CHAPTER 8 EMPATHY, ENJOYMENT, ENCOURAGEMENT
EMPATHY: The ability to experience another person's feelings, ideas, or attitudes secondarily is known
as empathy. Similar to sympathy, but with a more focused and often more intensely personal scope, is
empathy. The common denominator of compassion, sympathy, and empathy is a passion (feeling) for
the pain of another person. True empathy is the sensation of actually sharing in another person's
suffering. The word compassion describes the deep mercy of God. God is the very best at empathy.
ENJOYMENT: In essence, to enjoy God is to thank God for the God that he is. To enjoy God is to know
God intellectually, to adore God in his beauty, to delight in him emotionally, and to dedicate oneself to
him. A biblical commandment and the purpose for which God created us is to enjoy Him. God is glorified
when we enjoy him because it demonstrates how highly we value him. At least four methods exist for us
to enjoy God: intellectually (by knowing him); aesthetically (by admiring his beauty); emotionally (by
delighting in him and his ways); and willfully (by committing ourselves to following his instructions).
Furthermore, it is Christians' joy in God that gives them the strength to live selflessly, to resist sin, and to
persevere in the face of opposition.
ENCOURAGEMENT: The Bible is filled with verses that are meant to encourage us and instructions on
how to encourage one another. Why does the Bible emphasize encouragement? mostly because
encouragement is important for our spiritual journey. We have the ability to put on our spiritual armor
and maintain steadfastness when we are encouraged in Christ. Encouragement makes it simpler to live a
holy life in a fallen world. It is simpler to love like Jesus loved when one is encouraged. Encouragement
fosters optimism. We can get through periods of discipline and trial with encouragement.
Encouragement fosters kindness and patience. Encouragement makes it simpler to set aside our own
preferences in order to further God's kingdom. Encouraging others essentially makes it simpler to live a
Christian life.
CHAPTER 9 ABANDONMENT
I believe God has a purpose in allowing this uncertainty and struggle with "not-knowing." I would grow
arrogant and self-confident if I were constantly certain of what I believed to be God's purpose for my life
and knowledgeable of what lay ahead. Because I don't know, I am forced to rely on him and seek him
out continuously, which keeps me from experiencing the illusory security that would make it
unnecessary for me to give myself over to him. I must give up my claim on my life, let go of my worries
and fears, completely give up my own will in favor of God's will, renounce control, and completely yield
myself to the Lord Jesus in order to live a holy life of abandonment to God. The sphere of my vocation is
the only one in which I feel the need to submit to the Lord and put myself under his guardianship. Such
abandonment demands complete faith.
CHAPTER 10 RESTING
Despite your financial riches, you cannot do anything without calm and rest in your life, and your mind
will stay restless and unstable. You'll perpetually feel as though something is lacking from your life. As a
result of this rest, you are no longer working to appease God. You have the ability and the strength to
live the life that the Lord requires of believers, or those who are fervently desiring to love and serve
Him. This is made possible by the Holy Spirit. The most valuable thing we will ever want is "God's Rest,
which is also known as Peace. Take a look at how uneasy, frightened, and insecure our world is. It is the
outcome of not having this serenity or relaxation.
CHAPTER 11 SOON
God wants us to understand the significance of the word "soon" for what reason? To boost our faith.
First and foremost, he utilizes "soon" to build our confidence in him and reduce our sense of control.
The use of the word "soon" serves as a reminder that God is the one who determines the timing, and
that we have no control over it. Humans desire control, yet waiting takes it away from us.
CHAPTER 12 STORMS
Storms can occasionally do significant harm and devastate many people's lives. While environmental
storms are the focus of the headlines, humans often face other, no less destructive storms on a daily
basis, such as illness, financial difficulty, and strained relationships. These life's storms disturb our
tranquility, comfort, and delight and frequently cause anxiety, skepticism, and hopelessness. Life's
storms are a crucial part of God's sanctification process because they expose your motivations and help
you become more like Him. Do not allow the challenging storms to surpass Jesus' promises. Through any
storm He permits in your life, He swears to be by your side. Allow the trials of life to strengthen your
faith in God as your fortress and deliverer.
CHAPTER 13 OBSTINATE
In common conversation, we don't commonly use the word "obstinate." It used to be frequently used in
connection with a child. According to the dictionary, the phrase means "stubbornly upholding an
attitude, opinion, or course of conduct." It seems sense that the word "obstinate" has been used to
describe kids because they can be very determined. Every instance where someone in the Bible realizes
they are out of line with God's will and instantly makes the necessary adjustments to be in line, is the
exact opposite of being "obstinate." God views stubbornness as such a serious sin that He added what
now may seem to be an excessively severe penalty for a stubborn and disobedient son. A son was to be
brought before the city elders and "all the men of his town are to stone him to death" if he failed to
obey his parents, would not submit to punishment, and led a dissolute life. You must expel the bad
people from your group. Israel as a whole will learn about it and fear. A major crime that can infect an
entire community is stubbornness and rebellion of God and His established authority.
CHAPTER 14 OVERCONFIDENCE
Overconfidence generally indicates that you are more sure in your skills and judgments than is
objectively accurate, however it can be difficult to distinguish between the two at times. Overconfidence
can affect both your capacity to act on the knowledge you have and how well you judge its quality. How
to deal with overconfidence?
Recognize your overconfidence, practice humility, conduct research, and acknowledge that you are not
an expert in everything. The most crucial elements to overcoming overconfidence are awareness and
admission of it since only then can you start to change. To ensure that a choice is not taken in arrogance,
check your assumptions and those of others. Create a strategy for investing based on facts and ethical
standards. Even when things are going well for you, keep pushing yourself to learn more and refine your
approach. If you stop changing and evolving, it's difficult—possibly impossible—to stay at the top, but
it's simple to maintain that impression, leading to overconfidence.
CHAPTER 15 NEED
Wants and Needs are different from each other.
Definition of want: To desire greatly; wish for.
Definition of need: a lack of something requisite, desirable, or useful.
Water, food, air, housing, clothing, healthcare, company, and love are just a few of the things that
humans require to survive. It would seem natural that we might be content if we had all our
fundamental needs, but so frequently we are not. We desire a lot of things that aren't actually
necessary: a newer car, bigger house, finer clothes, expensive trips, and toys (boats, motorcycles,
recreational vehicles, etc.). We worry about our wants despite having all of our needs addressed. God
will provide for our necessities, according to Philippians 4:19, but He has never promised to satisfy all of
our demands. The truth is that even obtaining our "wants" won't guarantee our happiness.
What do I need that I don't have, therefore, is the question we should be asking ourselves. We are
better off than most others in the world if we have access to enough food, clean water, shelter, clothing,
and health care. We will be considerably happier than others who constantly want more if we can learn
to be satisfied with what we already have.
As Christians, we ought to understand that having a deep, real connection with Father God through
Jesus Christ is what we "need" above everything else. How does that meet our needs? There is no
greater need or desire than knowing that our eternity is secure thanks to Jesus, for whom we have
"peace that beyond comprehension."
With Jesus, the Holy Spirit is a part of us and lives inside of us, leading and comforting us. We have
Heaven within us, thanks to the Holy Spirit and the Bible. With that knowledge, what more do we
actually require? What more do we actually need, in fact?