Sabbath School Lesson for March 11-17, 2023
Overview of Lesson 11, Managing in Tough Times
Memory Text: ” ‘Offer to God thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High. Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.’ ” Psalm 50:14, 15 NKJV
This week we explore these topics:
- Sunday: God will fight your battles, when you put Him first in your life–like He did for King Jehoshaphat.
- Monday: Trust God, not your own resources–like David did not do when he called for a census.
- Tuesday: Keeping your life simple and not accumulating too many things will help you manage, especially when hard times hit.
- Wednesday: Establish priorities and make God first in all you do. You can’t serve both Jesus and your riches.
- Thursday: A time of trouble is coming in the last days and we must prepare our hearts for it, remembering to help prepare others as well.
Seldom have we seen so many troublesome events happening all at once around the globe. We have wars, famines, natural disasters, and health pandemics appearing daily on news media outlets in nearly every country of the world. Many are seeking some kind of security in the unstable times we are experiencing.
Basic tools to survive, such as food, clothing, and shelter, are being threatened on a massive scale, and many are uncertain what the future holds for them. More than ever, we must learn to lean on the wonderful grace of our Father in heaven. Seeking first His kingdom will arm us for whatever trying times lie ahead.
When we call on the grace of God, He has promised to deliver us in the end. In return, He will be glorified by our deliverance, and also by our devout acts of faith. Our example of faith can help others arm themselves and follow our loving God and Savior through tough times.
Sunday: Putting God First
The importance of putting God first is found in the first of the Ten Commandments to have no other gods before Him. Our Creator is to have priority in our lives, both before and after any crisis that may come our way.
Jehoshaphat gave us an example of doing this in 2 Chronicles 20:1-22. It appeared that a vast army of pagan tribes was about to attack Judah at one point during his reign. Although the king had wisely prepared by fortifying his cities and increasing the army, Jehoshaphat did not place his trust entirely in these measures.
King Jehoshaphat called for a fast and a gathering of God’s people to come to His holy temple and address the emergency situation. There they prayed for deliverance from the armies that threatened them, and were told by God through His prophets that they only needed to stand still and let God fight for them.
Miraculously, it worked as God predicted, and their enemies ended up turning upon themselves, leaving many of their numbers dead.
Bible Verses for Thought and Discussion:
2 Chronicles 20:20
- Why is it important to trust God’s prophets, as well as God Himself?
- Does this always mean the words of His prophets are to be treated as God’s words found in Scripture? Why or why not?
Monday: Trust God, Not Your Own Resources
King David did not always set as good an example in putting God first, let alone in trusting Him as fully as Jehoshaphat did years later. Without consulting his trusted spiritual counselors, and even ignoring Joab’s questioning of the measure, David called for a census counting of all the people in Israel. 1 Chronicles 21:1 actually points out that this idea of a census at the time really came from Satan.
Israel immediately began to suffer from this foolhardy gesture on David’s part, which showed that he was trusting too much in his own resources. driving the king to repent of his hasty action. By this time, the consequences could not be avoided, however, and must be felt, for the people to see where David had failed them. God did allow David to choose the consequence that Israel would then also experience. It was a difficult choice to make, but one that would teach and remind David to consult God first and not trust and act on his own human inclination.
Bible Verses for Thought and Discussion:
1 Chronicles 21:1-14
- Why do you think Joab was so uncomfortable with David’s idea of having a formal census taken of Israel?
Tuesday: Time to Simplify?
Although our possessions seem particularly important to us when times get hard, we should not be focused on them to the extent that they are able to possess us. Worrying how we can manage our assets during times of prosperity is bad enough, but that anxiety is often magnified during a crisis.
Oddly enough, many people find it helpful to manage their lives, no matter how complicated it may be at the time, by doing all they can to simplify or downsize their assets, instead of seeking ways to accumulate more. Becoming a minimalist has recently become popular in our current culture. It even made sense to Ellen White, however, over a century ago, when she recommended that we “should be cutting down their possessions instead of increasing them….getting things into as compact a compass as possible.” Counsels on Stewardship, p. 59.
God expects us to live as comfortably as we can, providing for the needs of our loved ones in a way that matches how we’ve been blessed. But, this must be done in a way that allows us to be generous to others and prevents us from becoming greedy. We should not hang on needlessly to money that could benefit others less fortunate.
The very best use of our wealth, of course, should be to spread the gospel, preparing ourselves and others for the Second Coming. Saving for emergencies is fine, but we mustn’t cling to our wealth to the extent that we neglect the cause of God.
Bible Verses for Thought and Discussion:
2 Peter 3:3-13
- How should we be living, knowing that our time on earth is so short, and the Lord is coming soon?
Wednesday: Priorities
Jesus did not say in the Sermon on the Mount that it is hard to serve two masters–God and our riches, for example (Matthew 6:24). He said it was impossible, making it even more crucial for us to serve the Lord, and Him only. Money and other material blessings are intended to serve us, making it easier for us to serve God. Other than that, it is pointless to have them.
Colossians 3:2 tells us to set our mind, or affection, on God, not on worldly things. And just what are these worldly things we are to avoid? According to 1 John 2:15-17, our desire for instant gratification, instead of waiting for our eternal destination, draws us to the world by appealing to our…
- lust for the flesh (what feels good)
- lust for the eyes (what looks good)
- pride of life (what is not good)
2 Peter 3:10-14 is a passage that provides us with our mission and focus, enabling us to set our priorities where they ought to be–which is clearly on the soon-coming return of our Lord and Savior. There is no better use of our resources today, whether they be in the form of money, talent, or any way we are blessed by God, than to use them to prepare for the greatest event in all history, the Second Coming.
Bible Verses for Thought and Discussion:
Matthew 6:24 and Colossians 3:2
- How do we avoid letting earthly things keep us from serving God?
1 John 2:15-17
- Why should we not love the things in the world?
- What are those worldly things that keep us from serving God?
2 Peter 3:10-14
- How should the Second Coming influence how we manage our lives?
- How can our blessings be used by God to prepare ourselves and others for that great event?
Thursday: When No One Can Buy or Sell
Families or nations can and do experience trouble from time to time, making it difficult to function in a normal way. But the Bible speaks of a time of trouble that the whole world will go through just before the Second Coming. Daniel 12:1 describes this time of trouble as one “such as never was”.
The book of Revelation informs us that in the end-time period there will be some unusual financial restrictions. Those who don’t follow the beast power, that will manage to have a worldwide following by then, will not be able to buy or sell. This, of course, will lead to great hardship for those who remain faithful to God. Suddenly, their monetary reserves will be worthless. They can no longer use their financial blessings to support themselves, or even to help others. See Revelation 13:11-17.
We can prepare ourselves for these future events by making sure we are trusting in God’s grace, and not our wealth and earthly possessions. One vital way to achieve this level of trust has been through tithes and offerings we’ve been told to give. Systematically giving of our means is one of the tools needed to grow trust in our heavenly Father. Making God’s cause our first priority becomes a habit, and will help us be steadfast when satanic forces thoroughly threaten our mortal survival.
Bible Verses for Thought and Discussion:
Daniel 12:1, 2
- When will this tragic time of trouble be felt?
- Who will ultimately be delivered from these catastrophic events?
Revelation 13:11-18
- How does the image to the beast gain power in those lasts days?
- How will God’s faithful suffer by not being able to buy or sell?
- What can we do now to prepare for this future threat?
- Why might our spiritual preparation be more important than knowing precisely what the number 666 might stand for, or other prophetic details?
Friday: Final Thoughts
Just as surely as we will go through hard times at some point in our lives, there is coming a time when the whole world will be in turmoil. There are only two ways to prepare for the fear and confusion that will be rampant on the earth before the Second Coming of Christ.
- Trust God to fight our battles–our spiritual preparation will help us cope with the fear.
- Make God our priority, keeping our lifestyle simple by not accumulating too much earthly wealth–our physical preparation will enable us to cope with the confusion.
Our time of death, which could be at any time for each of us, will be the time of Christ’s Coming for us. From the time of our death to the Lord’s return will seem like a blink of an eye while we sleep in the grave (1 Corinthians 15:51, 52). Therefore, it is true that we are closer than ever to that glorious reunion with our Savior and those loved ones who come before and after us. How important it is to live our lives with this shortness of time in mind. Make the best of each and every day God gives you.
Next Week: Rewards of Faithfulness
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