Read an Excerpt
you'll get through this
HOPE AND HELP FOR YOUR TURBULENT TIMES
By Max Lucado, KEVIN HARNEY, SHERRY HARNEY Thomas Nelson
Copyright © 2013 Max Lucado
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8499-2300-5
CHAPTER 1
SESSION 1
You'll Get Through This
Introduction
No one travels far down the road of life without discovering that this journey is not always smooth or perfect. We can pray and wish for safety on the way. We should enjoy the stretches of the ride when the sun shines and things go beautifully. We ought to thank God for the times when we find ourselves singing, whistling, laughing, and smiling as we travel along.
But every single human being has discovered that there are bumps, detours, and even collisions that can bring our joy to a screeching halt. This is not fatalism. It is not negativity. It is certainly not a lack of faith. It is life on this planet.
If you meet someone—a preacher, teacher, or sales person—who tries to tell you otherwise, BEWARE! If someone is peddling promises of a life with endlessly calm seas, perpetual blue skies, freedom from back pain, a guarantee of financial security, and ear-to-ear smiles all of your days, be very, very careful.
The Bible is filled with faithful friends of God who suffered in this life. Moses was violently opposed by the people he spent his life loving and trying to lead. David learned to dodge spears hurled at him by a mad king. Ruth walked through the death of her husband and became a stranger in a strange land. Jeremiah was beaten and thrown into a pit. Stephen, an early church leader, was stoned to death. The apostle Paul was strapped up and beaten no less than five times. The list could go on and on.
Then there is Joseph. He discovered at a young age that the road of life is not always smooth. His story is peppered with rejection, false attacks, deceitful accusations, enslavement, imprisonment, and long stretches of loneliness.
If you have ever hit a hard patch of road and thought, "I'll never get through this," you just might want to look over Joseph's shoulder and learn from his journey. It was hard. It was not a weekend trip but a tour of duty that lasted about two decades! But his story echoes through the centuries to remind us that we can make it through even the toughest of times. We really can.
Talk About It
Tell about a situation you faced during which you felt, "I don't think I will ever make it through this." How did you feel when you made it through?
Video Teaching Notes
As you watch the video teaching segment for session 1 featuring Max Lucado, use the following outline to record anything that stands out to you.
Ordinary people face very real pain!
Meeting Joseph's family, with all their warts
Spending time in a cistern
You meant it for evil, God re-wove it
The truth of the matter:
It won't be painless
It won't be quick
God will use this mess for good
Video Discussion and Bible Study
1. In the video, Max talks about the hard times we face on life's journey, and he says, "God will use this mess for good." How have you experienced this in your life?
Read: Genesis 37:12–24
2. Tell about a time you ended up in a cistern and how you got there. How did you feel while you were in the cistern? How did you plead with God and even with people in an effort to get out of that painful situation?
3. If you are in a cistern right now, briefly share the situation (if you feel comfortable doing so) and how your group members can support and care for you in this time.
Read: Genesis 37:1–11
4. Some of the pain we face in life comes from the very people who should love and care for us—our family. This was certainly true for Joseph. What dysfunctions and unhealthy patterns in Joseph's family led to heartache and pain?
5. When you consider the road of life you have traveled thus far, how has your family (or maybe your church family) caused you pain and heartache? (Please refrain from using specific names; simply share generally about the experience.) Why do these wounds pierce so deeply?
6. There are many ways we can respond when thrown into a pit by family, friends, strangers, or life's circumstances. What are some of the typical responses?
Read: Genesis 50:19–21
7. Years after Joseph's brothers threw him into a cistern, their father dies and they fear that Joseph will at last exact revenge. What do you learn about Joseph's heart and outlook on life as you read his response in this critical moment? What can you learn from his example?
8. If you were in Joseph's shoes and came to a point where those who had hurt you were now under your power, how do you think you would have responded?
Now, replace the hypothetical scenario with a real situation in your life. How do you believe God wants you to respond to and treat someone who has hurt you?
9. Max talks about how God re-wove the evil planned by Joseph's brothers and redeemed it for heavenly good. How has God rewoven something that was done to you with evil intent? What good did he bring from it?
10. Joseph's journey from a cistern in his teenage years to finally becoming a man of influence in Pharaoh's court lasted about twenty years. How did walking a hard road over time shape Joseph's character and outlook on life?
How has God used a journey of struggle in your life to shape who you are today? How have you looked up and seen God and drawn closer to him through your times in a pit?
Closing Prayer
Spend time in your group praying in any of the following directions:
• Turn your voice and eyes upward in prayer and ask for the ability to see the face of Jesus looking at you as you do.
• Ask God to be with your group members in the cisterns of life and pray for an attitude of grace, even in the darkest pits.
• Lift up prayers of forgiveness for those who have thrown you into a cistern, whether recently or as far back as childhood.
• Invite the Holy Spirit to unleash his power to re-weave the evil intents of others and bring good from them.
Between Sessions
Look Back Down the Road
Reflecting on your life, identify as many as three cisterns in which you have spent time. Then ponder the person who had a hand in putting you there. Pray for a heart of forgiveness toward these people. Also, think about how God has used their intended evil and turned it toward his glory and good.
Cistern #1
What cistern was I thrown into?
How can I pray for the person(s) who put me there and grow in grace toward them?
How was God with me in that dark time?
What good did God bring through this bad situation? How has God shaped and formed me through what I experienced?
Cistern #2
What cistern was I thrown into?
How can I pray for the person(s) who put me there and grow in grace toward them?
How was God with me in that dark time?
What good did God bring through this bad situation? How has God shaped and formed me through what I experienced?
Cistern #3
What cistern was I thrown into?
How can I pray for the person(s) who put me there and grow in grace toward them?
How was God with me in that dark time?
What good did God bring through this bad situation? How has God shaped and formed me through what I experienced?
Let Vengeance Belong to God
If you have been harboring judgment, anger, or bitterness toward someone who wronged you in the past, reconsider Joseph's story as well as Romans 12:17–21:
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Self-Examination
Family history can repeat itself. Far too often the abused becomes the abuser, the neglected becomes the neglector, and sins are passed down to the next generation. Make a list of some of the patterns, sins, and dysfunctions that existed in your home as you grew up. Actually take time to write them down:
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Next, look over this list and do three things:
1. Pray that you will not repeat these patterns in your family.
2. Get help from a pastor or Christian counselor if you have already begun to repeat the sins of the past.
3. As the Lord leads, talk with parents, siblings, or other family members who have hurt you and seek to build bridges of restoration and healing.
Journal
Use the space provided below to write reflections on any of the following topics:
• Ways you can extend grace and forgiveness, even to those who have thrown you into a cistern
• How God has shaped and formed you into the person you are today, even through the hard times (especially through the hard times)
• How God has been with you in the cisterns and pits of your life
Recommended Reading
As you consider what you have learned in this session, read chapter 1 of the book You'll Get Through This by Max Lucado. In preparation for session 2, you might want to read chapter 2.
CHAPTER 2
SESSION 2
Down and Out, but Never Alone
Introduction
In the first Rocky movie, the climax comes near the end of the film when an unknown Italian southpaw gets a chance to box the reigning heavyweight champion. Apollo Creed, the flamboyant titleholder, sees the fight as an exhibition more than a serious boxing match. He plans to dance around the ring, give his opponent a chance to have his moment in the spotlight, entertain the crowds, and then knock out Rocky. The problem is, no one told Rocky Balboa, the "Italian Stallion," that it was a show. He came to fight.
In the first round, Rocky catches Apollo Creed with the full force of a left uppercut and Apollo hits the mat like a sack of wheat. It is the first time he has ever been knocked down in a fight. When he gets to his feet he begins to beat on Rocky mercilessly, but the challenger simply won't stay down. He won't quit.
When the bell sounds for the second round, these two men go to war. They exchange punches over the next twelve rounds and Rocky is on the receiving end of most of them.
By the fourteenth round, Rocky is stumbling around the ring like a drunken man. Then Creed floors him with a fierce right upper-cut that sends him sprawling to the mat. The referee begins the ten-count as Rocky tries to stand. His face is swollen and bloody, his body is beaten, and his energy reserves have been on empty for at least three rounds. His trainer, Mickey, screams, "Down! Down! Stay down!" He pleads with Rocky to just give in to the inevitable and stay on the mat.
But as the referee gets to "nine," Rocky staggers to his feet. The crowd chants his name over and over again. Apollo, who has thrown his hands in the air as a declaration of victory, looks over at Rocky in disbelief. The fight continues. Rocky pounds the champ with a shattering punch that cracks his ribs just as the bell sounds to end the fourteenth round.
In Rocky's corner, the fatigued and relentless boxer's eye is so puffy that he can't see. He orders Mickey, "Cut me." In Apollo's corner, his trainer tells the champ, "You're bleeding inside; I'm gonna stop the fight." The injured champ responds with fierce determination, "You ain't stopping nothing! You ain't stopping nothing!" Just before the bell sounds to bring the two boxers back to the center of the ring, Rocky says to his trainer, "You stop this fight, I'll kill you." By the end of the fifteenth and final round, both fighters are standing—but barely!
This movie won three Oscars, including best picture of 1976. It was made on a budget of 1.1 million dollars and was filmed in twenty-eight days. But it eventually made over 225 million dollars and inspired six more Rocky films.
There is something compelling about a person with an unquenchable spirit. We are drawn to those who won't give up, won't give in, and won't stay down on the mat. In our hearts, all of us wish we had the strength and courage to get back up on our feet when life has knocked us down ... again.
Talk About It
Give an example of a movie or book character with an unquenchable spirit and shocking resiliency when faced with powerful adversity. Why are people drawn to a character like this?
Video Teaching Notes
As you watch the video teaching segment for session 2 featuring Max Lucado, use the following outline to record anything that stands out to you.
Bounce back like Bozo
Joseph, an ancient, biblical Bozo
Joseph's dreams
From the heights to the depths in a matter of hours—have you ever been there?
Going down, down, down
Your destiny—what keeps you on your feet when life tries to knock you down?
What do you have that you can't lose?
Video Discussion and Bible Study
1. Tell about a person you know who has a Bozo-like resiliency and seems able to bounce back and stay on their feet even when life tries to knock them down. What is it in a person that fortifies them and empowers them to keep getting up when many people would throw in the towel and stay on the mat?
2. Describe a time you were dealt a powerful blow that could have knocked you out, but your faith in God gave you strength to get back up again. How did your faith carry you through?
Read: Genesis 37:5–11
3. What do you think Joseph's dreams taught him about himself and his future?
4. How did Joseph's family members respond to his dreams?
How do you think you would have responded had you been one of Joseph's older brothers and he told you these dreams?
5. Joseph knew that God had a destiny for his life. He was confident that one day he would have a place of influence and impact—God had shown him this. How does knowing that God has a plan for our lives help us bounce back when times get dark, painful, and just plain hard?
What has God shown you about his plan and destiny for your life that could help you stand strong in difficult times?
Read: Genesis 37:23–28
6. If you were Joseph, what might have been going through your mind as your brothers plotted and then sold you as a slave? What might you have felt as you were walking in a caravan, looking back as your brothers, homeland, and dreams disappeared over the horizon?
7. Joseph begins Genesis 37 as the favored son, the recipient of dreams predicting his prominence, and a special assignment from his father. By the end of the chapter he has been stripped of his beautiful robe, rejected by his brothers, and sold as a slave. Tell about a time your own life took a radical shift in a short period of time. How was your faith impacted by this sudden and unexpected change of events?
Read: Ephesians 1:3; John 15:13–16; 1 Peter 1:18–20; and 2 Corinthians 5:1
8. When the apostle Paul tells the believers in Ephesus that God has "blessed [them] with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (NKJV), what does he mean? Make a list of some spiritual blessings we have through faith in Jesus.
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How could a deep and abiding awareness of these blessings help a Christian stand strong in hard times?
9. Jesus tells his followers that they are his loved and chosen children. How can a firm conviction that we are precious and valued children of God help us through the tough seasons of life?
10. How can a firm conviction that heaven is our home and we will spend eternity with our loving heavenly Father help us bounce back and stay on our feet in the challenging times of life?
Closing Prayer
Spend time in your group praying in any of the following directions:
• Thank God that heaven is your eternal home and destination through faith in Jesus, and pray that this reality will fortify and strengthen you in the hard times of life.
• Thank God that he has a plan and destiny for your life. Pray that it will become clearer with each passing day.
• Lift up friends and family members who are in a time of going down, down, down. If they are Chris tians, pray that they will remember who they are—chosen and loved children of God.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from you'll get through this by Max Lucado, KEVIN HARNEY, SHERRY HARNEY. Copyright © 2013 Max Lucado. Excerpted by permission of Thomas Nelson.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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