Jeremiah 17:7-8
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
8 They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” (Mark 14:34, NIV) Jesus experienced sorrow “to the point of death.”
Hard times can either distance us or bring us closer
We need both the winds of hardship and winds of relief to sweep across our lives if we are to be truly fruitful.
Unity and supporting each other, lean on each other, one team
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Importance of Having a Strong Support System and Being a support system
Growing Stronger as an individual and as a family
understanding God’s will
Romans 8:28 Consequences of our actions vs. something that happened through no fault of our own
When it’s a consequence of our own actions, we blame ourselves or others, when it’s something that happened by nature, we tend to blame God
Fallen world – Job (sin and nature)
“In this world you will have trouble, but have heart for I have overcome the world.”
Being a believer in God does not insure us from hard times
Hard times can either distance us or bring us closer
Unity and supporting each other, lean on each other, one team
When you’re going through hard times in life, what questions do you tend to have towards God?
What are some difficult things that you’ve had to experience in life?
What are some things that you learned while going through hard times?
Who/what was most helpful during hard times?
https://acoupleonpurpose.wordpress.com/2012/10/23/what-not-to-say/
