Before We Get Started

For our discussion today, we will be using the sermon series discussion guides. If you would like to follow along you can access this discussion guide on the website at mosaicchurchaustin.com and then select “community group resources” in the menu options.

Prayer

Because the primary goal of our time together is to establish relationships and learn how to walk with one another in all that God has called us to be and do, we’d like to begin by praying for one another. So, does anyone have anything you’d like us to pray for or anything to share regarding how you’ve seen God moving in your life that we can celebrate together?

This Week’s Topic

Processing the Emotional Life

Today’s Topic

Processing Betrayal

Discussion Questions

To begin, read the entirety of Psalm 55 aloud:

Listen to my prayer, O God,

do not ignore my plea;

hear me and answer me.

My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught

because of what my enemy is saying,

because of the threats of the wicked;

for they bring down suffering on me

and assail me in their anger.

 

My heart is in anguish within me;

the terrors of death have fallen on me.

Fear and trembling have beset me;

horror has overwhelmed me.

I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest.

I would flee far away

and stay in the desert;

I would hurry to my place of shelter,

far from the tempest and storm.”

 

Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,

for I see violence and strife in the city.

Day and night they prowl about on its walls;

malice and abuse are within it.

Destructive forces are at work in the city;

threats and lies never leave its streets.

If an enemy were insulting me,

I could endure it;

if a foe were rising against me,

I could hide.

 

But it is you, a man like myself,

my companion, my close friend,

with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship

at the house of God,

as we walked about

among the worshipers.

Let death take my enemies by surprise;

let them go down alive to the realm of the dead,

for evil finds lodging among them.

 

As for me, I call to God,

and the Lord saves me.

Evening, morning and noon

I cry out in distress,

and he hears my voice.

He rescues me unharmed

from the battle waged against me,

even though many oppose me.

 

God, who is enthroned from of old,

who does not change—

he will hear them and humble them,

because they have no fear of God.

My companion attacks his friends;

he violates his covenant.

His talk is smooth as butter,

yet war is in his heart;

his words are more soothing than oil,

yet they are drawn swords.

 

Cast your cares on the Lord

and he will sustain you;

he will never let

the righteous be shaken.

But you, God, will bring down the wicked

into the pit of decay;

the bloodthirsty and deceitful

will not live out half their days.

But as for me, I trust in you.

Raw Rumination

Psalm 55:1-2

Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught

Dr. Caroline Leaf, Switch on Your Brain

God designed humans to observe our own thoughts, catch those that are bad, and get rid of them.

 

Charles Spurgeon 

Reproaches from those who have been intimate with us, and trusted by us, cut us to the quick; and they are usually so well acquainted with our peculiar weaknesses that they know how to touch us where we are most sensitive, and to speak so as to do us most damage.

How would you describe the mental and emotional state David is in at the beginning of this psalm?

What are the thoughts you typically begin with when betrayed?

What spiritual practices help you better observe and identify bad or unhealthy thoughts on repeat in your mind?

Revenge

Psalm 55:14- 15

Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words, for I see violence and strife in the city. Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the realm of the dead, for evil finds lodging among them.

 

1 Peter 3:9

Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.On the contrary, repay evil with blessing,because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

What emotions do you imagine David is experiencing in Psalm 55:14-15?

What benefit or satisfaction does the possibility of revenge offer us?

How can our understanding of mercy and forgiveness offer us a different path when our hearts long for vengeance?

Rescue

Psalm 55:16-18

As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me.

David moved through rumination and revenge before shifting from expressing his pain to declaring his faith. Do you think it’s possible to skip those steps and move directly to entrusting your circumstances to God? Why or why not? 

How can the practice of daily prayer help us process emotional pain caused by betrayal?

What does divine rescue look like in your emotional life?

Closing Time

Beth Moore, A Heart Like His: Intimate Reflections on the Life of David

We must remember we don’t stand in victory because of our faith. We stand in victory because of our God. Faith in faith is pointless. Faith in a living, active God moves mountains.

End your time together in prayer, asking God to help anyone present who is processing betrayal of some kind.