Connect
As a child, what was something that you dreamed of doing or becoming when you grew up?
View The After Party Video: https://youtu.be/SuwYP7ro-YY
Feel free to share this link with your Life Group to watch ahead of time or watch together as a group.
Engage
Read Matthew 11:1-3
John the Baptist was one of the greatest prophets who ever lived. Just a few chapters before this story, in Matthew 3, he was proclaiming the coming Messiah, Jesus, and yet here we find him doubting if indeed Jesus really was the Messiah, as he finds himself in circumstances that he least expected. Can you relate to this? One moment so confident and full of faith, only to find yourself in a situation that you least expected, feeling desperately confused and disappointed? Share a personal experience (whether recent or from years back) in which you found yourself in such a place.
Read Matthew 11:4-6
Consider the words by which Jesus responds to John. What do you notice about His response, how He addresses John’s doubts, His heart towards John’s honest question? What is Jesus reminding Him of? How is Jesus comforting him in his doubt?
Read Matthew 11:7-11
Though John’s story didn’t end the way he hoped it might, his life’s purpose and impact continue on to this day. Do you ever question God’s story for your life? Are you still wrestling with what’s been written and where you find yourself or have you been able to see some glimmers of unexpected hope as you live into your story? Allow everyone a chance to share their story if they feel compelled to do so.
Apply
Wolfgang encouraged us all to do three things when it comes to disappointment in life:
- Recognize Your Pain: What are you grieving the loss of this past year? Name your grief. (As you share with your group, be gracious with each other as well as yourself, recognizing that only you know your own pain but that is real and true for you. The goal is not to compare pain to pain but rather to simply acknowledge each other’s grief and safely hold a sacred space for each other.)
- Remember God’s Promises: Even in your deepest disappointment and doubts, what do you know that is true of God? What promises do you see in His Word, that you know by heart, that anchor you in hope as you look into the unknown future? Share those promises with each other, take a few minutes to remember together, and then remind each other often.
- Remain Open to a New Plan: In light of your disappointment, grief, and doubts, consider for a moment how God might be working in the midst of it all. What plan might He be crafting to draw you closer to Him through these hardships - to heal you, refine you, to make you more like Him, that might be a blessing to others and point them to Him?
Pray
Father, we admit our disappointments and griefs, and we lay them down at your feet. Thank you that you are not a God far off but are ever near and ever at work. May we remember your promises and choose to trust you regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in. Lord, be our source of hope, fill us with joy and peace as we seek to trust you no matter what. May we overflow with confident hope through the power of Your Holy Spirit within us. We love you and we look to you! Amen.
Bonus
Carve out some room this week to read over and meditate upon Psalms 22, 44, and 77.
In what ways do you resonate with the writer of these psalms and where do you see God in the midst of the lament?