Part 1 – From Fear to Confidence
Discusion Guide
There are not many areas of our lives where we don’t experience insecurity, if not outright fear. Maybe for you, it’s an insecurity about your abilities, personality, relationships, your finances, or your image. How can we move from those feelings of insecurity and fear towards confidence in God? How can we trust that He is always with us and working in our lives?
What you will need: A Bible or your Bible app, a notebook, pen, and highlighter. The verses highlighted below are linked so that you can easily access them during your study time.
Jump Start
1. In an intense situation, like an introduction to a new group of people or work environment, are you “okay,” “overly confident,” or a “wall flower”? Are there some areas where you are super confident and others where you feel very inadequate?
2. Read Exodus 2:23-25 for background. What is the problem that has come before God? Read Exodus 3:9-10. Who starts this amazing conversation and to whom is it directed? How do you feel about His surprising solution (verse10)?
3. Rest in God’s Presence. Read Exodus 3:11-12. What is Moses’ first response to God’s assignment? How is this like/unlike your typical response? What is the only good way to have confidence that you are able? How can you “fight” to stay focused on your Father?
4. True confidence is not about who you are, it’s about Who is with you. Read Psalm 139:7-10 and Hebrews 4:16. David says what? Where and how can he escape God? Not only is God with you, but what does He also invite you to do in the Hebrew verse? In what areas of your life do you currently feel like God isn't with you?
5. Embrace your calling. Read Exodus 4:10-13. Make a mental list of your “excuses.” Are they failures in your past, fears, deficiencies, or current sins? In other words, what makes you think: “God, I’m just not the right person!” What is God’s response to your own reasons?
6. Action Steps: How do we get moving this week on God’s assignments for us?
a. Stop comparing yourself to others. Read 2 Corinthians 10:12. Who or in what area do you deal with peer pressure or negative comparisons? What will you do to lessen this pressure and stop comparing?
b. Step into what God has for you. Read Ephesians 2:10. You, specifically, were created for certain tasks, even created for them. Is this encouraging or terrifying to you? Discuss the analogy of walking in the wrong pair of shoes.
Deeper
7. Read Exodus 3:7-11 and 14. What should Moses have heard from God in this passage? What adjectives would you use? Why is the “I AM” statement of God so important? How does this apply to your identity?
8. We all have insecurities, but that doesn’t mean our insecurities have us. Read Exodus 3:12 and 4:11-12. How do these statements from the Great “I AM” give you confidence?
9. Read 1 Peter 2:9-10. Who does God say you are now? List the most impactful descriptions as you apply them to your life.
10. Personal Study for the Week: Our confidence in God comes from knowing Him, His character, and His attributes. Confidence is not about you; it’s about Who God is! Faith is not how strongly we can believe, but is based on how confident we are in the God we are believing in. Review these verses and take notes for yourself on statements that God has made about Himself.
Exodus 3:14
John 8:58
John 8:12
John 13:19
John 8:24
Isaiah 41:4
Revelation 1:8
Colossians 1:13-18
John 10:30
John 1:14
Deuteronomy 32:39
Genesis 1:1
Revelation 22:16
1 John 5:20