HS AMP Review: Vol 4 0
Series: AM I HAPPY (week 4 of 4) – March 28, 2010
Fun/Funny:
This past Sunday night I surprised all of the high school students by buying Papa John’s pizza for everyone. Yeah it was gooooooood!!! Not much is better than free pizza.
Overview:
This past Sunday we concluded our series by talking about finding happiness in God despirt circumstances – no matter the problem! Is that even possible? Can someone find happiness in God when their friend commits suicide? What about when someone’s dad dies? What about when a teenager comes down with cancer?
Notes:
In life no one is exempt from TOUGH times. If that’s true, what difference does a relationship with God make? Can we expect all of our problems to go away if we trust God more, pray more, read our Bible more, or go to church more regularly? Well not necessarily…but here are…
5 Things go keep in mind in TOUGH times
- Talk about it - I know this seems simple, but it’s HUGE. We aren’t meant to keep all of it in. All too often we think we’re strong enough, but eventually everyone breaks down or it causes you to go down the wrong path in life, potentially resenting God or cursing Him when TOUGH times come.
- Listen lovingly – When you know someone going througha TOUGH time, listen lovingly. Work hard at it.
- Talk to God about it – Tell Him what’s going on. Yeah, it’s really that simple. It’s like a little conversation.
- Pray compassionately – Don’t just tell your friend you’ll keep it in your prayers. Really pray about it and consider it a privilege to lift up your friend to God.
- Reach out to help others – When you’re going through a TOUGH time, don’t focus all of your attention on yourself. Look outward. There are plenty of people around who need help, and you could be the perfect person to help.
We concluded out time by spending a few minutes looking at Matthew 5:3, which says, “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need fo rhim, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs” (NLT). There are certain kinds of people in life that God blesses, makes happy, or maybe better yet gives joy to. It’s those who are “poor and realize their need for (God).” The NIV calls them “poor in spirit.” Simply, these are the kinds of people who realize deep down in their spirit that they need God. They realize that they are nothing without Him. That no matter how tough the situation is, they know God loves them more than they could ever ask or imagine, and will never leave them.
C.S. Lewis says it this way – “A car is made to run on gasoline, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way. God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.” – Rachel, thanks again for sharing that quote with me!
Psalm 42:1 (NLT) – “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.”
Final Thought:
Remember that is always healthy to ask yourself “AM I HAPPY?” Why? Because we might need to talk to someone. Because we might need to talk to God about it. Evaluate and seek God! It doesn’t mean you’ll always be “HAPPY” but God can certainly remind you of His presence in your life.
Up Next: No AMP the next two weeks due to Easter & Spring Break
