Listen to the message

Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting.

1 Corinthians 13:7 Contemporary English Version

Supportive … stego: 1. deck, thatch, to cover a. to protect or keep by covering, to preserve 2. to cover over with silence a. to keep secret b. to hide, conceal 1. of the errors and faults of others 2. by covering to keep off something which threatens, to bear up against, hold out against, and so endure, bear, forbear

Loyal … pisteuo : 1. to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in a. of the thing believed a. to credit, have confidence b. in a moral or religious reference 2. used in the NT of the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul 3. to trust in Jesus or God as able to aid either in obtaining or in doing something: saving faith a. mere acknowledgement of some fact or event: intellectual faith b. to entrust a thing to one, i.e. his fidelity 4. to be entrusted with a thing

Hopeful…elpizo : 1. to hope a. in a religious sense, to wait for salvation with joy and full confidence 2. hopefully to trust in

Enduring…hupomeno: 1. to remain a. to tarry behind 2. to remain i.e. abide, not recede or flee a. to preserve: under misfortunes and trials to hold fast to one’s faith in Christ b. to endure, bear bravely and calmly: ill treatments

Frankly, sometimes love is a huge disappointment

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4

Each week at NorthStar Community groups gather in homes and other convenient meeting spots to study scripture. We call these our home study groups. These small groups gather for the sake of encouraging one another and intentionally looking to scripture for solutions to some of life’s hurts. This series is on broken relationships – if you think about it, I suspect your biggest hurts have more to do with the pain of a strained relationship than any other factor. Today we’ve talked about the protection, the loyalty, the hope, and the trust available in healthy relationships. Does that leave you…sorrowful? When the ideal collides with the real – are you sad to think about the state of your most important relationships?

Or do you just try to move on, and not think about it? I suppose that would be the path of least resistance – if it worked – but it doesn’t work! Here is the challenge set before us – are we willing to allow God to bless us? Isn’t that an odd thought – God blessing those who mourn? It’s painful and unpleasant to face the fact that we have not appropriately loved – and others have not appropriately loved us. But this challenging road is blessed by God.

Dig Deeper

You may want to reread Psalm 55:1-8, 12-17 – these are the verses the home study groups will be reviewing this week. They’re going to study the grief process up close and personal. Perhaps you’d like to review the steps of grief outlined by Dale and Juanita Ryan in this study:

= Identify the loss (don’t run from the reality of the loss – name it)

= Experience strong emotions (without numbing, denying, repressing, etc.)

= Ask God for help

The psalmist gives us a wonderful example of his lonely cry for help. I was particularly touched by the fact that his enemy had once been a dear friend. Can you relate? My prayer is that you will draw closer to God’s big dream for you, as you seek His blessing – even in your losses.