September 14, 2025 – A Study of Matthew – Delighting in Difficulties

Delighting in Difficulties 

Isaiah 35:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ The desert and the parched land will be glad;
    the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, ² it will burst into bloom;
    it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
    the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
    the splendor of our God.

³ Strengthen the feeble hands,
    steady the knees that give way;
⁴ say to those with fearful hearts,
    “Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
    he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
    he will come to save you.”

⁵ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
    and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
⁶ Then will the lame leap like a deer,
    and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
    and streams in the desert.
⁷ The burning sand will become a pool,
    the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
    grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

⁸ And a highway will be there;
    it will be called the Way of Holiness;
    it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
    wicked fools will not go about on it.
⁹ No lion will be there,
    nor any ravenous beast;
    they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
¹⁰     and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
    everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

 

What will “the desert and the parched land” be (verse 1)?

Whose “glory” will they see (verse 2)?

How should the “knees that give way” be treated (verse 3)?

Who will come for “those with fearful hearts” (verse 4)?

What will happen to “the eyes of the blind” (verse 5)?

What will the “mute tongue” do (verse 6)?

Where will there be “bubbling springs” (verse 7)?

Who will not journey on “the Way of Holiness” (verse 8)?

Who “will walk there” (verse 9)?

What will overtake those “the Lord has rescued” (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how difficulties and opportunities are connected for those who are redeemed?

Matthew 11:1-6 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.

² When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples ³ to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

⁴ Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵ The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. ⁶ Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

When did Jesus “go on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee” (verse 1)?

 

Where was John (verse 2)?

What did John send his disciples to ask Jesus (verse 3)?

What were John’s disciples to “report to John” (verse 4)?

Who receives “sight” (verse 5)?

What is “proclaimed to the poor” (verse 5)?

Who is blessed (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how difficulties and opportunities are connected for those who are redeemed?

In your opinion, what does the context of the verses from Isaiah 35:1-10 that Jesus quoted to answer John the Baptist’s question from prison in Matthew 11:1-6 give a reassuring richness to the answer?

2 Corinthians 12:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. ² I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. ³ And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— ⁴ was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. ⁵ I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. ⁶ Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, ⁷ or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

What is Paul going to “go on” and do (verse 1)?

Where was “the man in Christ” caught up to (verse 2)?

What did “this man” hear (verse 4)?

What will Paul boast about himself (verse 5)?

Why would Paul “not be a fool” if he boasted (verse 6)?

Why was Paul “given a thorn” in his flesh (verse 7)?

How many times did Paul plead “with the Lord to take it away” (verse 8)?

What did the Lord tell Paul (verse 9)?

Why was Paul going to “boast all the more gladly” about his weaknesses (verse 9)?

When is Paul “strong” (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how difficulties and opportunities are connected for those who are redeemed?

In your opinion, how are the transformation of the desert in Isaiah 35:1-10 and Paul receiving Christ’s power in 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 similar?

In your opinion, why would Jesus heal the ailments of those who came to Him in Matthew 11:1-6 but refuse to remove the thorn from Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:1-10?

Hebrews 12:4-13 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵ And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
    and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
⁶ because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
    and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

⁷ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

¹² Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. ¹³ “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

What have the people Paul is writing to “not yet resisted to the point of” (verse 4)?

What does the “word of encouragement” say not to make light of (verse 5)?

Who does the Lord chasten (verse 6)?

How should hardship be endured (verse 7)?

Who are “not true sons and daughters” (verse 8)?

How did we feel about “human fathers who disciplined us” (verse 9)?

Why does God discipline us (verse 10)?

What does discipline produce (verse 11)?

What should we “strengthen” (verse 12)?

Why should we “make level paths for” our feet (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how difficulties and opportunities are connected for those who are redeemed?

In your opinion, how does the time of waiting for the redemption of the Lord for those who are in the desert in Isaiah 35:1-10 become something more through Paul’s discussion of Hebrews 12:3-13?

In your opinion, how does our view of the time John spent in prison while others were being healed in Matthew 11:1-6 transformed when we think of Paul’s encouragement in Hebrews 12:3-13?

In your opinion, how does God using Paul’s thorn to help him recognize the times he was strong in 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 help us better understand Paul’s message about God’s discipline in Hebrews 12:3-13?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Isaiah, Matthew, 2 Corinthians, and Hebrews teach us about delighting in difficulties?

In your opinion, how can we move from stumbling to boasting today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)