Devotional questions
Ruth 1:1-7
First prayerfully read and meditate on Ruth 1:1-7. Watch the message again if you need a reminder.
Questions to think about:
1. Looking back, have you ever walked through a “famine” season where God felt distant? How did you respond to those times - physically, emotionally and spiritually?
2. Knowing the decisions Elimelech and Naomi made during the famine, do you think you would have made different decisions and why?
3. Imagine being in Naomi’s place - leaving her home and starting new in an unfamiliar place, then losing her husband and both sons? What do you think she must have felt in that moment? How would you have brought comfort and hope to her?
4. In Hebrew, shuv means “to turn back, to return, to repent.” What does repentance look like when it’s motivated by grace rather than guilt?
5. Romans 8:28 - “God works all things together for good.” How can we walk this verse out when we’re still in the “famine” part of our story?
6. Where do you feel “in between” right now - between famine and feast, loss and promise, doubt and faith? What might “returning to Bethlehem” look like for you this week? What one intentional step can you take as your Yes to His grace?
Genesis 22:1-18
First prayerfully read and meditate on Genesis 22:1-18 and watch the message “Prioritize Your Life” from the previous Sunday.
Questions to think about:
1. What does it mean for God to be first in one’s life? In what specific areas do you tend to put other things “first” (relationships, work, personal goals, etc)?
2. How does walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-25) help us in setting priorities in our daily life?
3. What are the dangers you have experienced when your priorities were misaligned with God? How were you able to return to the right alignment with Him?
4. Think about your habits, rhythms, or routines of your daily/weekly lives. How can you practically reorder them to reflect God’s priority?
5. What role does community (friends, church, small groups, etc) play in helping you live in prioritized life? Who do you allow to speak into your life about priorities?
6. This week, take time to do a “spiritual audit” of your schedule and habits. What activities, commitments, or mindsets are currently taking the place of God? Choose one concrete change you can make to put God first!
Psalm 23:6
First prayerfully read and meditate on Psalm 23:6 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
Questions to think about:
1. David starts v6 with the word “Surely.” What does that word stir in you - does it encourage you, stretch your faith, or even challenge you to see your past in different ways?
2. Looking back on the highs and lows of your life, what helped you stay aware of God’s presence, goodness and mercy? How did that shape the way you walked through those seasons?
3. How does the idea of God pursuing you change the way you see His relationship with you? How does it change the way you see the moments in the past where you felt alone, weary, or lost?
4. The purpose of God’s pursuit, according to the message, is to transform us into His likeness and glory. What is one area of your character that you believe God is actively pursuing and seeking to transform in this season?
5. This week, how will you intentionally make a choice to approach God’s presence as the dwelling place/home instead of a pit stop?
6. Each morning, declare God’s goodness and mercy over your day; then see how it shifts your heart and your attitude. Every night, journal it and praise God for all you experienced in Him that day. Then repeat!
Psalm 23:5
First prayerfully read and meditate on Psalm 23:5 “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”
Questions to think about:
1. Meditate on how God prepares a table for you - think about what this table of His promise and abundance causes you to feel, think or behave about what you are facing. How does this shift your heart?
2. The word “Prepare” in Hebrew means ‘to arrange or direct, to put things in order for a time of warfare.” Have you ever felt that God invited you into a strategic moment or season in preparation for something greater? How did that experience transform your understanding of His plans for you?
3. In what ways have you seen the enemy attack your identity and your value before? What helped you to overcome the enemy and to stand firm in God’s truth of who you are?
4. Why do you think God invites you to His table in the midst of our struggles? Why not after we finish our battles and everything becomes better? What does this teach us about His heart for us?
5. How has God’s overflow of love, wisdom and grace manifested in your life, especially in moments or seasons when you felt broken?
6. Take a few minute daily and imagine yourself sitting at God’s table. Ask Him to reveal the secrets of His heart and His plans for you. Think about what small steps you can take to partner with what He has shown you. Allow Him to strengthen and encourage you.
Psalm 23:4
First prayerfully read and meditate on Psalm 23:4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Questions to think about:
1. What does “the valley of the shadow of death” represent in your life today? What are some of the emotions you are feeling in it?
2. In the past experiences of this valley of darkness, how did God present Himself to you? What are some of the lessons you learned that changed your life afterwards?
3. What fears do you find hardest to overcome - fear of men, fear of failure, fear of uncertainty, or etc? How does this verse speak into them?
4. Is it easy for you to agree that God’s discipline (rod) and correction (staff) brings comfort to us? In what ways has God’s discipline and correction matured you in your relationship with Him? (Meditate further on Hebrews 12)
5. How does v4 encourage and strengthen you to face today’s suffering, trials and uncertainty? What is one step of faith you can take this week to walk through fear with confidence in God’s promises?
6. Is there someone you know that goes through a “valley” right now? What’s one practical way you can be God’s comforting presence to them?
Psalm 23:3
First prayerfully read and meditate on Psalm 23:3 “He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”
Questions to think about:
2011 study done by USC says we’re consuming the equivalent of 174 newspapers worth of information daily. Now with smartphones, social media and such, they say we’re exposed to more than 5,000 newspapers’ worth of information daily. They are choices that distracts us and even paralyzes us.
1. What do you think about the result of the study? In honesty, how much distractions do you feel you are dealing with daily? How much influence do they have on your daily walk with Jesus?
2. Think about a personal story of when God restored you in the previous seasons. What are some of the things He taught you from it?
3. What does “restore/shuv” look like in your current situation? What are some practical things you can do to shuv back to God?
4. Why do you think this verse says God restores the soul first before leading us in paths of righteousness? How have you experienced this order in your own life?
5. Matthew 26, Jesus surrendered His will even when His soul was in deep sorrow and anguish. What does that teach us about making godly choices in moments of pressure?
6. How would daily restoration of your soul impact your life, your family, friends and communities?
Psalm 23:2
First prayerfully read and meditate on Psalm 23:2 “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.”
Questions to think about:
1. If Jesus were a shepherd leading you today, what “green pastures” or “still waters” would you want Him to bring you to?
2. Think of a time God told you “no” or slowed you down, what did you learn about Him in that moment?
3. Which is harder for you: surrendering control of your plans or trusting God in moments of uncertainty, and why?
4. Imagine your life as a field - where are you wandering and where is God calling you to lie down?
5. How have you experienced God providing for you when you chose to trust Him rather than your own efforts?
6. How can you celebrate and give thanks to God for His faithfulness even in a season that feels slow or unproductive?
7. What Scripture or truth can you memorize or meditate on this week to help you trust God’s leading?
8. In a world that values productivity and busyness, what’s one intentional “pause” you can take this week to trust God’s timing?
Psalm 23:1
First prayerfully read and meditate on Psalm 23:1 “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Questions to think about:
1. How do the choices I make everyday reveal who is sitting on the throne of my heart? In what ways do I think God honors and rewards the right choices?
2. In what areas of my life am I still resisting Christ’s authority, and what would surrender look like in those areas?
3. Where am I feeling a sense of lack right now? How might God be inviting me to trust His provision instead of chasing after my own solutions?
4. What blessings has God already given me that I need to remember so that I would walk in gratitude?
5. Take one practical action this week to trust Jesus’ Lordship in your life, then see how He shifts your heart.