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Discovery: Read Joshua chapter 7 and 1 Peter 1:6-9, Ps 103:7-13, Hebrews 4:1-16

Understanding: The Bible tell us in 1 Peter 1 that in order for our faith to be shown to be genuine it needs to be tested.  This testing can be achieved through our going through ‘various trials’.  As we read in Hebrews 11:6. ‘without (such genuine) faith it is impossible to please God’.

The lack of genuine faith when they were tested that we see in Joshua, the two spies and Achan were the reason for the tragic events that we read of chapter 7. 
Q: Identify the ways in which Joshua and the spies took God’s blessing for granted ?
Q: In Ch 7:7 Joshua accuses God and holds him responsible for the defeat at Ai, yet in verse 8 he is already modifying his approach to God.  What is Joshua saying to the Lord in verse 8 and why would this new approach be seen as helpful for Joshua’s faith ?
A: Joshua eventually stopped feeling sorry for himself, stopped accusing God and began to ask God why this had happened – he repented, ie he changed his mind and turned to God.  That’s what we should do, ie start asking God humbly ‘why ?’, ‘what went wrong ?’, ‘what did I not do ?’, ‘was it my own agenda I was following and not yours ?’.    When we do this our awareness of our ‘disappointing’ situation becomes clearer, as does our understanding of what God was doing and more importantly ... where we went wrong.

Application:
Q: Is it in God’s nature and character to ‘let you down’?  A: No!  Though ‘bad stuff’ happens to us.
Q: What are the reasons why things might not work out as you’d wanted or expected?
A: We heard wrong.  We had mixed or bad motives.  The things we asked for were not in God’s will for us, either at the time or at all.  The sin of other people has an impact on us.  God wants us to persevere.
Q: What should you do when you finally realise that God isn’t wrong and that He didn’t let you down?  
A: 1) Repent (think differently),  2) Get to know God better,  3) Seek to rely more on his grace.

In essence, Ps 103 says that God revealed his character to Moses and his deeds to Israel.   If we want to increase our faith in God, and have a confident trust in Him – then we need to get to know him better than we do now.  In one sense, this is a the work of a lifetime!

Discuss what this statement means to you;  ‘If we know increasingly what our God is really like then we can face the trials and tests of life with a greater sense of peace and steadfast endurance because our confident trust in our God’.

What sort of God do you know?   Get the group (maybe in two ‘teams’) to have a go at describing what God is like.  List his attributes and then share testimony about a time when you experienced his love, his grace, his justice, his holiness, his sovereignty, his faithfulness, his provision, his care, etc, etc.

NB Cell leaders: this time could lead you nicely into a time of worship and / or a time of ministering to one another – you go where the Holy Spirit leads you.