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?
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