Billy Graham - Searching for Hope: The Journey Study Series

Searching
for
Hope

The Journey Study Series

Searching for Hope
Living as a Christian
Leaving a Legacy
Dealing with Doubt
Confronting the Enemies Within
Embracing the Good News
Building a Christ-Centered Home
Learning to Pray
The Facilitators Guide

Searching
for
Hope

A Thomas Nelson Study Series
Based on The Journey
by
BILLY GRAHAM

2007 by Billy Graham Literary Trust

Additional material written by Terry Hadaway

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from The HolyBible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Searching for Hope: A Thomas Nelson Study Series Based on The Journey byBilly Graham

ISBN-13: 978-1-4185-1659-8

ISBN-10: 1-4185-1659-7

Printed in the United States of America
07 08 09 10 11 RRD 5 4 3 2 1

Contents

The
Universal
Search

T O GET THE MOST FROM THIS STUDY GUIDE, READ the Preface and pages 312 of The Journey.

You and I are on a journey; we have been on it since theday we were born, and it wont end until our time on earthis finished. But what kind of journey will it be for you?The answer to that question is in your hands. You cantchange the past, but with Gods help you can change thefuture. He wants to free you from your old ways and putyour feet on a new pathHis path.

BILLY GRAHAM
The Journey

THINK ABOUT IT

If you dont know where youre going, you will probably endup somewhere else.

LAURENCE J. PETER

O LORD... if you will, please grant success to the journeyon which I have come.

GENESIS 24:42

Life is a journey... it has a beginning, a middle, and an end. The beginning is beyond our control. We cant choose when, where, or to whom we will be born. The end of life also is out of our controlat least the timing is. We do, however, have some control over what goes on in the meantime, between our birth and our death.

A universal search preoccupies the mind of almost every person, regardless of age, nationality, race, socioeconomic condition, or culture. It is a search for peacefor peace within our hearts and minds. It is a search also for peace between individuals, and between us and our Creator. This search is reflected in the ways people live and pursue their goals.

REWIND

What do you think is the number-one goal of most of thepeople you know?

____ To obtain wealth

____ To become successful

____ To please God

____ To have a good time

____ To have loving relationships

____ Other: _______________________________

If someone determined your goals from your behavior, whatmight he or she assume is your primary goal in life?

____ To obtain wealth

____ To become successful

____ To please God

____ To have a good time

____ To have loving relationships

____ Other: _______________________________

You are on a journey that began when you were conceived. Just as your journey had a beginning, it ultimately will have an end. Those are the two givens in this thing we call life. When this journey ends, we embark on another journeyone that will last forever! The choices you make on todays journey will determine your eternal journey.

If you were to die today, you would enter eternity. Based onyour understanding right now, where will you spend eternity?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Our immediate concerns can easily overshadow any thought of the future. We set our sights on becoming successful. But success, as the world defines it, often leaves people empty and searching. In the book The Art of Possibility, Benjamin and Rosamund Stone Zander define success as a better place than where we are. Sometimes thats the limit of our thinkingwe arent sure of anything other than the fact that we want life to be better.

On the scale that follows, place an X under the descriptionthat most accurately describes how you feel about your life.

Read Psalm 139:124 and consider Gods plan for your life. Inthe space that follows, write a brief description of what youthink God wants to do through your life.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

JOURNEY THROUGHGODSWORD

Psalm 139 was written by David and contains a mixture of wisdom and praise. It describes Gods efforts to interact with His creation. The psalm begins with a description of Gods knowledge of the psalmist (vv. 16). In verses 712, David celebrates Gods presence in his life. Verses 1316some of the most well-known in the book of Psalmsacknowledge Gods involvement in the life process from the moment of conception. Gods unlimited thoughts toward His creation are the subject of verses 1718. In verses 1922, David prays for punishment to fall upon those who are Gods enemies. Finally, in verses 2324, David prays that God would search his heart and lead him in Gods ways.

The principles in this psalm are relevant to our daily lives:

1. God knows our innermost thoughts and loves us anyway.

2. God is with us in everything we do.

3. God knew us before we were born.

4. God thinks about us more than we think about Him.

5. The punishment of Gods enemies is Gods responsibility.

6. When we allow it, God will lead us in ways that are consistent with His character.

7. God wants to cleanse our lives of everything that keeps us from being what He wants us to be.

RETHINK

Life is a journeybut what kind has it been so far for you?

Mark all the words that best describe your life journey.

Lasting happiness and peace often are promised but seldom delivered. A bank once advertised its services with the slogan, Happiness, security, peace of mindwell loan them to you! That slogan accurately identified the things many people desire, but the promise was empty. The bank loaned money, but money cant deliver lasting happiness, security, or peace of mind.