Elemental Season 1 - Day 1

Have you ever had something that triggered a response you were not expecting? Something that brings you back to either you didn’t want to go or somewhere you have never been before and are not sure you are comfortable being there? A place where certainty slides into uncertainty is a place that is uncomfortable for everyone.

Our belief structures cause us to find a sense of security around them. We have answers to questions that need answers, you know, those big questions. What is life all about? Who is God? Do I believe in the right things? Is there a better way to think about eternity? All these things are questions that matter, and when we believe we have them answered, life is a little bit easier, our anxiety is a little bit less, and there are a few fewer things about which we need to worry.. 

But when there is an upsetting of the apple cart and those already answered questions are suddenly not giving us the security and the structure we have become so accustomed to, our lives are turned a bit upside down, and we have to find a new and sure footing. 

These are moments where we either decide to keep swimming in uncertain waters or turn back toward familiar shores. Each of these decisions is viable, and they are okay. However, one might grow your faith, while the other can be a bit of a crutch to continue to disengage in faith. 

And it is funny how that works. Going back to what you are familiar with often keeps an emotional dynamic and exciting faith journey. We disengage from our faith by not asking these questions, being willing to explore, and falling back into what is comfortable. 

Psalm 88:3 states: For my life is full of troubles,
    and death draws near.

This is not a text of; instead, it is a text filled with uncomfortable truths. But the Psalmist has to engage in that discomfort to be able to move forward from this place they find themselves. The Psalmist understands that they are in a bad way, and the only way to work yourself out of a bad situation is to ask the right questions, discover the hard truths, and move accordingly. We have to find ways of doing this as well. 

Sometimes, we are sitting in church and hear a word, or even experience a sound or smell that brings us back to something that is less than stellar. Sometimes it is bad theology, an experience in church that scarred us, or a particular instance that shaped your faith or curved you away from it. 

This series is going to help walk us through these issues. Stay with us! 

1. Have you had a bad experience in church? 
2. What happened? 
3. Have you ever been triggered by something you experienced in your faith community? 
4. Have you ever felt like the answers you were given weren’t enough? 
5. Where do you go when you struggle with your faith?