Wish You Were Here - Part 2

INTRODUCTION

How do you get from where you are to where you wish you were . . . or even where God wishes you were? Even the thought of pursuing the life God wants for you can be scary. It can stir a fight-or-flight response in you. That’s because the greatest obstacle to getting to where God wishes you were is how you see you. You see the problems of your past. But God sees the potential for your future.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Do you tend to be confident or to doubt yourself? How has that tendency influenced your decision-making?

2. Talk about a time when you saw someone paralyzed by the mistakes of the past. What opportunities did that person miss because of his or her guilt or shame?

3. Read Judges 6:11–16. What challenges or setbacks have you experienced that make you doubt if God is on your side or if you’re capable of living the life he wishes for you?

4. What are some reasons it’s so tempting for people to try to power up and accomplish things in their own strength rather than to trust in their heavenly Father?

5. In what ways does your past make it difficult for you to believe that God loves you deeply and unconditionally?

6. What is one thing you can do this week to begin to see you the way God sees you? What can this group do to encourage and support you?

MOVING FORWARD

If there’s a difference between the way God sees you, and the way you see yourself, you are the one not seeing straight. To see how God sees, believe what God says. Don’t let your self-image get in the way of what God wants to do through you. Believe him! See you how he sees you—as a son or daughter of the King.

CHANGING YOUR MIND

The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1