Trusting God by Jerry Bridges
Week 9: Chapter 8 — Trusting God When You Are Weak
Read Chapter 8 of Trusting God. Key passages: 2 Corinthians 12:7–10; Isaiah 40:28–31; Psalm 73.
Previewing Week 9 of Trusting God
Read 3 of 7 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 14-week guide when you’re ready.
There is a kind of suffering that does not announce itself dramatically but slowly drains us — weakness, inadequacy, and the feeling that we simply do not have what it takes. Bridges addresses this with unusual tenderness.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Bridges takes Paul's 'thorn in the flesh' (2 Corinthians 12:7–10) as a central case study for this chapter. What does Paul's thorn teach us about why God sometimes chooses not to remove our weaknesses, and what does Christ's answer — 'My grace is sufficient for you' — actually mean?
2.Paul's counterintuitive conclusion is that he will 'boast in his weaknesses' so that Christ's power may rest on him. Bridges says this is not a pious platitude but a hard-won conviction. What does it look like practically to 'boast in weakness'? Have you ever experienced Christ's strength most clearly in a moment of your own inadequacy?
3.Isaiah 40:28–31 promises that 'those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength.' What does Bridges say about what it means to 'wait on the LORD'? How is that different from passive inactivity?