How to Ride a Roller Coaster
Discussion Guide
Life can be like a roller coaster. One moment you are chasing after your dreams with all your might. You achieve them, and now life feels great. The next moment, you’re facing a new challenge that drags you down. Working hard is great but it can also exhaust us, and that’s when Satan is likely to attack. In general, the stress and pressure of everyday life can become overwhelming. This week let’s learn how to ride through these emotional ups and downs without letting them overtake us.
What you will need: A Bible or your Bible app, a notebook, pen, and highlighter. The verses highlighted below are linked so that you can easily access them during your study time.
Jump Start
1. Have you ever had a great success followed by a big let-down? Share if you can.
2. Read 1 Kings 19:1-4. Who was Jezebel swearing by when she threatened Elijah? How has Elijah’s confidence changed from the victory on Mt. Carmel to this passage? What emotions led Elijah to run? What was Elijah focused on: the threat or God? From Elijah’s perspective, who does his life belong to? Who did Elijah make this journey with?
3. Read 1 Kings 19:5-8a. How did God care and provide for Elijah at the beginning of this dark moment? Do you find it challenging to rest? What circumstance was Elijah in that made him more prone to depression? What did rest and nourishment provide?
4. Read 1 Kings 19:8b-9. Why was Elijah headed for the mountain of God? What does the cave represent? How does God react to how Elijah is feeling?
5. Read 1 Kings 19:10-13. Where is Elijah during all of these natural occurrences? Where was the Lord? How did God show up here compared to His display of power on Mount Carmel? Did Elijah answer God’s question?
6. Action Step: List the five things you can do to help yourself dig out of a valley. Are you taking care of your physical body with rest, exercise, and good food? Are you on the run from God? Take time alone to sit before God and share with Him how you feel, then just listen and see how He is working. Engage with the people around you and find value in relationships. What changes do you need to make? Who can you encourage this week?
Deeper
Read through these stories of trials that people of faith faced in the Bible.
7. Read Psalm 69:1-3, 7-12, 19-20, 29-33: What emotions is David feeling? Where is his focus? What does he do to handle his emotions?
8. Read Job 42: How does Job speak to God when everything he had was taken away from him? What is the first thing Job does once God restores his fortunes?
9. Read Genesis 9:1-21: What promise did God give Noah? What was Noah’s work after this covenant was established? How did he fail after he had completed all that God has asked him to do in saving the animals and his family?
10. Read 1 Samuel 17:23-37: How did David respond to all the voices that questioned his choices? How did David’s weapons compare to Goliath’s? Where does David’s confidence come from?
11. Read Matthew 14:22-33: What was Peter looking at when he stepped out on the water? When did Peter start to sink?