Recap:
Week 1: Adam Hides. God Searches.
Week 2: Humanity Falls. God Provides A Way Through The Storm.
Week 3: God pursuing a people, so that through those people, He can rescue the world.
Week 4: God’s pursuit continues, in the unexpected and even into the pit.
Week 5: God’s pursuit of humanity is to free, not just to find.
Week 6: God not only brings you out, He will bring you through
Week 7: God pursues us because He is faithful to His promises.
Week 8: We may forget and walk away from God, but He never forgets or walks away from us.
Judges 21:25 “ In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.”
YOU DON’T DRIFT AWAY FROM GOD OVERNIGHT.
God pursues us with intention and in order to have a relationship with Him, we must pursue Him with intention in return. Faith does not just happen. In order to not forget God, we have to keep our eyes focused on Him through the highs as well as the lows. Just going to church once a week does not build a relationship. If we want to remain close to God and walking in His promises, we have to put in the time and effort to get to know Him and stay in constant contact with Him. What are some things that can lead to drifting away from God? Have you experienced drift? Can you think of ways that you can put guardrails in place to help prevent you from drifting away from God? Share your thoughts and discuss in your small group.
We have seen over the past weeks that God knew Israel would drift. He had them build memorials to remind future generations of what He had done and the promises yet to be fulfilled. Memorials are good, but if we do not share what they stand for with future generations, then drift is inevitable. The new generations of Israel were living in the promised land, but how they got there and who was responsible for taking them there had been left in the past. It is the same now with children and grandchildren or other individuals within our sphere of influence. We are called to share boldly of God’s goodness so that others know what He has done. How can you help others not just be close to the things of God, but to grow in relationship with God Himself? What memorials in your life do you need to share with people in your sphere of influence to remind them of God’s faithfulness? Discuss with a trusted Christian friend or your small group.
JUST BECAUSE IT FEELS RIGHT DOESN’T MAKE IT RIGHT.
Feelings are not facts. Our feelings can help us navigate situations, allowing us to have empathy and helping with our discernment, but they should never take the place of the truth found in God’s Word. We are called to pray about everything, so if we are making decisions based on feelings and not prayer, it is highly likely we will not make the best decisions. God gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us, and following Him will keep us in alignment with God’s will for our lives. How do you make decisions most often, do you lean in to prayer and wise counsel, or do you allow your feelings to determine your decisions? Have your feelings caused trouble for you in the past? Can you think of some decisions in your life right now where you need to lean in to where the Holy Spirit is leading and away from your feelings? Take some time to discuss pitfalls of doing “what feels right” with a trusted Christian friend or small group.
If you haven’t, take some time to read through a few more chapters of Judges and as you do, pay close attention to all the rescuing and pursuing of Israel that God did and how quickly they drifted away from Him once they were rescued. What can we learn from Israel? What do the stories in Judges teach us about God? Have you been through a similar experience as Israel, doing what was right in your own eyes or because something felt right, and found yourself needing rescue? Let’s take some time to journal a prayer to God thanking Him that He does not abandon us to our decisions made when we are in our feelings. Discuss how heartbreaking it must be for God to see us step away from Him and watch as we make decisions that lead to His rescue with your small group.
EVEN WHEN PEOPLE WALK AWAY, GOD KEEPS REACHING.
The steadfastness of God’s relentless pursuit of His children is beyond understanding. God is so good that He places people in our lives to speak His truth to us, but it is up to us to actually listen to that truth and allow it to change us. Israel was given Judges to help lead them, but they refused to listen to these judges, choosing instead to worship other gods. And yet we see that “the LORD took pity on His people.” (Judges 2:16) Over and over again, Israel refused to learn and give up their evil practices, and God, in His infinite love continued to provide ways for Israel to return to Him. How has God’s grace given you a way to come home in the past? At the time, did you realize that it was His grace reaching out to you? If you did not, can you reflect and see it now? What can you do to start moving toward making decisions through prayer that will take you closer to God rather than lead you farther away? Take some time this week to really sit with these questions and examine how often you begin with prayer rather than leaning into your feelings for decisions you have to make. Journal your thoughts and anything that He reveals during this process.
This question for Deep Dive has had an obedience theme, so let’s keep that going. How would responding in obedience to God’s direction have changed things for Israel? How could responding in obedience change things in your own life? God uses all of our choices for our good and His glory, but how much more glory could we shower on Him if we would obey first? Are you thankful today that God is working in your story before you can see Him working? What one step can you take this week to show God some gratitude? Discuss with your small group or a trusted Christian friend.
GOD CAN BRING A BEAUTIFUL FUTURE OUT OF A PAINFUL CHAPTER.
Naomi went from having what appeared to be a blessed life, to what could be described as a cursed life. Scripture doesn’t tell us exactly, but from Ruth’s decision to remain with Naomi, can you infer that Naomi must have been a woman of great faith who instilled a sense of loyalty in Ruth? God allows circumstances to shape and mold us into the people He is calling us to be. He has a plan and a purpose and Naomi & Ruth’s story shows that we can trust Him. Does this story bring encouragement for when you face a hard chapter in your own life? What does this story reveal to you about the importance of perseverance and trust in God? Today’s hardest chapter could be positioning us to receive the biggest blessing right around the corner, or to prepare the way for future generations to know and grow stronger in their own faith. Take some time to consider how God can bring something beautiful out of your deepest pain. Ask God to reveal things to you that perhaps your spiritual eyes may not have been open to see in the past.
Have you experienced God bringing something beautiful out of a painful time in your life? Can you see how God was pursuing you through your time of pain in order to help deliver you into your something beautiful? Are you leaning in to God’s pursuit and transformation process today? How is He asking you to remember His faithfulness in the past to encourage you in the present and remind you in the future? If you haven’t, take some time to read over the Scripture we covered this week and select one verse or passage that resonates with your spirit to memorize and serve as a reminder of how God continually pursues His people.
Scripture References for this week:
Judges 2; Judges 21; Ruth 1; Ruth 2-3; Ruth 4; Matthew 1:1-17
