<aside> đź’ˇ BIG IDEA: A life well lived finishes well.
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Whether you are retired or hope to retire in the future, what would your ideal retirement look like?
READ James 5:7-12
<aside> 📌 Note: When we see a sentence in Scripture that starts with a “Therefore,” it almost always points back to the section before it to provide context for whatever command, encouragement, exhortation, etc. comes next.
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ASK: Looking at verse 7 and considering what James was writing about immediately before verse 7, why was he encouraging Christians to be patient as they await Jesus’ return?
Why does James use the image of a farmer to illustrate what faithful patience for Jesus’ return looks like? How should this image offer hope to Christians who are suffering?
Why does James admonish Christians not to grumble against one another? Why might grumbling against someone be a particular temptation in the midst of suffering?
READ Job 1:6-2:10 and 42:7-17. What does this story teach us about faithfulness in the midst of suffering and about how God sovereignly works through our suffering? Why does James use Job as an example for how Christians ought to live as they await Jesus’ return?
<aside> ✝️ Gospel Connection: READ 1 Peter 2:19-23. How is Jesus the ultimate example of faithfulness in the midst of unjust suffering? What was the good that God worked through Jesus’ suffering? How should Jesus’ suffering lead us to endure through hardships in this life?
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ASK: What difficulties are you facing right now where it feels impossible to honor God? How do you tend to respond when life gets hard?
What do you tend to focus on when life gets hard? How does remembering that Jesus is coming back one day to make all things right change the way you see your current hardships? How might this change the way you respond when you are treated unfairly by others?
ASK: What would it look like for you to patiently endure through difficulties this week, looking to Jesus for hope? When you think about what it would look like at the end of your life to finish well, how does that shape the way you approach tomorrow?
RESPOND: Take time as a GROUP to praise God that He is both sovereign over all our circumstances and simultaneously compassionate toward us in suffering. Thank Jesus for enduring the most unjust suffering ever so that we might have hope beyond our troubles in this life.
Confess where you have given in to complaining when life gets hard and where you have lost sight of hope in Jesus coming back one day.