When Your Faith Gets Stale
Leader Guide
We all grow tired of even the best things. It can also be true of our faith. This week, we learned that we must be intentional about keeping our hearts tuned to God. When our faith becomes dry and boring, we must seek Him to find joy in His presence. Let’s learn how to keep our hearts tender and seeking after God.
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
Leader: This section is designed to get discussions started, examine God’s truth, and apply it to our week. Life Group leaders should not assume everyone in their group is a Christ follower. Because they are taking part in a Life Group, they must have some openness to knowing more, exploring. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work and let Him lead you as well.
1. What is one hobby, skill, or dream you once pursued with passion, but now you could care less about doing?
2. Desperately seek God. Read Psalm 63:1, Jeremiah 29:13, and Proverbs 8:17. What is David’s attitude and desire? When or why have you felt desperate to sense God’s presence? Is it a problem if we don’t feel this desperate need for God? What does God promise us if we are diligent to seek Him? Where in your life can you be giving God more?
Leader Note: David is parched, desperate for God's presence and Spirit. He “faints” in his flesh and his spirit when he cannot find God. We can feel this way in crisis, but also when we do not hear from God. If we do not feel this passion to seek God, it could be that we are apathetic, self-sufficient, and self-righteous. There may be sin that we are unwilling to turn from in repentance. But God has promised that if we are earnestly seeking Him, He will be found. He will reveal Himself.
3. Remind yourself God is better. Read Psalm 63:2-3 and 1 John 5:21. When you are tempted to go it alone or pour your passion into a new hobby or interest, what does this verse ask you to consider? How does this help you overcome temptation? Are there good things, not sinful, that draw you away? Check out the 1 John 5:21 verse in another version. What does this translation make clear about your priorities?
Leader Note: Nothing is better than God. He satisfies more than riches, fame, and success. Throughout Ecclesiastes, we hear King Solomon telling us all of these things are meaningless. Even good things, like love and family, can distract us from God. When faced with temptation, remember that every other pleasure is temporary. God is better. When you are tempted to skirt the truth to succeed, remember that God and His ways are the way of life. Don’t let anything else take first place in your heart. The ESV version clarifies that this is an idol in your heart, whether it is an inanimate thing (car, house, clothes) or an attitude (pride, self-sufficiency, self-righteousness).
4. Connect with God throughout the day. Read Psalm 63:4-7. Do you have a “God Box,” a time of the week or an hour of the day where you think about Him? Is He excluded from much of the rest of your week? When should you connect with God? What if you don’t feel like it? How can you encourage yourself to reach out to God? List specific actions.
Leader Note: Throughout the day, choose to bless God. Life up your hands in worship, whether in the church community or in your quiet time: worship Him. When you are eating food, remind yourself that God is more satisfying that even food. Praise and thank Him for the food you are about to eat, but more importantly, for His presence, His provision, His love for you. Remember God in the evening: debrief your day, confess your sins, and thank God for all His safety, direction, protection during the day. Meditate upon His word as you fall asleep. Ask the Spirit to refresh your soul as you sleep. Commit even your unconscious mind to God as you sleep. Ask for rest, so that you rise early in the morning, call to Him, and sing for joy in His presence, the shadow of His wings.
5. Action Step: Have you stopped learning or studying about God? Do you give the service your full attention: worshipping, repenting, taking notes, and giving? Where are you leaving God behind and going you own way? Are you still getting nudges from God: for comfort, for conviction, for direction? If not, what is your plan? Do you see this as a problem? Step One: If you are a believer but far from God, ask Him to pour out His Spirit so that you want more of Him. Ask Him to give you a passion for God and make Himself known to you.
Deeper
Leader: This section is designed for further use in your Life Group or for personal study. These can also be used as discussion points and ways to stay connected with your group throughout the week. Encourage your group to take time daily to walk through these questions.
6. The Scriptures repeatedly tell us to seek God. Look at the verses below and note any specific thing we need to do. If there is a promise in the verse, write it down. Select one of these verses to write out and consider all week.
2 Chronicles 7:14: (LN: humility, prayer and seeking lead to God hearing, forgiving and healing.)
Psalm 9:10: (LN: If we really know Him, then we know we can trust Him. He has proven and promised that He will not forsake us.)
Psalm 34:4: (LN: When we seek Him, He hears and answers. This brings immediate peace and deliverance from fear.)
Psalm 34:10: (LN: God promises that we will lack nothing. This is not that there will not be trouble, but that God has promised that He will meet our need. This reminds me that HE is my portion! Psalm 16:5, 73:26)
Lamentations 3:25: (LN: no matter the circumstances, I can be sure that God is good. Also, Romans 8:28 says He works all things to my good).
Matthew 6:33: (LN: if you prioritize seeking God, the other things will come into our lives in God’s timing. He is most important. All the rest is just “all these things.”)
Hebrews 11:6: (LN: seeking God is crucial to salvation and faith; in return, God rewards us with salvation, faith, mercy, forgiveness, and other blessings / rewards.)