Uninvited by Lysa TerKeurst

Week 2: Chapter 1 — But If Not

Read Chapter 1 of Uninvited. Key Scripture: Daniel 3:17–18 ("But even if he does not…")

Lysa opens the book proper with one of the most courageous statements in all of Scripture — "but if not" — and invites us to consider what it looks like to trust God even when He doesn't rescue us from the painful situation we are in.

Discussion Questions

7 questions

1.Lysa draws on the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who told King Nebuchadnezzar that God could deliver them from the furnace — but even if He did not, they would still not bow. What strikes you most about the phrase "but if not" as a posture of faith?

2.She applies this story to seasons when God does not remove the painful rejection we are experiencing. Can you think of a time when you had to hold on to God in the middle of a painful situation He did not immediately fix? What did that feel like?

3.Lysa is honest that trusting God in rejection is not passive resignation — it is an active, costly choice. What is the difference between genuine trust and simply gritting your teeth and enduring?

4.The chapter sets up a tension between what we want God to do (remove the pain) and what God is actually doing (forming our character and deepening our trust). Where do you feel that tension most acutely in your own life right now?

5.Lysa notes that when we feel rejected, our instinct is either to fall apart or to try to control the situation and the people involved. Which of those two responses is more characteristic of you?

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Closing Prayer

Full guide

Father, we want You to remove the furnace. We confess that our first prayer is almost always for rescue, not refinement. But we look at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego standing in that throne room and we see what it looks like to trust You even when the heat is not turned down. Give us that kind of faith — not a faith that demands deliverance, but a faith that says "but if not, we will still not bow." Meet us in the middle of whatever furnace we are walking through today. Amen.

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