Coach: Ask your student to read out-loud the below title and the text in the two boxes. Then ask them to comment on how often they actually think one way versus the other way.
So, what’s all this got to do with trusting God when He brings change into your life?
If you see God as putting you into high risk situations without a safety net, it will be difficult to trust Him—and you may think that if you let Him have His way completely in your life, there is no telling how miserable He might make you.
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On the other hand, if you see God bringing change into your life to enrich your life and cause you to have more intimate fellowship with Him, then you will intuitively trust Him more—because you will see that He is continually committed to blessing you.
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An opportunity for spiritual training:
As you experience change in your life, you will see it as either a blessing to be viewed positively, or you will see it as something negative to be avoided in order to avoid risk.
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For Discussion with Your Coach:
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Coach: Please discuss these questions and Bible verses below with your student.
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- Examine any reluctance you have to change. How should you focus more on the heart of the requestor and less on the cost/benefit of the request?
- God desires you to “walk by faith,” which by definition involves going beyond your natural comfort zone. This especially applies when you sense that God wants you to be a friend to the unfriendly, love the unlovely, and be kind to the ones who treat you unkindly (Matthew 5:43-47)“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?” (ESV).
- Seeing change as an invitation will focus you on the loving, merciful, all-powerful God as the one who is asking you to trust Him. How does focusing on the outcomes of this change work against this trust? Jesus’ invitation to change is the call to repentance (Mark 1:15)“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent [change your perspective] and believe in the gospel.” (ESV). Repentance is having a completely new perspective on how God is working in your life.
