Dissonance is what we experience when there’s a clash between what’s in our mind and reality – whether it’s a hope or a dream or a story spoken over us, or something we believe should be possible or happening – when we are not what we hope to be, or when life throws up something we never wanted to be part of our story, or something that doesn’t seem to fit with God’s story for us or just doesn’t seem to make sense. It’s uncomfortable and triggers unpleasant emotions like anxiety and stress. So how do we handle seasons where we’re facing this kind of mismatch? What do we do when God’s story just doesn’t feel like it is playing out in real life? And how might our reactions to these moments influence the way God can provide for us in our moments of deepest need?

Key scripture – Genesis 22:13-14:
“Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.'”