FRIDAY
Hebrews 11:1
As we come to the end of the week, let’s return again to the Key Verse that we began the week with. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Having now had the opportunity to think more deeply about what it means to live in the awareness of Jesus being risen, how does this passage speak more richly about living in the hope and assurance of what we don’t always see with our eyes, but are profoundly aware of in other ways? What are some of the ways that living in the awareness that Jesus is indeed risen and inviting us to understand our lives in the context of the larger story that God is sharing, change how we experience life right now?
• What new insights have you gained this week in terms of what it looks like to live in the awareness that Jesus is risen, that we are not alone, and that we can rest in the assurance of how the story ends?
• Where are the growing edges for you as you think about what it means to keep our eyes fixed, less on what is seen and more on what is unseen, but ultimately more real?
• What is the difference between how we experience “certainty” in a laboratory and the certainty we experience in a relationship with someone we trust? How can confusing the two make us less settled in our ability to trust that God is with us?
• What questions do you have, or struggle with, when it comes to resting in the assurance of faith?
• As you think back over your reflections this week, what do you sense God inviting you to consider, more fully embrace, or perhaps is nudging you towards? As you prepare to enter more fully into your Sabbath experience this weekend, take a few moments to share with God in prayer what is on your heart.
If you are interested in exploring further the relationship
between certainty and doubt in your walk with God, you might consider Benefit
of the Doubt, by Greg Boyd. Link Below...
Passages for further reflection: 2 Corinthians 4:18; Luke
17:6; Ephesians 3:12; Colossians 2:8; 1 Peter 1:8-9