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When Better Feels Backwards

Discussion Guide

Conversation Starters

  • Would you rather walk backward for a week or talk backward for a day (day a for backward talk)?
  • Ask your group which of these is better: iPhone or Android, Krispy Kreme or Dunkin’ Donuts, Chick-fil-A or Popeye’s, and fall or spring?

Review

Ask eGroup members to share their favorite points from the sermon, what spoke to them, a phrase or moment from the sermon they related to the most, or questions they have. If members have a hard time recalling the sermon, talk through your notes and share your favorite points.

Make It Personal

  • What’s a tool, gadget, or skill that was frustrating to use at first, but it eventually made you or your life better?
  • Do you ever feel like YOU could be better? What “better” things around you are you comparing yourself to when you have those thoughts? Why? (Where have you been living in “the land of er”? What areas of your life are you comparing against others?)
  • Read Genesis 30:1-5. Rachel and Leah compared themselves to each other — it made them unhappy and kept them in a contest to see who was better. Have you ever done something because you were comparing yourself to someone else? What happened, and how did it make you feel?
  • God designed you exactly the way He intended to, for a specific purpose. Where in your life do you need to believe that? How could believing that help you move forward?
  • What’s something you’re going through that feels uncomfortable, but you know it’s for the better?
    • What challenges do you face when you’re trying to see the better in a situation? How can that awareness prepare you to see the better in the next struggle you face?
  • Sometimes, moving backwards feels better. What’s something you’re tempted to go back to because it’s comfortable? What safeguards or support systems can you put in place to keep you from giving in?
  • When we don’t believe better is possible, that’s when we’re most tempted to go back. Is there something you’ve been believing won’t get better? What can you do to help yourself believe better is possible? (e.g., talk to someone who’s been through a similar situation, pray for encouragement and a blessed perspective, volunteer and help make someone else’s situation better, etc.)
  • Where in your life is it “already better”? Why do we struggle to recognize better when it comes?
  • Read Luke 1:30-38. Mary was in an uncomfortable situation — she was pregnant and unmarried. What are some things in this passage that encourage you to believe for better? What can you take away from Mary’s response?

Act On It

Send this link to your group so they can download a phone wallpaper: http://ele.vc/CrxyDY. This week, when something doesn’t feel good, use this image to remind yourself that sometimes better feels backwards. Encourage yourself in those moments, and believe that it’s already better.

PRAYER REQUESTS AND PRAYER

Ask eGroup members to share any prayer requests they have. Record any notes or prayer requests to pray for members during the week.
Father, thank You for always having better in mind for us. We ask You to work on our perspectives this week so we can see where better is already happening in our lives. Help us lean into even the uncomfortable things in our lives, believing that better is here and now — and that better is in our future, too. Show us what we can do to embrace that mindset in this season. In Jesus’ name, amen.