Read for This Week’s Study: John 16:5–15; Col. 1:28,

29; 1 Pet. 1:13; Matt. 5:29; Genesis 32.

Memory Text: “To this end I strenuously contend, struggling with

all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me” (Colossians 1:29, NIV).

A man and woman sat together on a talk show. Both had expe-

rienced the murder of a child. The woman’s son had been

murdered 20 years before, and her anger and bitterness were

as great as ever. The man was totally different. His daughter had been

murdered by terrorists a few years earlier. He spoke about forgive-

ness toward the killers and about how God had transformed his hurt.

However terrible the pain, this man had become an illustration of how

God can bring healing to the darkest moments of our lives.

How can two people respond so differently? How does spiritual

change occur in the life of a Christian, enabling that individual to

mature through life’s crucibles rather than being completely over-

whelmed by them?

The Week at a Glance: What is the role of our wills, and

willpower, in the battle with self and sin? How can we avoid the

mistake of letting our feelings rule the decisions we make? Why

must we persevere and not give up when in the crucible?