Moving from the Fear of Missing Out to the Joy of Missing Out

Download a PDF of the Bible Study: Moving from the Fear of Missing Out to the Joy of Missing Out.

We have all had that moment when we open our phones or overhear a conversation and feel like we missed out on something. We want to be included in all the fun things people are doing. We don’t want to be the third wheel who wasn’t invited to the party.

Can you think of something you saw on social media or heard someone talking about in the last few weeks that made you feel like you were missing out? Or a time when you were younger and didn’t get the birthday invitation everyone else seemed to get or weren’t invited to the monkey bars where the “cool kids” hung out on the playground?

I remember when I was a kid, my sisters and I had to go to bed at around 8-9 pm so that we wouldn’t be grouch-pusses the next day when it was time to get up for school. My parents didn’t go to bed at 8-9 pm, because they aren’t kids, and adults need less sleep. Instead, they popped popcorn and watched a show. I could smell that popcorn wafting up from the family room downstairs and hear them laughing at late night television. That popcorn smelled like butter, and warmth, and it also smelled like missing out on something really fantastic.

It stinks to feel like we’re missing out on something. It stinks so much that we end up often in a perpetual state of wondering if we’re missing out on something or constantly feeling a little left out. There are two ways God encourages us when we feel like we’re missing out.

1 – We will never miss out on God and His love in Jesus Christ.

2 – We best avoid missing out by being the includer.

Download a PDF of the Bible Study: Moving from the Fear of Missing Out to the Joy of Missing Out.