Discussion Questions
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In this lesson we learned that the Israelites complained a lot during their time in the wilderness—they weren’t satisfied with God’s provision. What can you learn from this that could help you process life’s difficulties more effectively?
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Complaining only makes things worse. The more a person complains, the worse they feel and the more bleek things seem to be. Everything has an expiration date. This is what I was reminded of and if I will just hold on during difficulties, they too will expire.
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Having their whole story gives me such a complete picture of God’s promises, His character, and His faithfulness. They did constantly complain and doubt that His provisions were what was best for them because they couldn’t see the future and the whole picture. It is the same for us- we know what God has promised us in His word and we know that one day He will come back and eliminate sin and we will be with Him forever, but we often lose sight of this promise. I learn from Numbers to stop focusing on the day to day troubles, and lift my eyes to Him and the end goal- living with our Savior for eternity! This eternal perspective takes me from a grumbling heart to a grateful one so I can process difficulties in life through His lens.
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I am 74 years old and have been in church all my life and, even though I love my Savior with all my heart and soul, I have to admit that I still complain, a lot, but I have been working on that. It isn’t that I’ve caused my life to be somewhat chaotic with complaining and making bad choices, it has just been in the last ten years that I have been trying to listen to God’s guidance more and more every day. Bible study helps a great deal. Wonderful Christian friends and even some who do not profess Christ had helped me learn more about what “waging peace” really means. This course and the others I’ve taken through ODBU have helped me so much – hearing again and, then, again.
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If we read the account further it says their shoes and clothes never wore out. We can use this narrative to enhance our faith in every applicable way.
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Even when life has difficulties and hard times I need to keep my faith in God. He will always provide what I need.
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Israel failed to enter the Promised Land as planned because of their mistakes. How do you respond when life doesn’t go as you planned?
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When life does not go as planned I sometimes question God and ask why. Sometimes later I look back and see how that circumstance has helped me or brought me closer to God. Realize during those times I need to trust Him even when I do not understand why things go a different way then I have planned.
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When life doesn’t go as planned, sometimes I handle it exactly the way the Israelites did and I grumble and other times I just leave it to God and ask him for the strength to get through that time. Usually when I do that, the outcome is better.
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Honestly, when life doesn’t do as planned I tend to keep working on it until I get tired and burn out but once I stop and reflect and let God do the work for me. Then, it gets easier. We need to focus on the cross cause He promised us the He will never leave us nor forsake us.
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I may get discouraged when something happens that didn’t go as planned but then I have to take a step back and ask myself is this what God wanted for me or was I being selfish and wanting something that I wanted. I try to always pray and ask for God’s guidance before making any decisions.
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Take a long somber look in the mirror at the reflection staring back at me and own it. God always has our best interests in mind for His Children…sadly when l thought l had a better grasp of such- there is always a tough love lesson attached.