How to Ride a Roller Coaster
Leader 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
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. 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?
Leader’s Note: Jezebel was polytheistic and believed in many gods. However, she was furious about the major defeat of the 450 prophets of Baal. Elijah should not have been scared by her threat since her gods were just proven powerless. But he had come off a spiritual high and was exhausted from all he’d done and seen. Elijah was more susceptible to Satan’s attacks because he left his servant and undertook this journey alone. We are strengthened and can go further when we take others along with us.
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?
Leader’s Note: Elijah was tired and how been running a long way. His exhaustion made him more prone to letting his emotions and self-focus take over. God provided food, water, shade, and a sense of security so that he could sleep. God was tender with Elijah. He has compassion. It’s challenging to rest with all of the screens and busyness around us. Rest and good food provided Elijah with energy to restore his physical body and continue his journey. Let God restore your strength, also.
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?
Leader’s Note: In his spirit, Elijah knew to draw into God and head to the “mountain of God.” He became discouraged during this journey and retreated to a cave due to exhaustion and burn out. The cave can represent defeated living, exhaustion, depression, fear, or running away from problems. We tend to isolate ourselves when we are hurt, depressed, or discouraged. Although God has shown compassion, He now begins to challenge Elijah on the truth of his feelings and perceptions.
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?
Leader’s Note: It would make sense for God to show up in the storm because of all His power. This time God came in a gentle whisper, which is also quite different from how God showed Himself on Mount Carmel, where He came with fire. Elijah believes he is the only faithful one left following God. There were 7,000 others still around who had not worshipped false gods, but Elijah was stuck, focusing on himself. Being in the presence of the Lord is the most helpful thing you can do for stress or depression. This means being completely honest with God about what you are feeling and thinking. Elijah did not answer the question which God asked. Rather than directly answering the question, he started listing off his accomplishments and his complaints to God.
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?
Leader note: If you are looking for God, you will find Him in your quiet time. God speaks to us most often in a gentle whisper. We must learn to hear God’s voice and recognize it. “Be still and know that I am God.” Our lives are surrounded by opportunity, technology, and voices that make it difficult to have time by ourselves. Seek God, sit before Him, and get to know and experience Him. Then, focus on other people and pick someone to bring along. Do not forget to take care of your physical body, also, to be at your spiritual best.
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.
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? (LN: David is known as a man after God’s own heart. He was known to honor and follow God and do great things for the Lord. Still, David faced dark moments. Even Christians can face depression, stress, and trials. In this chapter, David was focused on himself, and his inward focus made his problems seem bigger than they were. Yet he turns his troubles into prayers and praises.)
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? (LN: Satan attacked Job and, in this chapter, we see the end of the test. Job is an example of being faithful even through the grief and losses he faced. God rewarded his faithfulness by restoring more than he had at the start. Job was focused on his friends, once God restored his fortunes. His friends were with him during this trial, and though they were not always “good friends,” Job thanked them and prayed for them right after all his fortunes were restored.)
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? (LN: God spoke to Noah and Noah followed through. He worked hard to build the ark and complete everything God asked of him. He faced people who didn’t believe in him, but he stayed faithful to God through it all. After the flood was over, after he hears from God who recommits to humankind, Noah planted a vineyard and got drunk. This is an example of what not to do in a pit. He was exhausted, even after seeing Gods power and faithfulness. Instead of resting, turning to God, and bringing people along with him, he chose to fulfill his earthly desire to drink to avoid the emotions he was feeling.)
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? (LN: David heard from the Lord and believed what He said to him. Logically, Goliath should have won this match, yet David looked at how big his God was rather than the size and skill of Goliath. He was able to face the challenge in front of him because of his constant communication with God. He heard the gentle whisper of God which others didn’t make time for or have faith in.)
11. Read Matthew 14:22-33: What was Peter looking at when he stepped out on the water? When did Peter start to sink? (LN: Peter stepped out of the boat in faith while he was looking at Jesus. Yet, as he looked at the waves, he started to sink. The significance of this story is that Peter was looking at Jesus rather than the waves when he was able to walk on water. When we keep our eyes on Jesus and stay in communication with Him during the tough seasons, Jesus is bigger in our lives than our problems.)