Jumpstarter 8 of 10

Ideas to help restart your discussion

Question 8

George MacDonald is quoted saying God will make a man “more and more dissatisfied until he knows why the Lord had said it,” and that we can’t obey “in the deepest sense” until we see the command’s reasonableness; how do you react to the idea that God *wants* this dissatisfaction, and what would it change about how you pray, study, or submit when a command feels unreasonable?

Another way to ask: How do you feel about the idea that God may keep you uneasy until you understand why he commanded something? If a command seems unreasonable, how might this change how you pray, study, or obey anyway?

Direct Answer Bercot presents MacDonald’s idea as positive: God uses dissatisfaction to push us beyond mere rule?keeping into understanding and wholehearted obedience; when a command feels unreasonable, the response is to keep obeying while seeking God’s purpose until the command becomes “reasonable” to us.

Support from Transcript:

MacDonald: “God will show he is pleased… by making him more and more dissatisfied until he knows why the Lord had said it.”
“God wants him to see that he cannot obey any command in the deepest sense… until he sees the reasonableness of it.”
Bercot says kingdom?life Christians “obey… whether or not they understand the reason,” yet they “search for the reason.”
They believe God’s laws “have a purpose” and fit the “universe of reality.”
The “big picture” approach brings “appreciation and joy,” making commands “not grievous or burdensome.”

Discussion Follow-ups Do you treat inner dissatisfaction as a danger sign or as an invitation to go deeper? What command are you obeying mostly on duty, and what would it look like to ask God to show you its “reasonableness”?

Jumpstarter 8 of 10

Add your phone number?

Thank you!

Jumpstarter 8 of 10