When I’m Feeling Sad

Sadness is a part of all of our lives. Only dishonest people can be happy all the time. While emotions (like sadness) are amoral, not all responses to sadness yield the same results. What we do in our sad moments, will determine the kind of fruit that season will produce. Too often, we take shallow quick fixes to alleviate the feeling, without taking the time to turn to a deep God, who walks with us through our pain and suffering. Our heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9) and our feelings can be unreliable (Proverbs 14:12), yet God is a good shepherd, ever leading us to green pastures and still waters, even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

Read 2 Corinthians 4:16-17

• What do these passages tell us about God?
• What do these passages tell us about you and your life?
• What did you like about this passage?
• What did you not like about this passage?

Sadness is a cue to stop and go deep. Don’t run through your sadness, or be afraid of it. It is a slave, to produce for you an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.  What will you do when you’re sad? Ultimately, sadness is not where we live.

Discuss one or more of the following questions.

1. Pastor Chris said that our desires, when disordered can become sin. How can sadness become disordered? (HINT: Remember that there are two ends of the disorder – too little, too much)
2. What are your “go to” quick fixes whenever you feel sad? Honestly, write down the things you typically do for comfort. Write next to it what fruit you think it produces in you (A good question, for all things that you do, but particularly useful for when you’re looking for something to help your sadness).
3. What are you sad about now? Write down things that you would bring to God if you were to talk to Him honestly.
4. Sometimes we do not deal with our sadness or allow God into our sadness. We try to mask it or ignore it. We sweep it under the carpet until it becomes too late or too difficult to deal with. How do you know that you’re sad? Or how do others tell that you’re sad? What are your usual mannerisms and behaviours?
5. Read 2 Cor 4:16-17. How do you think sadness can be your slave? What can these low seasons produce? Share an incident in your life where God has used a sad moment to develop something in you, or to bring you closer to Him.
6. What are some healthy ways you can express sadness? What do you think your EMOTIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE is like? Here are some helpful questions to help you answer:
   1. Who can you share honestly with?
   2. Who can correct you?
   3. What healthy outlets do you have when you’re down? eg. Hobby, prayer etc
   4. What’s your prayer life like, and how close are you to God?

7.What lessons did you learn from the sermon and Life Group discussion that will influence your experience of sadness in the future?

1. Is there a truth that God wants you to obey?
2. What will you do to obey this? I will…