Message Series // Trusting God with our Why’s
Message Date // April 19, 2020 (Scotty Priest)
Big Idea
Trust is something we all have to deal with in our lives. There are areas where trust is easy for us to give, but there are also those areas in our lives where we have trust issues. Maybe we’ve been hurt or betrayed by others. Maybe we have a tough time believing what others tell us, or we have a tendency to keep people at a distance. Maybe we have a bent to expect the worst. And it’s one thing when it’s difficult to trust people, but it’s quite another thing to have trust issues with God. Maybe you are having a tough time trusting God in this season. No matter what, the bottom line is that trust is needed in every relationship…especially when it comes to God. Why? How we trust God can either develop or stunt our spiritual growth. We can either be paralyzed with fear, or we can use this season as an opportunity to learn what God is doing in our lives. God wants you to trust Him, and He knows that you will come out of this season better if you do.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6
Discussion
Read Proverbs 3:5-6. There are times in our lives where there is a gap between our understanding of who God is and the reality of the circumstances we are experiencing. In other words, we will have life situations that don’t line up with who we think God is or what He is supposed to do. When this happens, we have a choice to fill that gap with trust…or with confusion, anger, resentment, and entitlement. When have there been times in your life where you’ve experienced a gap between your circumstances and your expectation of what God is supposed to do? What are different ways you have chosen to fill that gap? Would you say it’s easy or hard for you to trust God?
Read Exodus 16:2-20, 31. In this story, you will see a situation where to Israelites have to trust God’s ability to provide on a daily basis while they are wandering in the desert. Everything surrounding this circumstance is a recipe for frustration, but trust is a vigorous act of the soul. It’s a clinging to the character of God because trust is always linked to the person we are trying to trust. Why is it important that we rely more on the character of God that His answers? Has God ever given you reason not to trust Him? Where have you seen His reliability expressed in the past?
There is a moment where we have to shift from asking God “WHY?”…to asking God “WHAT?”. It takes form in a prayer that goes something like…”God, WHAT are you trying to teach me about YOU?”. Why is this shift in what we are asking God for so key in trusting Him? What are some things in your life God has taught you about Him?
Next Steps
An untested faith is a worthless faith. As followers of Jesus, we need to welcome God’s testing of our faith. It’s not because God is a prankster, but because God is a promise-keeper. Over the course of the next week, spend some time reading and meditating on the following promises of God in the Bible. Ask God to use these promises to strengthen your trust in Him…to believe in what God says and to act upon it.
Joshua 1:9.
Psalm 69:18.
Proverbs 3:5-6.
Isaiah 40:29.
James 1:5.