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?
If you see God as holding you accountable for things you cannot or will not do, it will be difficult to trust Him—and you may think that if you let Him be in complete control of your life, there is no telling how big your risk might be.
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On the other hand, if you see God as wanting share the riches of His kingdom with you, without risk to you, so He can 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 deal with things that can bring worry and anxiety into your life, you will have the option to view them from the perspective of your Fallen nature or from the perspective of your Kingdom nature.
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It might be helpful to think of yourself like the moon. God gives you all the light you have, and you simply remain faithful to share it with those needing light in the darkness
(Matthew 5:14-16“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (ESV) ). The moon does not worry about whether it will be successful as a moon. God has positioned it perfectly to reflect the sun.
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Coach: Have your student read the text on the left out-loud. Have them explain what the included Bible verse has to do with what it says. Then discuss the questions and Bible verses below with your student.
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For Discussion with your Coach:
When you feel that God is holding you accountable for what you should do for Him, ask yourself a few questions:
- Does God really need my help or is He just wanting me to enjoy being a part of what He is doing?
- What if I mess up? Is He going to blame me?
- What are my risks if all I do is faithfully (without reservation) reflect what He gives me?
- “Hasn’t God positioned me perfectly to reflect the SON?” God’s word says often, “do not be anxious” (Matthew 6:25-31 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ” (ESV);Philippians 4:6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (ESV)).
- You try hard not to worry, but you can’t stop. If you dig deep in your soul, do you find that your worry comes from a misplaced sense of a desire to be successful by your own efforts (which, of course, reflects a lack of faith in the works of God—the finished work of Christ)?
