𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠 𝗨𝗣

• When you’re faced with uncertainties or bad news, how do you usually respond?

• When you feel tired, what do you usually do to regain strength?

• Who do you often look to for help? What makes that person dependable?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘩?” 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘫𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘮 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺.” 𝟭 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝟭𝟵:𝟵-𝟭𝟬

(Read also 𝟭 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝟭𝟵.)

After the reign of Solomon, the kings of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. God set apart Elijah and used him as a prophet to confront some of these rulers, but not without great challenges. As a result of his obedience to the Lord, Elijah’s life was on the line and he felt like the end was near for him. But God reminded Elijah of what was true in the midst of his distress—God is great and good. Today, let’s get insights from God’s faithfulness to restore Elijah so that he may go and speak God’s truth, even in the face of death.

𝟭. 𝗢𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁 𝘂𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀.

𝘈𝘩𝘢𝘣 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘑𝘦𝘻𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘑𝘦𝘻𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘩, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, “𝘚𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰, 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘣𝘢, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘶𝘥𝘢𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝟭 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝟭𝟵:𝟭–𝟯

Elijah rose against the evil rulers of his time and performed miraculous signs, proving that God is above all. But when they threatened to kill him, he was 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 and 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. From being bold, Elijah became so anxious and distraught that he asked God to take his life because he thought that he was the only one left who believed in God. Even when we obey God, we will face challenges. When life becomes overwhelming, it may seem easier to give up and even wallow in sadness. But God is with us and works in our hearts in the midst of our challenges and pain. Have you experienced circumstances that seemed to overshadow God’s promise for your life? What happened?

𝟮. 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗚𝗼𝗱’𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝗺.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘈𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” . . . 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘵, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘷𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘩?” 𝟭 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝟭𝟵:𝟳, 𝟭𝟮–𝟭𝟯

As Elijah was hiding, God came to him. Twice, He told Elijah to rest and provided food for him to regain his strength. In God’s holy presence, Elijah eventually told Him all his concerns. God tended to Elijah throughout his physical, mental, and emotional struggles. God showed His power and reminded Elijah that He was there for him. When we become vulnerable before God, His presence comforts us and His word aligns our hearts to His so that we can trust Him again. Recall a time when God brought you through a difficult time. How did He restore your faith and confidence in Him?

𝟯. 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗯𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝘀𝘂𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗱’𝘀 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝘀.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, “𝘎𝘰, 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴. . . . 𝘠𝘦𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘢𝘢𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮.” 𝘚𝘰 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘵 . . . 𝟭 𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝟭𝟵:𝟭𝟱, 𝟭𝟴-𝟭𝟵

When God restored Elijah, He also reinforced his calling. God sent him a helper, Elisha, and told him that there are still 7,000 who are faithful to Him so that he wouldn’t feel alone. At the word of the Lord, Elijah again obeyed. Though Elijah resisted what God was doing at first, God still entrusted this responsibility to him. Even in our weakness, God builds our faith and enables us to pursue His purpose for our lives. What has God called you to do in this season? How has He sustained you and built your faith as you have obeyed His call?

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

• Are there areas in your life where you feel isolated and anxious? How does putting your faith in God help bring healing to those areas?

• Is God calling you to do something that seems impossible? How may you move forward in faith instead of fear?

• Who can you encourage with the lessons you’ve learned this week? How can you share God’s crazy faithfulness to him or her?

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥

• Thank God for His presence, care, and power in our lives. Thank Him for giving us faith to navigate through life’s difficulties.

• Ask God to restore every broken area of your life. Pray that God would help you draw closer to Him even in moments of weakness.

• Pray for God to surround you with godly people as you fulfill His purpose for your life.