We all have ideas of who God is and how He should act. Unfortunately, our picture of God is not always the most accurate and often He doesn’t swoop in exactly when we think He should. Sometimes He doesn’t meet our expectations — not because He isn’t able, but because He has another plan in mind. Jesus didn’t meet Judas’ expectations of who the Messiah should be and what the Messiah should do. Judas’ reaction to that disappointment ended up causing him deep regrets. What will you do when Jesus doesn’t meet your expectations?
1. Have you ever been disappointed by God or thought He should have done something differently? Share the situation and your response. Do you feel differently about God’s actions after hearing Sunday’s message?
2. Selfishness can skew our perspective and create barriers between us and Jesus, at times even causing us to “trade the ultimate for the immediate.” Has your selfishness ever caused you to sacrifice something great in the future for something mediocre that you could attain right then?
3. Have you ever had a regret that you felt separated you from Jesus? How did that affect your faith? Have you wrestled with that situation, and if so, how has it changed?
4. God doesn’t rescue you from your regrets, but he can redeem them. Have you had a regret that God turned around for you and used as positive leverage in your life or someone else’s?
5. At times we have all been guilty of having a “what’s in it for me” kind of faith. What is the danger in only thinking about what Jesus can do for us? How can you guard against keeping this kind of faith and cultivate gratitude?
Cultivate gratitude.
Don’t hold on to what Jesus died to take away.
