The Great Provider

A right understanding of God will give us a right understanding of ourselves and our world. 

Think about that statement for a second. If our view of God isn't big enough, we will be led to trust ourselves, or the people or things around us, too much.  On the other hand...if our view of ourselves or the people and things around us is too big, we won't trust God enough. It works both ways.
This past Sunday night we continued looking at what it means to have "Full Confidence" in who God is.  Beyond just agreeing that we trust God and that we have put our faith in Him...what does full confidence in God look like practically...everyday for a teen?
This past Sunday we looked particularly at God's promise to be our great provider.  In Philippians 4:11-13, 19...we saw that whether like is going great or life is terrible, we can be content because God has promised to provide for our every NEED.
Ultimately, our greatest need is a Savior...our greatest need is Jesus. So if we have our greatest need, and we do because Jesus came and gave His life for us, we don't really need anything else. But because of His love, God still provides us with other things that we NEED...things that are meant to in turn, cause us to worship God.
While this is how we were meant to live...with God being the only one we "hook our caribiner" into with full confidence that He will always be our provider...there are people and things making promises to us everyday that they can be our provider...
They promise to provide us with:
- Love
- Acceptance
- Success
- Wealth
- Popularity
- Etc...

And here is the catch...if our view of God isn't big enough...we will fall for their promises...we will put all of our hope and trust in something that was "not meant for climbing"...not meant for all of your hopes and trust to provide...only Jesus can do that.  So this week, lets strive to gain a big picture of God...that He is in control...that He loves us...that He is for us...and that He is our great provider...lets strive to hook our full confidence in Him.

Use the questions and passages below to go deeper with this week's topic: Fully Confident in God as my Great Provider.

1. Read Colossians 1:15-17.
- Look at verse 16...why is it important for our confidence in God as our provider, to understand that everything was made through God and for God?
- What does this tell us about God's control over creation and our lives?

2. Read Colossians 1:17 again.
- What is it like to know that God is not only holding the world together with His hands...but He is also holding your life and my life together in the palms of His hands?

3. What are some things or who are some people that you sometimes trust to provide for you more than you should?
- What do they promise to (or what do you think they will) provide for you?

4. Read Philippians 4:11-13. Think of your life. What does it mean to be content in all circumstances? What are some examples in your life of what it means to be content?

This week is a 3rd Thursday. The guys and girls are doing their own things.  Hope you can make it!