"For These I Am Thankful"

November 20, 2005 - Rev. Rurel Ausley

Deuteronomy 8:1-5,13-15

1. Have you gotten to the place in your spiritual growth that you have learned to genuinely thank God for the bad times as well as the good? How did this happen? Or, what needs to happen for this to be true? Are you able, in the midst of struggles, to know that God is a God of love and that He is, through it all, bringing about good within your life? Illustrate this. How do you know that nothing goes unused for your good if you will but express gratitude to God for what He is doing in your life?

2. In our Scripture today, what words of wisdom and direction was Moses giving to the people? How did he focus upon the good things that they had learned? What was his major exhortation? (8:2) How important is it for us to "remember the Lord"? How soon do we forget about His past provisions if we do not make a point to remember? In what ways have you seen God's presence in the past, even if the journey was rough? How can we apply the lessons of yesterday to the opportunities of tomorrow?

3. In what ways do our trials humble us and make us thankful? (Ps. 119:71) Why is it good for us to be humbled? (Prov. 16:18) How have you noticed how difficult folks can get when things have gone smoothly for them? How impatient with others? When are prayer meetings attended the most: in good times or bad times? What was Moses worried about in Deut. 8:13? What happened in Luke 17:12-19? In what ways are you able to look back over some rough things and interpret them in the light of how God has worked?

4. In what ways should we thank the Lord for His discipline? (Deut. 8:5) Why do we do our children a disservice by not disciplining them? Why do we not discipline other people's children? How does our discipline show we are God's children? (Heb. 12:5-11) How does God use His discipline to bring us to maturity? What kind of response to discipline is necessary for growth?

5. In what ways should we thank the Lord for his provisions in our lives? Of what provisions did Moses remind the Israelites? (8:16) What are some of the simple things in which we can be thankful? How did the provision of manna teach them about "daily bread"? How do our anxieties about tomorrow spoil our gratitude for today?