God With Us • Week 3 December 18th, 19th, 20th
Matthew 1:23
23“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
God was so crazy in love with us, He came down to earth to be with us…
With us in Loss.
When we know that God is with us in Loss, we don’t lose hope.
“Hope is
Proverbs 13:12 ESV
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
WHAT IS HOPE?
Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen.”
Hope: A Confident Assurance
When what we hope for doesn’t happen, or when our hope is delayed or deferred, we call that
It is easier to give God our PRAISE than our PAIN.
What do we do when Hope is deferred?
Lament: to express sorrow, mourning, or regret; to mourn aloud; to wail.
Biblical lament is transformative in nature and breathes life into the lamenter:
• It allows you to pour out your heart to God, unfiltered. God is not afraid of what you are feeling. Don’t bottle up what you are experiencing or thinking.
• It directs your emotions towards God, not towards yourself or others.
• It takes your heart on a journey. – not to only focus on the ‘valley/pit’
• By focusing on God, you are no longer at the center, but positioned within His story.
• It doesn’t change the situation, but the very process helps you to have a different posture in the situation as you endure with Hope.
1. Address - Directed to God
Psalm 142:1-2
I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. 2 I pour out before Him my complaint; before Him I tell my trouble.
2.Describe - Describes what happened and allows you to feel the emotion/pain
Psalm 142:3-4
3 When my spirit grows faint within me, it is You who watch over my way. In the path where I walk people have hidden a snare for me. Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. 4 I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.
3.Confession of Trust - Believe that God hears you
Psalm 142:5
5 I cry to you, Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
4.Request - Statement of what you want God to do
Psalm 142:6
6 Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me.
5.Vow of praise - God is worthy of worship whether we see what He is doing or not. This is our Promise of Thanksgiving
Psalm 142:3-7
7 Set me free from my prison,
that I may praise Your name.
Then the righteous will gather about me
because of your goodness to me.