God “8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? (Job 1:8 (KJV)” Job didn’t understand why things were happening to him either, but he trusted God, stayed on God’s path, and stayed with God’s ways. This was counted as righteousness to Job and in the end he was rewarded for his trust.
Questions for the Week
When was the last time you read the book of Job all the way through?
Look at the book of Job in your Bible and plan out a schedule of reading to accomplish reading the entire book as quickly as you are able.
Write down your schedule as a commitment to yourself to start, stick with, and accomplish this task.
As you read, journal your thoughts about doubt, faith, and trust as it relates to what happens to Job, how Job reacts to what happens to him, and what God says about it all.
Scripture
First Reading
10 "For thus says the LORD, 'When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.
11 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
12 'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
13 'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
14 'I will be found by you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.'
Jeremiah 29:10-14 (NASB)
Second Reading
4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;
5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM;
6 FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."
Hebrews 12:4-6 (NASB) (Proverbs 3:12 Psalm 119:75)
Third Reading
12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.
14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.
15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.
19 This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;
20 for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.
James 1:12-22 (NASB)
Fourth Reading
7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.
8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.
9 Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.
10 As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
James 5:7-11 (NASB)
Definitions
doubt
\ ˈdau̇t \
doubted; doubting; doubts
1: to call into question the truth of : to be uncertain or in doubt about He doubts everyone's word.
2a: to lack confidence in : DISTRUST… find myself doubting him even when I know that he is honest …— H. L. Mencken
b: to consider unlikely I doubt if I can go.
3archaic
a: FEAR… I doubt I have been beguiled!— Sir Walter Scott
b: SUSPECT
intransitive verb
: to be uncertain
noun
plural doubts
Definition of doubt (Entry 2 of 2)
1a: a lack of confidence : DISTRUST has doubts about his abilities
b: an inclination not to believe or accept a claim met with doubt
2a: uncertainty of belief or opinion that often interferes with decision-making
b: a deliberate suspension of judgment
3: a state of affairs giving rise to uncertainty, hesitation, or suspense The outcome is still in doubt.
faith
\ ˈfāth \
plural faiths\ ˈfāths , sometimes ˈfāt͟hz \
: allegiance to duty or a person : LOYALTY lost faith in the company's president
b(1): fidelity to one's promises
(2): sincerity of intentions acted in good faith
2a(1): belief and trust in and loyalty to God
(2): belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion
b(1): firm belief in something for which there is no proof clinging to the faith that her missing son would one day return
(2): complete trust
3: something that is believed especially with strong conviction especially : a system of religious beliefs the Protestant faith
on faith
: without question took everything he said on faith
\ ˈfāth \
faithed; faithing; faiths
Definition of faith (Entry 2 of 2)
archaic
trust
\ ˈtrəst \
1a: assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something
b: one in which confidence is placed
2a: dependence on something future or contingent : HOPE
b: reliance on future payment for property (such as merchandise) delivered : CREDITbought furniture on trust
3a: a property interest held by one person for the benefit of another
b: a combination of firms or corporations formed by a legal agreementespecially : one that reduces or threatens to reduce competition
4a: CARE, CUSTODYthe child committed to her trust
b(1): a charge or duty imposed in faith or confidence or as a condition of some relationship
(2): something committed or entrusted to one to be used or cared for in the interest of another
c: responsible charge or office
5archaic : TRUSTWORTHINESS
in trust
: in the care or possession of a trustee
trusted; trusting; trusts
1a: to rely on the truthfulness or accuracy of : BELIEVEtrust a rumor
b: to place confidence in : rely ona friend you can trust
c: to hope or expect confidentlytrusts that the problem will be resolved soon
2a: to commit or place in one's care or keeping : ENTRUST