Worship and trust are right responses to God’s provision.

SCRIPTURE | Exodus 16:2-5,8-20

CENTRAL TRUTH

The Israelites questioned if leaving Egypt was pointless because it looked like they might die of hunger. But God had a good purpose: He was teaching them to depend on Him. He was showing them He was unlike any “gods” they’d known in Egypt. He was refining them.

Key question

Why is it difficult to trust God when our circumstances don’t make sense?

Keep in Mind

Complaining isn’t as innocent as culture makes it seem. Culture casts “venting” as a healthy way to detox negativity. It’s celebrated all over social media. We do often need to talk through our hurt and pain with trusted friends. But complaining is rooted in something different, usually in selfish motives. We didn’t get what we wanted or dislike how something happened—and we want others to know it. Complaining harms our relationships with others because it’s poisonous; it encourages them to complain and forget God’s goodness too. It harms our relationship with God because it causes us to fixate on the ways we feel He has been unfaithful. In reality, God can’t be unfaithful; it’s not who He is (2 Tim. 2:13). Instead, we can respond to all situations with trusting and worshiping God.

APPLICATION

HOW CAN YOU PRACTICE REMEMBERING GOD’S FAITHFULNESS INSTEAD OF GRUMBLING?

THE WIN

FOR THE STUDENT: Students can actively practice remembering God’s faithfulness each day; they can actively practice gratitude. This could look like keeping a prayer journal to recall the ways God answers prayers. It could look like making a worship playlist to center their minds on Jesus. Or, it could also look like verbally expressing gratitude to other people who’ve helped or encouraged them.

FOR THE LEADER: Forgetting God’s faithfulness affects the way we walk with Him. Forgetting leads us to be hesitant, but remembering helps us trust God. We must work to remain actively fixed on God’s faithfulness rather than on our unsteady circumstances.