The Man Who Can't Be Moved

A devotional is an in-depth Bible study. A typical devotional should take you anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes to complete. Download and print a PDF version of this devotional for yourself, or use it with a friend to create an engaging discussion.

Opening Question

How do you respond when you go through storms in life? Emotional storms?
Do they drive you closer to God and make you stronger in your convictions? Or do storms leave you shaken and weakened in your faith?

Bible Study

Destabilized by Doubts

James 1:5-8 (NIV)
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

What makes us become blown and tossed by the winds of life?
What is God’s attitude toward giving us all we need to tackle our lives?
What does it mean to be “double-minded”?
What doubts do you have that create instability in your emotional life?
- Do you doubt God’s goodness? His ability? His love?

Psalm 16:7-8 (NIV)
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

What keeps us from being shaken?
What am I most focused on: God? People? What I don’t have? Problems?

Developing Deep Roots

Colossians 2:6-8 (TLB)
And now just as you trusted Christ to save you, trust him, too, for each day’s problems; live in vital union with him. Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him. See that you go on growing in the Lord, and become strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with joy and thanksgiving for all he has done. Don’t let others spoil your faith and joy with their philosophies, their wrong and shallow answers built on men’s thoughts and ideas, instead of on what Christ has said.

What do you need to develop in order to have the energy to grow spiritually?
What can you change about your relationship with God to more effectively get nourishment and strength from him every day?
What does it mean to be “strong and vigorous in the truth”? What is your relationship with truth: do you fight it, deny it, or embrace it readily?
What effect does focusing on people and human answers have on your faith?

Proverbs 12:3 (NLT)
Wickedness never brings stability, but the godly have deep roots.

What about trusting God helps us develop deep roots?
How does praying rather than hardening make our roots grow deep?
How does confessing rather than hiding make our roots grow deep?

Digging Deep to Find God in Difficulty

Psalm 84:5-7 (TPT)
How enriched are they who find their strength in the Lord; within their hearts are the highways of holiness! Even when their paths wind through the dark valley of tears, they dig deep to find a pleasant pool where others find only pain. He gives to them a brook of blessing filled from the rain of an outpouring. They grow stronger and stronger with every step forward, and the God of all gods will appear before them in Zion.

What is the role of difficulty and pain in our lives?
What dark valleys are you going through in life?
For you, how is God working even in the pain? How can he use it to make you “stronger and stronger”?
What are the steps forward you can take?

Psalm 125:1-2 (TPT)
1 Those who trust in the Lord are as unshakeable, as unmovable as mighty Mount Zion! 2 Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord’s wrap-around presence surrounds his people, protecting them now and forever.