Recipe For A Wonder-filled Christmas: Week 3

Questions

• Pray and invite God into this time with Him.

• What was a loss you experienced in 2022? It may have been a loved one, but it could also be a friendship, a job, a relationship, or anything else. Take a moment to reflect on what this year has looked like.

• The first ingredient for accepting loss is recognizing that you can’t change yesterday. What does this look like in your life? 

• Read Isaiah 43:18-19. What do you think the prophet Isaiah means by, “God is doing a new thing?” 

• What new thing is God doing in your life?

• Another ingredient for accepting loss is to be thankful for today. Has this been hard for you in the past? How does being thankful change your perspective?

• The final ingredient for accepting loss is to have hope for tomorrow. Reread Isaiah 43:18-19. It doesn’t say that God will take away the wilderness; it says He will create a pathway. It doesn’t say that God will remove you from the dry wasteland; it says He will create a river through it. Have you had trouble trusting God in your specific situation? What does it look like to trust Him in the midst of it?

Spiritual Practice

Gratitude: Take time to intentionally thank God for what you have. Make a list and add to it anything you think of something. Create a rhythm in your life to practice gratitude on a daily basis.