CHECKING IN

Take a few minutes to talk about what you have been experiencing this past week.

Throughout the past week, you made a list of lies you tell yourself and the truth God wants you to believe and embrace instead. Share one of the lies you hear in your heart (on occasion), and tell your group the truth God has been speaking to you that exposes and crushes this lie.

Share what you learned about your name. How does the meaning of your name inspire you? Share how the meaning of your name seems to line up with who you are or who you are becoming in Jesus.

If you remembered to bring it, show the drawing you made of your hand. How did this drawing inspire you or bring you joy in this past week?

Laughter and Tears

The whole family gathered to remember Papa. That’s what everyone called him for the last twenty years of his ninety-three years of life. He had loved Jesus with passion. He was quick to smile, had a big laugh, hugged everyone, and poured out joy everywhere he went. Papa had loved the people in his life with deep kindness . . . family members, friends, and even strangers were all embraced with equal grace.

Before the memorial service and at the refreshment time after the service, there were quiet conversations bathed in sweet tears. There were also outbursts of laughter as stories were told and hilarious memories recounted. Many people had smiles on their faces and were laughing while tears rolled down their cheeks.

You see, sorrow and joy are not opposites. In many of life’s situations, they coexist in our hearts and souls. As a matter of fact, if you look back on your life thus far, you just might discover that when Sorrow comes, Joy is not far behind. She shows up to comfort, care, wipe tears away, and whisper words of hope!

THINK ABOUT IT, TALK ABOUT IT

Tell about a time when you faced struggle, sorrow, or heartache, but Joy snuck up on you and arrived without being announced.

[Your Response Here]

Why is it so important for us to recognize and embrace Joy, even in the times of life when we are feeling and facing sorrow?

[Your Response Here]

JOY allows us to live in every emotion life has to offer.

WATCH THE SESSION FIVE VIDEO

Feel free to reflect, jot down your thoughts, listen, laugh, and even ask questions!

One Big Thought . . . Our emotions do not control our level of joy.

[Your Response Here]

If emotions controlled Joy, then any time we were feeling down, discouraged, sorrowful, angry, disappointed, or a bunch of other emotions, Joy would be unwelcome and impossible. The truth is, in the toughest times of life, Joy shows up.

[Your Response Here]

Joy wants to be your friend, even in the dark and hard times of life.

[Your Response Here]

The story of Job . . . learning from his example:

Job’s loss and pain

[Your Response Here]

Job’s friends (the good and the bad)

[Your Response Here]

God’s words and work

[Your Response Here]

God is sovereign.

[Your Response Here]

Joy in the morning and joy in the mourning

[Your Response Here]

ABUNDANT life means we may laugh more, yes. But it also means we may cry more and feel more deeply than we ever imagined possible.

BE HONEST

Take time to talk about any of the questions, statements, and Bible passages below, choosing what works best for your group. Have fun and be honest.

1. Jesus was crystal clear that He came to give us abundant life (John 10:10). What would your life be like if you only experienced joy when things were going your way, pain was far away, and the sun was shining?

[Your Response Here]

How will the potential for joy increase if we experience deep and real joy even in the hard times, when pain is close, and when the blue sky is hidden by storm clouds?

[Your Response Here]

2. If we let our emotions define our joy, much of life would be joyless. If we let Jesus be the center of our joy, we can be joyful at all times. How is Jesus with us in the fun, easy, positive times of life? How is Jesus with us in the hard, painful, difficult times?

[Your Response Here]

If Jesus is with us at all times (and He is!), how can this change our joy quotient in the flow of a normal day?

[Your Response Here]

3. When Job went through incredible loss and suffering, his friends came and spent a whole week sitting with him and saying nothing. What message did Job’s friends send to him with their presence, care, and silence? What are ways that we can be with people in times of need without trying to solve their problems or explain what we think God is doing?

[Your Response Here]

4. When Job’s friends started talking, things got bad fast. They tried to accuse Job and defend God. Why is it dangerous to try to explain why people are suffering (especially when they are right in the middle of it)?

[Your Response Here]

What are some helpful and humble ways to bring joy and care to hurting friends and family members?

[Your Response Here]

5. Elihu, the youngest of Job’s friends, spoke words of compassion and hope in the midst of Job’s suffering. He was not perfect, but he did speak with wisdom and kindness. What things might we say to a person who is walking through suffering that will bring the hope and joy of God?

[Your Response Here]

If you have someone close to your group, or a person in your church who is going through a hard time, what is a way you could bring joy to them in the coming week?

[Your Response Here]

6. In Psalm 115:3 we are reminded that God is sovereign over all the world: “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.” What comes to your mind when you think of God reigning over us and everything in the world? How can this bring comfort and joy, even in times of suffering?

[Your Response Here]

7. At the end of his story, Job looked back and saw how God had brought him through financial crisis, family tragedy, marital struggles, satanic attack, and false accusations against his character. When you look back at your life, what has God brought you through and how has He restored your joy?

[Your Response Here]

In what area of struggle and pain are you still waiting for restoration, and how can your group members pray for you and support you as you walk through this challenging season?

[Your Response Here]

Read (together or ask a volunteer) Psalm 30:8–12 from The Message paraphrase.

^8–10I called out to you, GOD;

I laid my case before you:

“Can you sell me for a profit when I’m dead?

auction me off at a cemetery yard sale?

When I’m ‘dust to dust’ my songs

and stories of you won’t sell.

So listen! and be kind!

Help me out of this!”

^11–12You did it: you changed wild lament

into whirling dance;

You ripped off my black mourning band

and decked me with wildflowers.

I’m about to burst with song;

I can’t keep quiet about you.

GOD, my God,

I can’t thank you enough.

8. Take a few minutes on your own and write down responses to the three questions below:

When you feel deep joy, what are a few of the songs you like to listen to or sing?

[Your Response Here]

When you move out of hard times and feel a fresh new experience of God’s love, what are a few of the things you would love to tell others about your faithful and loving God?

[Your Response Here]

When joy shows up in the middle of the struggles of life, what specific declarations of thanks do you naturally lift up to God?

[Your Response Here]

Share one of your songs, one of your declarations about God’s love, and one of your thanks to God that you wrote above.

[Your Response Here]

9. Lee Liebman wrote these profound words: “The deeper the sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.” What do you think this means? If you agree with this statement, how have you experienced it in your own life?

[Your Response Here]

10. In the book of Philippians, the apostle Paul wrote these shocking words, “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his suffering, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection of the dead” (3:10–11). Take a few moments to write down two or three ways the suffering and death of Jesus have brought true and lasting joy to your life and to our world.

[Your Response Here]

Share one of these with your group, explaining how Jesus is the source of joy in your life.

[Your Response Here]

JOY is here for you with comfort even in your sorrow, and with hope to help you up again when you’re ready.

PRAY

Spend time as a group or on your own talking with God about any of the following topics:

Thank God that your joy does not ride on the roller coaster of your emotions but is based on the solid rock of Jesus Christ.

Invite the Holy Spirit to fill the deep crevices in your soul that have been formed by past pain and suffering with fresh new hope and joy.

Ask God to give you wisdom as you seek to walk with, sit with, and care for friends who are going through hard times in life.

TRUST that God doesn’t leave a single request unanswered. Whether the answer is yes, no, or wait, I choose to trust that God is innately good.