Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Chapter 6 - Detour through the Desert

Ah, the desert.  Symbolic of spiritual dryness and loneliness.  If you have followed the Lord for any length of time at all, you have had the experience of spiritual drought.  It often comes on us without announcement.  We wake up one morning and we feel deaf and numb.  The deafness and numbness lingers - extending from one day to twenty - to forty - to ninety.  At some point we wonder if we will ever reach the end of it, and we begin to resent it and grow very weary.  I am very familiar with deserts.  

We see the desert dilemma in the life of Much-Afraid in Chapter 6.  Like all spiritual deserts, she learns some special things while there.  One of the most important things she discovers is the flower "Acceptance-with-Joy."  Explore this chapter with us, and find out what she is learning on her way to the High Places through what seems to be an uncalled-for detour.  

1.  Have you ever been placed into a situation where your life took an extreme detour in what seemed to be a wrong direction?  Perhaps you thought that you were headed toward spiritual success or a special victory and your path ended in difficulty. 

2.  How did Much-Afraid react?  Was your reaction similar or very different when faced with an unhappy detour?

3.  “It is not contradiction only postponement for the best to become possible,” is a statement that the Shepherd makes to Much-Afraid when she is feeling like He has broken His promise to her.  What do you think of this statement?  Is it something you believe, or is it hard to believe when you get thrown a curve ball?

4.  Page 82 and 83 discuss the pain that Much-Afraid experiences as she battles with her will and tries to overcome her pain and accept the Shepherd’s direction for her life.  Have you ever experienced anything that created that kind of pain and demand on your life at Christ’s command?

5.  On page 85, a statement is made, “although the path was very steep indeed, Much-Afraid was leaning on the Shepherd, and did not feel her weakness at all.”  Have you ever experienced the rest of God in a hard place that seemed to be continually going downhill?  Share that with the group.

6.  In the desert, the Shepherd took Much-Afraid into the pyramids.  While there, he took her to the threshing floors.  He tells her how the grain must be threshed in order for it to be made into bread for whoever needs bread.  Each type of grain needed a different type of threshing.  What are some metaphors/similes that you can draw from this picture for your own life and the lives of others?

7.  Do you think all of God’s servants must pass through the desert?  Are there any examples in Scripture of people who suffered in the “desert?”

8.  Does the fact that “Acceptance-with-Joy” (the little yellow flower) managed to grow in the desert impact your heart or mind?  

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