You’ll Get Through This
You fear you won’t make it through. We all do. We fear that the depression will never lift, the yelling will never stop, and the pain will never leave. In the pits, surrounded by steep walls and aching reminders, we wonder: Will this gray sky ever brighten? Will this load ever lighten?
Bible Study
Pastor, if you plan on doing a small group study, a message series or both this coming year, consider You’ll Get Through This as your choice. It will bring life to your congregation. They will have extra reason to invite unchurched friends and family to attend church. You will find that the content will enrich your soul.
In You’ll Get Through This, pastor and New York Times best-selling author Max Lucado offers assurance. “Deliverance is to the Bible what jazz music is to Mardi Gras: bold, brassy, and everywhere.”
Lucado’s study series is one of the best, if not THE best, studies in my experience. We used this study in three churches, and the response was the same in all three: “This is just what I needed.” My wife led hundreds of women through the study in her small groups. Years later, people are talking about the study and living out the content.
Same Page Initiative
Consider running a six-week “same page initiative” when your Sunday message and small group study use the same material. This format is an effective way to help people apply your message content through discussion, mindset, and lifestyle.
Six weeks starting in mid-February or early March allows you time in January to recruit small group leaders, train them, sign up participants, and order the materials. This gives you six solid weeks of preaching content.
Through this six-part series, there is a repeated statement that is worth memorizing. We printed these on fridge magnets and distributed bookmarks:
You’ll get through this.
It won’t be painless.
It won’t be quick.
But God will use this mess for good.
Don’t be foolish or naïve.
But don’t despair, either.
With God’s help, you’ll get through this.
Max reminds readers God doesn’t promise that getting through trials will be quick or painless. It wasn’t for Joseph–tossed in a pit by his brothers, sold into slavery, wrongfully imprisoned, forgotten and dismissed–but his Old Testament story is in the Bible for this reason: to teach us to trust God to trump evil.
Series Content
Session 1, "You'll Get Through This," you will be introduced to the story of Joseph and how his trials were not a weekend trip but a tour of duty that lasted two decades.
Session 2, "Down and Out, but Never Alone," you will learn how Joseph had an unquenchable spirit and refused to stay down on the mat.
Session 3, "Stupid Won't Fix Stupid," you will learn that when we are tired, weary and disheartened, Satan will try to entice us to sin.
Session 4, "Is God Good When Life Isn't?" you will learn that we must trust God is always good and never try to impose on Him our sense of how He should run the universe.
Session 5, "Now, About Those Family Scandals and Scoundrels," you will learn that no family is as all-together and glossy as it may seem, but God can help us take steps to restore our family relationships.
Session 6, "God Can Use This for Good," you will learn that in God's story, vengeance is replaced by grace, and he uses all things for his purposes.
Resources
Get the book through Amazon - You’ll Get Through This. The Study Guide is available on ChurchSource.com.
Bob Jones is the founder of REVwords.com, an author, blogger, and coach with 39 years of pastoral experience. Bob is also an Advance Coach with the ABNWT Resource Centre. You can connect with Bob here.