1)Listen to Podcast
2)GG Questions
05/12/2019
Some Doubted: Beware of Burnout
1 Kings 19
1. Close Reading : After praying for God to enlighten your mind, read through 1 Kings 19 a couple times, slowly. Look for these three things: LIGHTBULB – something that shines from the passage, draws your attention; QUESTION MARK – something difficult to understand; ARROW – a personal application. Share the results of your study with your group.
2. Blinding Fear : Elijah bursts onto the scene in 1 Kings 17 denouncing kings (17:1), receiving supernatural provision (17:4), performing miracles (17:14-16, 21-22), and single-handedly defeating the whole pagan idolatrous religious system (18:33-39). Read 1 Kings 18:33-39. Isn’t that amazing?! What faith! But then there’s 1 Kings 19:1-3… What happened? How could Elijah have forgotten so quickly the God he serves?How does this episode teach us that ‘remembering’ is not merely a cognitive exercise? Have you been similarly forgetful recently?
3. Self-Deception: After fleeing 120 miles from Jezreel to Beersheba (1 Kings 19:3), Elijah travels another 200 to Mount Sinai (19:8) where he lays his complaint before God. Enter into the emotional space of Elijah the prophet. What is his complaint in 1 Kings 19:10? Where have some elements of truth been coupled with pessimistic exaggeration and self-deception (18:3-4, 13)? In what situations are you most susceptible to self-pity and self-deception? What lies are easiest for you to believe?
4. Not Listening : This chapter is most well known for the still small voice following thunderous displays of power (1 Kings 19:11-12). What is God communicating in these two verses, and, based on Elijah’s response, did he get the message (1 Kings 19:9-10, 13-14)? Has God ever had to teach you the same lesson twice?
