INTRODUCTION

God Provides Water

Bible Point:

God is patient with us.

Key Verse:

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters” (Psalm 23:1-2).

Big Picture:

Practice trusting God, even when it would be easier to complain.

God Provides Water

Exodus 17:1-7

Sometimes things do not turn out the way we hope or expect. In the Bible, there are stories about people who felt disappointed and had to learn how to wait and trust. This week, you will explore what it means to practice patience and gratitude, even when things feel unfair or frustrating. These lessons invite you to notice how God provides what is truly needed and to think about how trust can grow in every situation.

PLANTING THE SEED

As the Israelites wandered in the desert, they didn’t know where they were or where they were going. The desert was hot and dry, and they feared they would die of thirst. “Have we been freed from slavery in Egypt simply to die in the desert?” they asked Moses. They complained and complained, angry with God for forgetting about them.

But God had not forgotten about them. Even though the Israelites chose to complain rather than to remember all the wonderful things God had done for them, God helped them. God caused water to flow from a rock, and the Israelites drank.

BIBLE POINT

God is patient with us.

KEY VERSE

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters” (Psalm 23:1-2).

COMPLAINT CUP

Use the “rock” you made in Sabbath School as a “complaint cup.” When you find yourself complaining, write your complaint on a slip of paper and put it into the cup. Then pray about the complaint, asking yourself if there is anything you can do to make a change in response to the complaint, make those changes and remember some of the wonderful things God has done for you in the past. The next day, take out the complaint and throw it away, thanking God for all that we have, and don’t have.

REMEMBERING TO TRUST

Sit down with your family, and make a list of as many good gifts from God as you can think of (food to eat, a good family, and a place to live, for example). Ask your family members to think of times God helped them, and write those down, too. Post the list where everyone can find it, and ask everyone to look at the list when they feel like complaining. The list can help you and your family remember to trust God and to be thankful when you feel like complaining. Complaints are supposed to help us consider what we need to do next, not just continue to make us fester and wallow in our own negativity. Ask for help from God to know what might need to change, what conversation may need to take place, and let go filled with gratitude.

READY, SET, GROW!

Choose a way you’ll remember to trust God instead of complaining.

• Pray about something you need or want from God. Practice patience this week by waiting for an answer from God.

• Help someone who’s younger than you as he or she learns to do something new. Be patient, and remember how God is patient with you.

• Think of something you’re trying to accomplish—whether you’re learning to play the piano or trying to get better grades in math—and pray for patience as you try to learn to do that thing. Remember how God is patient.