Crazy Stupid Love Week 4: Commit

God’s ways are always best. That’s why we’ve been looking at the progressive nature of His plan for relationships, He made us, loves us, and wants the best for us. That should encourage us to trust Him and learn to do things in the right order.

A theme that is currently prevalent in our culture is “life is all about you… you are the center of the universe.” As a result, the idea of dying to myself, having the “same mindset as Jesus” and being totally committed to another person and his or her wellbeing is likely to be perplexing and difficult for us. 

The focus this week is choose to commit. In every relationship we have there is a choice. Love is a verb; to commit is an action you choose to do. 

• Have someone read Philippians 2:3-4. Would your current relationships look different if you were to approach your relationships with this mindset?

• The word commit is used in the Bible as an active word. It is continual; not a one-time “I’m all in” sort of thing. The meaning implies we continue getting to know the other person. In an age of social media and superficial connections, it is easy to forget that deep friendships and great marriages take work and time. Share the greatest barrier you are currently facing that keeps you from fully investing in your relationships.

• Have someone read Proverbs 20:6. Beth Moore said, “Faithfulness is resting in His certainty, persuaded by His honesty, trusting in His reality, being won over by His sincerity, being sure that He’s sure, and believing He’s worth believing.” Is there a place or relationship in your life where you feel you need to be more faithful or loyal?

• Have someone read Psalm 89:1-2, 8. The foundation our faithfulness is our relationship with God. Are we faithful in our relationship with Him, investing our time to know Him and learn what the Scriptures tell us His will is? How about our other relationships? Share how you see the correlation of your current relationship with God with how your human relationships are going.

• Faithfulness is persisting even when feel like we want to quit. Mature, Spirit-led people live by their commitments, not their emotions. This is different from today’s motto of going with how you feel in the moment. Emotions come and go. They can be valuable as a tool, an indicator of what’s going on that needs attention, but that is not the same as letting your emotions rule your decisions. Faithfulness is intentional persisting, doing the right thing, even when you don’t feel like it. Maybe you have overcommitted, but the fact is you made those commitments. Do you recognize patterns in your life where in challenging moments, you want to quit or bail? Talk about a choice or change you could make in your current situation to avoid those patterns kicking in.

• Have someone read James 1:3-4. Mike shared how it is those moments — when you’re in those pressure situations where you feel like quitting — that the Holy Spirit can do His best work in perfecting faithfulness in your character. Share a time when you experienced God meeting you in the midst of a situation when you turned to Him for help, choosing to keep moving forward and persisting.

• Mike shared the story about the 40-year-old man still struggling from an incident that had affected him deeply when he was 12 — when his father broke his promise to take him to Boy Scout Camp. Share a time when someone broke a significant promise to you. How do you restore the capacity to trust after trust has been shattered?

• Have someone read Proverbs 20:7. Where do you need to apply this principle in your life?