When Life Feels Like More Than You Can Handle

Barb Roose leads readers in surrendering the things they cannot control

(Nashville, Tenn.) – If COVID-19 has taught us anything so far, it’s that we are not in control. When life gets hard, aspects of the future are uncertain, and we’re at the mercy of other’s decisions, we want more power over the situation. However, those are precisely the times when we need to learn how to surrender, just like Jesus did. In Surrendered: Letting Go & Living Like Jesus, Barb Roose leads readers in a study of Jesus in the wilderness to show that when our need to fix things takes over, that’s when we need to embrace God’s plans rather than our own.
 
Roose wrote the Surrendered Bible study for the weary woman who needs to let go of control-loving behaviors and learn to live like Jesus in the midst of the hard times or during the heartbreaking circumstances each person will face at some point in life. There are problems in life that can can’t be fixed no matter what we do, and living out the phrase “Let go and let God” is much easier said than done. She asks readers to consider if it is possible that giving up on what they can’t change is God’s path to peace for their life.
 
“Usually triggered by change, our own wilderness seasons are often characterized by spiritual confusion or a long-lasting situation that seems to press the ‘pause’ button in our life. Wilderness seasons are frustrating because there are no quick fixes, and we often have no control over how long it will last or ultimately, how that hard situation will turn out,” Roose explains. “Yet, the wilderness season is a beautiful invitation for us to experience God in new and powerful ways. As we travel through hard days or heartbreaking times, the wilderness is often a place where we experience God’s might, power, abundant provision and comforting presence in ways that we never have before.”
 
In the six-week Bible study of Jesus in the wilderness, Roose explores Jesus’ time of testing and contrasts it with the Israelites’ failures in the wilderness. Learning from Jesus’ example, readers will discover six principles that will equip them to let God lead the way to victory despite the circumstances they deal with or the problems and pain they are facing:
 
1. Recognize You Can’t Handle It
2. Stop Following Your Feelings
3. Give Up Control and Reach for God
4. Embrace God’s Better Blessing
5. Let Go of Fear
6. Experience the Blessings of a Surrendered Life
 
Each week of the Surrendered study is broken down into five daily lessons for individual study. While individuals can reap the benefits of the study on their own, the study is designed for participants to come together once a week for encouragement, support, and accountability. In addition to the individual participant workbook, there is a Surrendered: Women’s Bible Study Leader Guide and DVD. As the women gather to watch each week’s video message designed to complement the study content for the week, they will have the opportunity to share what they are learning and pray together.
 
Roose hopes that every woman who is tired of following her feelings or being disappointed by unchanging circumstances will learn how to surrender like Jesus and experience God’s power and peace as never before. “Trials can teach us to worship God more, depend on ourselves less and to become more like Christ. Even though those lessons are tough to learn, the blessings that we receive during our wilderness season and on the other side is absolutely worth it!”
 
To help groups stay connected and continue to study the Bible together during this time of social-distancing, Abingdon Women and Amplify Media are making the video sessions of Surrendered: Letting Go and Living Like Jesus available for free for group members to watch at home from any device. Sessions will be available free of charge from April 7 to June 30, 2020. View the video sessions at https://my.amplifymedia.com/amplify/series/unitedmethodistpublishinghouse/32668-surrendered.
 
Amplify Media is a streaming service allowing churches large and small unlimited video access in order to discover, customize, and share diverse resources that encourage deeper discipleship and equip churches to pursue their mission with greater impact. Learn more at AmplifyMedia.com. 

Readers can sign-up to participate in the Surrendered online Bible study led by Roose which will begin on April 22 with both Wednesday night live teaching and Thursday discussion groups. For more details, visit barbroose.com/onlinestudy/.
Surrendered: Letting Go & Living Like Jesus 
A Study of Jesus in the Wilderness
By Barb Roose

Barb Roose is a popular speaker and author who is passionate about connecting women to one another and to God helping them apply the truths of God’s Word to the practical realities and challenges they face as women in today’s culture.

Roose enjoys teaching and encouraging women at conferences and events across the country, as well as internationally, including national platforms such as the Aspire Women’s Events, She Speaks Conference, and the UMC Leadership Institute.

She is the author of the Surrender: Letting Go and Living Like Jesus,I’m Waiting, God: Finding Blessing in God’s Delays,Joshua: Winning the Worry Battle and Beautiful Already: Reclaiming God’s Perspective on Beauty Bible studies and the books Winning the Worry Battle: Life Lessons from the Book of Joshua and Enough Already: Winning Your Ugly Struggle with Beauty. Her writing has been featured in many magazines, and she also writes a regular blog at BarbRoose.com. She is the host of the bi-monthly “Better Together” podcast.

Roose lives in Toledo, Ohio, and is the proud mom of three adult daughters. Her perfect day includes sleeping in, taking a long walk outside, shopping for shoes and eating two big bowls of chocolate peanut ice cream.

Visit Barb Roose’s online home at barbroose.com. Readers can also keep up with her on Facebook (BarbaraRoose), Twitter (barbroose), and Instagram (barbroose).