None of us are strangers to sadness, pain, shock, or difficult times. Since sin entered the world and destroyed life as it was meant to be, all of these things have become a part of our realities on this side of heaven. The question is, how do we respond when life gets us down? What does it look like to live faithfully in the middle of adversity? We will talk about this today as we study the prophet Elijah, a man who remained faithful to God in the middle of his hard times.
Think back to 2020, which was a year we all experienced difficulties. What was the most challenging part of that year? What was one unexpected blessing that God provided during 2020?
Bible Study Questions
1. What are different ways people can respond when life gets them down? What is helpful, what is not?
WATCH SERMON RECAP
2. Read 1 Kings 17:8-16. What was difficult about this woman’s guidance from God through the prophet Elijah?
1 Kings 17:8-16 8 Then the Lord said to Elijah, 9 “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.” 12 But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.” 13 But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!” 15 So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. 16 There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.
1 Kings 17:8-16
8 Then the Lord said to Elijah, 9 “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.”
10 So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.”
12 But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.”
13 But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”
15 So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. 16 There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.
3. How did this woman demonstrate faithfulness in these verses?
4. Read 1 Kings 17:17-24. In what ways did God honor this woman’s faithfulness throughout the entire chapter of 1 Kings 17?
1 Kings 17:17-24
17 Some time later the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died. 18 Then she said to Elijah, “O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?”
19 But Elijah replied, “Give me your son.” And he took the child’s body from her arms, carried him up the stairs to the room where he was staying, and laid the body on his bed. 20 Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?”
21 And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to him.” 22 The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived! 23 Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. “Look!” he said. “Your son is alive!”
24 Then the woman told Elijah, “Now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the Lord truly speaks through you.”
Application
1. Has God ever guided you to do something that seemed difficult or did not make sense to the rest of the world? What was it?
2. What connection have you seen between following God’s guidance and His provision in your own life?
3. Is there something God is currently guiding you to do? If so, what is it? How are you responding to this guidance?
It is clear from this passage of Scripture that God gave Elijah and the widow exactly what they needed to survive every day. As they looked to God for sustenance, He was faithful to take care of their needs. Talk as a group about how you are daily looking to God to provide for your needs. It could be health-related, financially, or in regards to a strained relationship. Share one way that you, like Elijah, are depending upon God to care you’re your every need.
The story of Elijah and the widow in 1 Kings reminds us that God is a provider. But, while He is certainly a provider, God's promise to David was not immediately fulfilled. Instead, after twenty-eight generations, at just the right time, God sent Jesus. This long time period did not mean God was not faithful in the waiting. Instead, He was waiting for the right time to send Jesus. Yet, all the while, He was faithful. Maybe this period of waiting resonates with you. Is there an area of your life where you are waiting to see evidence of God's faithfulness? If so, share this with your group. How does this story of David give you confidence in God's faithfulness and hope as you wait?
Elijah and the Widow:
• Look back at 1 Kings 7:8-16 and 1 Kings 7:17-24.
• After reading, why do you think God asked Elijah to go to a widow who had very little rather than a person who was well off to give him food?
• How did God provide for Elijah throughout all of these verses?
• How did God provide for the widow throughout all of these verses?
• What was unexpected about God’s provision to Elijah and the widow in these verses?
Religious Leaders:
• Many Jewish people, especially the religious leaders, expected the coming Savior, Jesus, to provide by being a political savior and freeing the people of Israel from the Romans, who were ruling over the people of Israel. But, it turns out, His provision looked differently than they had expected. Read what Jesus said as he testified in a trial to Pontius Pilate about His kingdom right before His death on a cross in John 18:34-40.
• How was Jesus’ description of His kingdom different than a political movement that many Israelites, including religious leaders, had been hoping for.
• How was Jesus’ provision better than what the Israelites and religious leaders had expected from Jesus?
What about Us?
• In what ways do you see people expecting God to provide today?
• How might some of these expectations negatively affect our understanding of God’s provision?
• What expectations, if any, have you placed on God about His provision for you?
• After reading Scripture about God’s provision today, are there any adjustments you would like to make about God’s provision for you? If so, what are they?
Whether we realize it or not, most of us have expectations about God and His provision for us. The truth is, when we study Scripture, God often works and provides in unexpected ways, and that provision is always better than we could have expected. Is there one area in your life where you hope God will provide, or are you disappointed with how He has been providing? If so, share it with your group. Then, share how the Scripture we have read today about God’s provision gives you peace in the middle of hoping for God to provide. After everyone has shared, pray for each other. Pray that God would continue to provide for each one of you, and that you all will have the wisdom to know that His provision may look different than you have expected it to and that it is always going to be better than expected.
MONTHLY MEMORY VERSE (Available for download on Sagebrush App)
Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. Romans 8:5
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