Choose to trust God in the middle of what you don’t understand
Slide 1: You are so valuable. Slide 2: God paid attention to every detail when He formed you. Slide 3. God gave his very best for you. Slide 4. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Slide 5: You were designed with a purpose in mind. Slide 6: You are so so so so valuable.
Slide 1: God doesn’t backtrack. Slide 2: He doesn’t contradict Himself. Slide 3: What He said, He meant. Slide 4: What He promised, He will do. Slide 5: You can build your life on that kind of truth.
Slide 1: There is power in the name of Jesus Slide 2: There is power in the name of Jesus Slide 3: There is power in the name of Jesus
1. Signs you might be in a wilderness season… 2. You're doing everything right and nothing is moving. Praying. Reading. Showing up. And it feels like your prayers are hitting the ceiling and sliding down the wall. 3. You're not angry at God exactly. Just... confused. The silence isn't hostile. It's just very, very quiet. 4. The things that used to fill you up aren't filling you up the same way right now. Worship feels flat. Scripture feels familiar but distant. You're going through the motions and you know it. 5. You keep waiting for the thing that's supposed to happen next. And it keeps not happening. And you're running out of ways to be okay with that. 6. You're tired in a way that sleep doesn't fix. Not physically exhausted. Soul tired. 7. Here’s the thing: The wilderness is where God does some of his most important work. Israel. Moses. David. Jesus. All of them spent time there. None of them stayed forever. 8. The wilderness has an exit. You are not lost. You are in process. And the God who led you in is the same God who leads you out.
What He promised, He will do.
Your circumstances are not the final word. God has the final word.
Even your doubts can be worship. The Psalms are full of this type of worship. 1. Worship doesn’t always look like singing songs with hands raised. 2. Worship can just look like laying yourself bare before the Lord. Being honest with Him. 3. When you bring your doubts to God, it’s actually an act of faith. It’s trusting Him to prove Himself to you. 4. You don’t have to resolve your doubt before you come to God. 5. Worship Him in the middle of uncertainty.
The best excuses people gave God. 1. #5: Gideon. “My clan is the weakest and I am the least of my family.” God still used him to win the battle. 2. #4: Jeremiah. “I don’t know how to speak. I’m only a child.” God still wrote one of the longest books of the Bible through him. 3. #3: Moses. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” God still delivered Moses’ people through him. 4. #2: Moses (again). “What if they don’t believe me? I’m slow of speech. Please send someone else.” 5. #1: Sarah. Sarah laughed at the promise of God. Still, God gave her a son that became a mighty nation. 6. Our excuses don’t limit God from using us. He has an amazing plan for you regardless.
The disciples watched Jesus walk on water and still doubted. If they got to keep going so do you.
1. “God, let me die.” (A story you need to read.) 2. Elijah had just called down fire from heaven and then ran for his life because one person threatened him. 3. He collapsed in the desert, alone, and prayed the most honest prayer of his life: "I've had enough, Lord. Take my life." 4. God's response wasn't a rebuke, a lecture, or a theology lesson. It was an angel, a fresh loaf of bread, and a jar of water. 5. He was told to eat, because the journey ahead was going to be longer than he had strength for right now. 6. God never told Elijah his feelings were wrong. He just refused to let discouragement and exhaustion have the final word. 7. If you're sitting under your own tree right now, the God who met Elijah in the desert already knows where you are. He has what you need.
We may not see the way yet, but we know the One who does.
Don’t give up on the promises of God
This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. - Hebrews 6:19
Pray this if today feels heavy. 1. God, I feel overwhelmed and I don’t even know where to start. 2. My thoughts are loud. My heart feels tired. Please quiet the noise inside me. 3. I release what I cannot control. I surrender what I cannot fix. I give You what I cannot carry. 4. Fill my mind with Your peace, my body with rest, and my heart with hope. 5. I am not alone. You are with me here.
Even faith the size of a mustard seed still counts as faith
1: Trusting God is easy when life is good. But what about when it’s hard? 2: When the prayers feel unanswered. When the waiting feels too long. When the outcome feels uncertain. 3: Trusting God doesn’t mean you have all the answers. It's believing He does. 4: If you’re in a difficult season right now: God hasn’t forgotten you. He's working it all out, even if you can't see it.
1: When life feels heavy, hold onto these verses. 2: You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you - Isaiah 26:3 3: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. - Psalm 46:1 4: He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. - Psalm 23:2-3 5: Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. - Psalm 30:5
Peace is not found in the absence of trouble, but in the presence of Christ. 1. Faith doesn’t remove difficulty. It prepares us for it. 2. “In this world you will have trouble.” — John 16:33 3. Peace is available only in Him. 4. “In me you may have peace.” — John 16:33 5. Jesus has already promised victory. 6. “Take heart! I have overcome the world.” — John 16:33 7. Trouble may surround you, but peace is within reach.
1: Joy is still possible in hard seasons 2: Be honest with God. Bring all your emotions to Him. God can handle it. 3: Remember that seasons change. What feels painful today won't last forever. God is at work. 4: Stay connected in community. It's easy to isolate in hard seasons, but don't. Healing can happen when we walk through it with others. 5: Fix your eyes on God. Trust that He is still good. Hold on to His promises. 6: If you’re in a hard season right now, remember this: God has not left you. Even here, joy can still be found.
1: Bring your questions. 2: Bring your worries. 3: Bring your whole self. 4: There’s room for you.
God is not merely in charge of the big things; He is sovereign over all things. – R.C. Sproul
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. - Hebrews 10:23
Your word is my source of hope. - Psalm 119:114
