1) Listen to Podcast
2) GG Questions 10/21/2018
EHS: Journey through the Wall
Ruth
1. Dark Night: In the 16th century St. John of the Cross described the Christian life as a journey in which God takes those who wish for a deeper experience of Him through a dark night of the soul, or a wall, which is a world-shaking trial or period of suffering in which all sense of God’s presence is removed. Our prayers seem to bounce back. Spiritual dryness descends upon us. Can you identify walls you have faced or are you possibly confronted by one right now and you have not seen it?
2. Walls in the Book of Ruth: Skim through the (very short!) book of Ruth and summarize the story. What ‘walls’ did the characters in this story encounter? How might the narrative have fallen apart, if each character responded differently to their ‘wall’? How were they changed as God brought them through their wall?
3. A Wall’s Nature and Purpose: God leads us both TO and THROUGH walls in our life. Peter Scazzero writes that “God’s gift at the Wall changes us forever.” How so? How can a wall be a positive experience? In what way can this call purge or free us?
4. On the Other Side: Peter Scazzero lists four characteristics of those who have been ‘through the wall’. They are marked by a (1) greater level of brokenness, (2) greater appreciation for mystery, (3) deeper ability to wait on God, (4) greater detachment from the world. What do each of these characteristics mean and which one from this list do you sense God might be developing in you now?
