Chapter 10 Discussion Questions

Chapter 10: The Courage to Believe

Barnes begins this chapter by stating that believing is not complicated, but it is hard.  As humans, we struggle with questioning, with doubt, with wanting more from our faith while at the same time not being willing to “settle down next to the small stream we have been given.”  How are you doing with “settling down next to the small stream?”  Do you find that you are not content to sit by the stream, using the excuse that you are trying to find a raging river?

Read together the middle passage on page 138 that begins with “What we need…. and ends with “The real question is, will we do it?” 

Discuss Barnes’ thought that it is not by our longing and working to “climb up the ladder” that we quench our spiritual thirst, but that “by believing that these God-given disciplines can become the channel through which the waters flow down.  Only the Spirit can control the flow.” (p. 140) How are you doing on practicing the disciplines that will allow the waters to flow down?

Talk about the “Jesus is in your boat” metaphor.  How would your behavior change, at home, in the workplace, around town, if you lived as if Jesus were in your boat?

On page 145, Barnes says, “Salvation comes, then, not through resolve, but through surrender.”  And, he continues on page 146:  “It isn’t terribly complicated, but it is so very hard because it requires that we believe the Holy Spirit will do what we cannot do.”   Surrender (along with other Christian values such as humility) seems so contrary to human nature and to our cultural norms.  How do we do it? Is this truly what sets a believer apart?

Barnes defines faith as a “courageous choice to believe.” (p. 149). Discuss this in light of the resurrection story.  “If we were convinced that the grave was not able to hold Jesus, we would not be surprised to discover that he is still at work in our lives and in the world.”

Relate the following passage from http://www.ignatianspirituality.com to Barnes’ discussion of believing before the crisis hits:

Spiritual consolation is an experience of being so on fire with God’s love that we feel impelled to praise, love, and serve God and help others as best as we can. Spiritual consolation encourages and facilitates a deep sense of gratitude for God’s faithfulness, mercy, and companionship in our life. In consolation, we feel more alive and connected to others.

Spiritual desolation, in contrast, is an experience of the soul in heavy darkness or turmoil. We are assaulted by all sorts of doubts, bombarded by temptations, and mired in self-preoccupations. We are excessively restless and anxious and feel cut off from others. Such feelings, in Ignatius’s words, “move one toward lack of faith and leave one without hope and without love.”

The key question in interpreting consolation and desolation is:  where is the movement coming from and where is it leading me? Spiritual consolation does not always mean happiness. Spiritual desolation does not always mean sadness. Sometimes an experience of sadness is a moment of conversion and intimacy with God. Times of human suffering can be moments of great grace. Similarly, peace or happiness can be illusory if these feelings are helping us avoid changes we need to make.