...for commiseration. - On Letting the Lord Go With (Focus 1 of 4)

Consider this ice breaker as you gather for the Spotlight.
What is your worst haircut ever?

See what this Spotlight—and series—is focused on.
Tap on the words "Focus 1" in the image below to read this Spotlight's summary.

Watch this video to get a glimpse of what this series is all about.

Listen to this audio and follow along with the text, images, and graphics below.

The classic (if slightly overused as a graduation gift) poem “Oh, the Places You’ll Go,” includes a warning about journeying alone:


All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.

And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance
you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.

-Dr. Seuss


This series—On Letting the Lord Go With—is for people like the main character of this poem, and for those “quite-a-lot” moments when they're feeling like they have to make the journey alone. For anyone who has ever felt like they have to “go it on their own”—whether they feel let down or abandoned or like it’s just safer to isolate, On Letting the Lord Go With provides an earnest and concrete depiction of the benefits of letting God do exactly what God wants to do—go with you!


You’ll see why this is such a good thing to let happen by taking a close look at who this God—who wants to go with you—actually is.


That being said, the series is not just a random smattering of good things about God. Each of the concepts you’ll focus on are drawn from the Bible’s most famous and most quoted description of God—one that he himself gave to his people and one that Old Testament scholars have long considered the single most important description of God’s character in the whole Bible. (In fact, out of everything the Bible says, this section is quoted more often within the Bible itself than any other.)


Let's read through the section—Exodus 34:6–9—together.



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You can (and for as long as you’re in this series, you’e encouraged to) download it as a desktop background, as a phone background, or as a square social media post. (To do so, use the buttons above.) Spend time with it—it’s as deep and full as it is clear and (relatively) succinct.

Let's divide Exodus 34:6–9 into these four descriptions of God:

1. “compassionate and gracious”
2. “slow to anger”
3. “abounding in love and faithfulness”
4. “maintaining love to thousands”

For you, in this series, these four descriptions of God’s character mean this:


Let's let the Lord go with…

1. for commiseration. (Because he is compassionate and gracious—which means you don't suffer alone.)
2. for patience. (Because he is slow to anger—which means you have nothing to fear.)
3. for balance. (Because he abounds in love and faithfulness—which means he is always consistent.)
4. for grace. (Because he maintains love to thousands—which means he accepts them despite themselves.)

Everyone is going somewhere. God wants this—and he wants to come along. Let the Lord go with you in everything you do, and you’ll see all the benefits of doing so.

Welcome Perspective

        

Watch this video exploring the source of inspiration and hope.

Listen to this song about God and us.
God has come down—not in a heaven-rending earthquake, but as a baby born to suffer for you.

Use this interactive experience to discover more about suffering.

Listen to these two songs to find their similarities and differences.
Listen to OK Not to Be OK by Marshmello & Demi Lovato to start. As you do, take notes of what the artists are telling you in their lyrics. (The lyrics are posted below the video.) And be specific. We will be contrasting what we find in this song about perceptions on being OK vs. not being OK (and what to do if you’re not OK) with another song’s lyrics after this.

Lyrics to OK Not to Be OK by Marshmello & Demi Lovato


Feeling like a drop in the ocean
That don’t nobody notice
Maybe it’s all just in your head
Feeling like you’re trapped in your own skin
And now your body’s frozen
Broken down, you’ve got nothing left

When you’re high on emotion
And you’re losing your focus
And you feel too exhausted to pray
Don’t get lost in the moment
Or give up when you’re closest
All you need is somebody to say

It’s okay not to be okay
It’s okay not to be okay
When you’re down and you feel ashamed
It’s okay not to be okay

Feeling like your life’s an illusion
And lately, you’re secluded
Thinking you’ll never get your chance
Feeling like you got no solution
It’s only ‘cause you’re human
No control, it’s out of your hands

When you’re high on emotion
And you’re losing your focus
And you feel too exhausted to pray
Don’t get lost in the moment
Or give up when you’re closest
All you need is somebody to say

It’s okay not to be okay
It’s okay not to be okay
When you’re down and you feel ashamed
It’s okay not to be okay

When you’re high on emotion
And you’re losing your focus
And you feel too exhausted to pray
Don’t get lost in the moment
Or give up when you’re closest
All you need is somebody to say

It’s okay not to be okay (ohh)
It’s okay not to be okay (no, no, no)
When you’re down and you feel ashamed
(When you feel ashamed)
It’s okay not to be okay (no, no)
It’s okay not to be okay

Listen to Maybe It’s Ok by We Are Messengers, now that you’ve listened to the first song and taken your notes on it. While you do, again, take note of what you notice this artist is telling you in their lyrics. (Again, the lyrics are posted below the video.) Detail out specific things that you notice are different from the first song’s lyrics.

Lyrics to Maybe It's Ok by We Are Messengers


If I didn’t know what it hurt like to be broken
Then how would I know what it feels like to be whole
If I didn’t know what the cut’s like to be rejected
Then I wouldn't know that Your love coming home

Maybe it’s okay if I’m not okay
’Cause the One who holds the world is holding onto me
Maybe it’s all right if I’m not all right
’Cause the One who holds the stars is holding my whole life

If I didn’t know what it look like to be dirty
Then I wouldn’t know what it feels like to be clean
And if all of my shame hadn’t drove me to hide in the shadows
Then I wouldn’t know the beauty of being free

Maybe it’s okay if I’m not okay
’Cause the One who holds the world is holding onto me
Maybe it’s all right if I’m not all right
’Cause the One who holds the stars is holding my whole life

Father, let Your kingdom come, let Your will be done
Here in my heart as in Heaven
Father, let Your kingdom come, let Your will be done
Here in my heart as in Heaven, oh!

Maybe it’s okay if I’m not okay
’Cause the One who holds the world is holding onto me
Maybe it’s all right if I’m not all right
’Cause the One who holds the stars is holding my whole life

Now I’m alive in You
The best that I deserved
Now I’m alive and I can see You in everything
Maybe it’s okay if I’m not okay 

Discuss the following questions with your group, now that you’ve listened to and take notes on both songs, contrasting the two and finding their similarities and differences. (If you doing this Spotlight in a group, answer these questions by yourself.)

1. Which song spoke to you more? Was there a particular song that gave you the “feels” more than the other? Is there one you connected with more?
2. Which felt more hopeful and optimistic? Did one feel more shallow and hollow than the other? Why?
3. What are the biggest differences between the two that you noticed? Were there certain words or phrases used? Was it more of a feeling? Say what you thought?

Look at and consider—maybe even meditate on—this painting of Jesus weeping.

Discuss the ways that having a God who commiserates with you helps give an answer to the problem of pain.
What suffering and pain can show you about God, and what his willingness to compassionately suffer with you can do to reframe who God is and how he works, is a beautiful truth that is usually borne out of great hardship. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a pastor in Germany who was imprisoned for speaking out against the Nazis. During his time in prison, he wrote about how meaningful a suffering God had become to him.

Explore the set of Bonhoeffer quotes below. If you’re doing the Spotlight in a group, have different group members each choose a different quote to explain and reflect on for the rest of the group. (Again, you can even click or tap or on the images to enlarge them, if needed.)


If you’d like background music as you listen, consider the song “This Cup” by Sara Groves.

Discuss the following questions with your group:

1. Are you comfortable with the idea of a “suffering God?” Why do you think someone might struggle with it?
2. Have you seen ways that God uses weakness (instead of power) to surprise the world? What were they?
3. What do you think he means by living “in this world without using God as a working hypothesis?

Watch this video explaining what a 30-Hour Famine is.
Why? Because we’re going to be preparing ourselves for our own 30-Hour Famine over the next month. We’ll continue to roll out information on this in the coming weeks, but save the date: 1/1/21.

Now that you’ve seen a little bit more about what a 30-Hour Famine is, let’s take a look at this video which shows the transformation that took place in the lives of some students when they took part in it.

Feel free to submit a prayer request by filling out the below form.
(If you choose to make your request public, you'll see it display in the Current at the end of the Spotlight along with anyone else who did the same.)

Pray through your requests—together—as a group.
After submitting your requests in the above form, take some time to share with your group whatever requests the group might have for this week.

Invite God to join in your (and others) suffering.
In the columns below, use the plus sign (+) to add whatever suffering-oriented prayer requests you want. They may be for yourself, for people you know, or (much more generally) about anyone in the world who is suffering.


(Please note that you can scroll both up and down as well as left and right within the interactive frame below.) Also, take some time to notice the requests submitted by others doing the Spotlight as well.

Sing along with (or listen to) this song to close out this Spotlight.
Feel free to sing along or simply listen. Do what makes you comfortable—but do whatever helps you focus on the song's meaning best.

Farewell Perspective

Forget “not enough”—too often, a person has too much to get by.

Let's wrap things up by taking a look at what's Current at Illume.

Tap on the buttons in the frame below to see what’s currently happening at Illume—information on everything from current and upcoming online content to live events and opportunities to serve in the community can all be found here.