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WOMEN’S MIDWEEK NOTES FROM MARCH 17, 2021
“Surrendering What We Can’t Control”
Notes from Rachele Gibson
I made a playlist for us to enjoy, for those who find music helpful in your relationship with God: Spotify – ATHCoC Women surrender
This is a different kind of lesson. Because we cannot read all the scriptures I wanted to read together, you will have homework from this lesson. If the points resonate with you, you will have a starting point for your own personal Bible study and reflection. Our goal: To start a conversation, to stir your thoughts, and to call you to be a Berean (like Acts 17). And to confess our sins and shortcomings in this area and to call you to examine your own heart and mind.
Matthew 6:19-34
We are all familiar with this passage, but have you ever wondered why v 22-23 are there in the middle of this passage about treasures and money? It seems a little odd, a little unrelated – unless it is not. Could it be that it is describing our lens/perspective on life, on money, on God?
Is our perspective one of abundance or scarcity? Do we see God as a generous father or do we believe that he is withholding from us what we need?
Our lens/perspective impacts how we live and whether we are willing to surrender the areas of our life that we want to control. So ask yourself what is your lens?
Homework:
Read Matthew 5-7
Wrestle with the text: What does Jesus’ sermon tell us about God’s generous care for us? How does the perspective on God’s generosity change how we read his words?
Three truths and a lie
- God is pleased with His good creation: God is pleased with everything He made. Think about Genesis 1 and 2. Let’s not read it like a science textbook or lab report but as a poem from God, describing in basic terms to us, in ways we can understand, how he made everything about life…with an ultimate goal to be in relationship with us. He made a simple song that contrasted His nature with their view of gods in the polytheistic world of their time. A song that we could sing to remember how He intentionally made every part of creation – nothing was an accident, nothing was an afterthought, nothing was an oversight, all of it was made by God’s command, His purpose, and it was all good. And when he makes man and woman in his image. It is very good.
Think about it, He made us in his image – and capable of having a relationship with him. In Genesis 2, in another description of creation, God reminds Adam that he is not like the other living creatures. Think about it. God presents all the animals to Adam and has his name them. He presents them and reminds Adam, that none of these animals are suitable partners for you. He shows Adam that he is not an animal. None of these animals are made in the image of God. Only Adam and Eve are formed in the image of God. We are unique in the creation.
- God is a faithful protector for His good creation: God is a faithful protector of us, His image bearers. He knows how we are made – that we are dust – so he provides guidance on how we should live. Psalm 103:7-17 , Isaiah 40:27-31
Consider how God cares for Adam and Eve, his image bearers. We read in Genesis 2 and 3 that He places them in a beautiful garden, with everything that they need. And God communicates with them, He walks with them and protects them.
Consider the way that God cares for His creation as he describes in Matthew 6 – as He cares for the birds of the air and flowers of the field, He will care for us. God gives us everything that we need for life. Remember 2 Peter 1:3-4 – He is generous to us and makes sure we have all that we need.
Homework:
Read Genesis 3
Wrestle with the text:
What weak point in her perspective of God does the serpent use against Eve in this story?
What weak point in our perspective of God does Satan use against us in our lives?
Read Exodus 32
How are we like the people of Israel, after witnessing God’s good provision, start to fashion a god of our own making?
- God is wise and powerful: God’s wisdom and power are far above ours. God is the Creator and sustainer of life and we are not. There is something very powerful in understanding that God created life, created us. Consider Job 38-42, Isaiah 40, Psalm 8, Psalm 19, Psalm 104, Psalm 139. As you read these different passages all elaborating on Genesis 1, it’s humbling and amazing. It reminds me of God’s creation of everything I see and even what I cannot see and fully understand.
Homework: Read Job 38-39
Wrestle with the text:
What does this text tell us about our God?
Read Exodus 1-15
Wrestle with the text:
What do we learn about God as he goes toe-to-toe
with an emperor who thinks he is a god?
Read Isaiah 40-54
Wrestle with the text:
What do we learn about God as He describes His purposes
through the rising & falling of empires?
Satan’s lie: Satan wants us to doubt all of these things about God – Satan wants us to believe that either God is not willing or God is not able.
He whispers: (1) God has given up on us, he has abandoned us, we are too far away from God, so that we have to fend for ourselves.
Or he tells us: (2) God is not trustworthy, that he will not provide for us, so we have to rely on ourselves alone.
Think about the story in Genesis 3 – what was the serpent really doing when he approached Eve about the tree. The serpent wanted to cast doubt about God’s trustworthiness – he wanted to convince Eve that God was holding out on her, was maybe not giving her his best, was hiding things from her – by tempting her with the one thing she was told not to have (not supposed to do) – she could eat everything else, she had everything she needed because God had richly provided for her – and the snake wanted her to doubt God’s care for her – he wanted her to think that God was not trustworthy.
I also see from this story that Satan wants us to rely on the internal voice in our head alone, to not consult with God’s word or listen to His voice, but only trust in ourselves and our ideas and our instincts and our desires. But we are unique in all of creation – to humans, God speaks to us, he interacts with us through his word, he desires a relationship with us. Satan tries to convince us that we are the smartest person we know and encourages us to not reach out and learn but stay inside our own head. We are warned about that foolishness in the proverbs.
Satan wants alienate us from God so that we don’t run to him for comfort or help. Satan wants us to feel isolated and alone, separate from God. Satan wants us to hide from God and feel shame. He wants us to be defined by our mistakes, our bad choices. He wants us to be stuck – he wants us to have a skewed view of who we are and who God is
Homework: Read the Book of Proverbs
Wrestle with the text:
What do we learn about true wisdom?
Sharing – how do we try to grab control in our lives
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