IT_BE_HARD_OUT_HERE_BY_PASTOR_EJ.pdf

of the Sermon:**

In this sermon, “It Be Hard Out Here,” we looked honestly at the hardships we face in life—financial struggles, family issues, health challenges, and uncertainty about the future. Drawing from Numbers 11, we saw how the Israelites, in their wilderness journey, responded to hardship with complaining, losing sight of God’s constant provision. The message challenged us to examine our own hearts: how easy it is to slip into grumbling, to romanticize the past, and to overlook the blessings God is giving us right now. We were reminded that complaining is not just venting—it’s a challenge to God’s goodness and care. Instead, we are called to be conscious of our blessings, careful about the voices we let influence us, to cast our cares to God in prayer, and to guard our hearts from bitterness. Ultimately, gratitude is not about having perfect circumstances, but about trusting the hands of the God who shapes, holds, and provides for us—even in the heat of life’s trials.

**K

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Gratitude Requires Facing Forward, Not Backward: When we cling to the past or romanticize “the good old days,” we risk missing the blessings God is providing in the present. True gratitude means grieving what’s been lost, but also trusting God with what is. It’s about recognizing that even if life doesn’t look like we expected, God’s hand is still at work, providing for us in ways we might overlook if we’re always looking back.
• 2. The Voices You Allow Shape Your Spirit: The Israelites’ complaining didn’t start in a vacuum—it was influenced by the “mixed multitude” around them. In our own lives, negativity is contagious. If we constantly surround ourselves with people who magnify problems and minimize God’s faithfulness, our own gratitude will wither. We must be intentional about who we let speak into our lives, seeking out voices that point us to God’s goodness and encourage a spirit of thankfulness.
• 3. Complaining Is a Spiritual Issue, Not Just an Emotional One: When we complain, we’re not just expressing frustration—we’re making a statement about God’s character and His care for us. Complaining says, “God, I don’t trust how You’re running my life.” It’s a subtle but serious challenge to His goodness and providence. Instead, we’re called to bring our cares to God in prayer, trusting that He hears, cares, and is able to help.
• 4. Guard Your Heart—Bitterness Crowds Out Gratitude: Complaints don’t start on our lips; they start in our hearts. When we harbor discontent, unresolved pain, or bitterness, it eventually spills out in our words and attitudes. Proverbs teaches us to guard our hearts, because what we allow to take root there will shape the course of our lives. Gratitude and bitterness cannot coexist—one will always push out the other.
• 5. The Heat of Hardship Is Held in the Hands of the Sculptor: Like clay in the hands of a master sculptor, we are shaped and strengthened through the fires of life—not destroyed by them. The Israelites forgot that the same God who delivered, provided, and protected them was still holding them in the wilderness. Our gratitude is not denial of hardship, but confidence in the God who holds us, shapes us, and never lets us go. Even when it’s hard out here, we can choose gratitude because we know whose hands we are in.

**Small Group Bible Study Guide: “It Be Hard Out Here”**

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### Bible Reading

**Numbers 11:1-10 (NLT)**
1 Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the LORD heard everything they said. Then the LORD’s anger blazed against them, and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp.
2 Then the people screamed to Moses for help, and when he prayed to the LORD, the fire stopped.
3 After that, the area was known as Taberah (which means “the place of burning”), because fire from the LORD had burned among them there.
4 Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain. “Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed.
5 “We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted.
6 But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!”
7 The manna looked like small coriander seeds, and it was pale yellow like gum resin.
8 The people would go out and gather it from the ground. They made flour by grinding it with hand mills or pounding it in mortars. Then they boiled it in a pot and made it into flat cakes. These cakes tasted like pastries baked with olive oil.
9 The manna came down on the camp with the dew during the night.
10 Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents whining, and the LORD became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated.

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### Observation Questions

1. According to Numbers 11:1-6, what were the Israelites complaining about, and what did they say they missed from Egypt?
2. Who started the complaining among the Israelites, and how did it spread through the camp?
3. How did God respond to the people’s complaints in these verses?
4. What was the manna, and how did the people describe it in their complaints?

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### Interpretation Questions

1. Why do you think the Israelites were so quick to forget God’s provision and focus on what they didn’t have?
2. The sermon said that complaining is not just venting, but a challenge to God’s goodness. In what ways does complaining reveal what we really believe about God?
3. The “mixed multitude” (foreign rabble) influenced the Israelites’ attitude. How do the people we listen to shape our own perspective on life and faith?
4. The Israelites romanticized their past in Egypt, even though it was a place of slavery. Why is it so tempting to look back and think the past was better than it really was?

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### Application Questions

1. The sermon challenged us to “face forward” and not get stuck looking back. Is there something from your past that you keep comparing to your present? How is that affecting your gratitude right now?
2. Think about the voices you allow to influence you—friends, family, social media, coworkers. Are there any voices that tend to make you more negative or less grateful? What boundaries might you need to set?
3. The Israelites saw manna as a problem instead of a blessing. Is there something in your life right now that you’ve been seeing as a burden, but could actually be God’s provision? What would it look like to “take a second look” at it?
4. The sermon said that complaining is a spiritual issue, not just an emotional one. When you find yourself complaining, what does it usually reveal about your trust in God? How can you turn those moments into prayer instead?
5. Bitterness and gratitude can’t live in the same heart. Is there any bitterness or unresolved pain you’ve been holding onto? What steps could you take this week to begin letting it go?
6. The pastor used the image of the sculptor and the clay bowl—how God uses the “heat” of hardship to shape us, not destroy us. Can you think of a time when a hard season actually made you stronger or more grateful? How did you see God’s hand in it?
7. What is one practical way you can practice gratitude this week, even if your circumstances don’t change? (For example: keeping a gratitude journal, sharing thanks with someone, or praying specifically for God’s provision.)

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**Closing Thought:**
Even when “it be hard out here,” we can choose gratitude—not because life is perfect, but because we know whose hands we are in. Let’s encourage each other to see God’s blessings, guard our hearts, and trust the Sculptor who is shaping us through every trial.