Only Children Rest - Group Guide
Summary
After a dramatic spiritual victory at Mount Carmel, Elijah faces a threat from Queen Jezebel and flees in fear. Exhausted and disillusioned, he begs God to take his life. This moment of despair reveals how even faithful servants can forget the Father's love—especially when obedience is followed by hardship rather than reward. Elijah expected repentance and revival from the people; instead, he gets more resistance and danger. His fear stems from a false view of God—one that expects comfort for faithfulness, not more difficulty. But Scripture (Proverbs 3:11–12) reminds us that God’s love often includes discipline and formation, not just deliverance.
Instead of rebuking Elijah, God responds with tenderness. He ministers to Elijah’s physical and emotional needs—giving him rest, food, and touch. These simple, embodied acts show that God’s love meets us in our humanity. Elijah naps, eats, and is touched by an angel—not once but twice—before being strengthened for the journey to Horeb. In these moments, Elijah experiences God's care not through grand gestures, but through quiet provision. The love of God is intimate, restorative, and present even in fear. Rather than bulldozing problems away, God draws near in compassion.
At Horeb, God invites Elijah into a deeper intimacy—not through powerful displays like wind, fire, or earthquake, but through a “low whisper.” Elijah wanted God to act dramatically, to deal with his enemies. But God wanted to transform Elijah's heart instead. The whisper reminds us that God speaks not just for instruction, but for connection. Like a bouquet of flowers that feeds the soul, God gives us beauty and grace to stir our memories of His love. Jesus, the ultimate expression of that whisper, comes in flesh to heal and restore—not with force, but with mercy. In our despair, God doesn’t always change our situation—but He changes us.
Primary Passage
1 Kings 19:1-13 — 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. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. 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 he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God. 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.” And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.
Discussion Questions
When have you felt like Elijah—exhausted, disappointed, or fearful even after a "spiritual high"? What triggered those emotions, and how did you respond? How did God meet you in that place?
Why do you think Elijah forgot the Father’s love, even after such a powerful experience on Mount Carmel? What causes us to live as if God’s love isn’t real or present?
How does God minister to Elijah physically and emotionally (vv. 5–8)? What does this say about the connection between our bodies, emotions, and spiritual life?
What is the significance of God speaking in a "low whisper" rather than the wind, earthquake, or fire (vv. 11–12)? How have you experienced God speaking gently or quietly in your life?
God doesn’t give Elijah what he asks for (death), but gives him rest, food, and new direction. How has God reshaped your desires rather than simply granting your requests?
Supporting Passages
1 Kings 16:30, 33 – “Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him... Ahab did more to provoke the Lord... than all the kings of Israel who were before him.”
Proverbs 3:11–12 – “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline... for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.”
Psalm 104:14–15 – “You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate... and bread to strengthen man’s heart.”
1 John 4:16,18 – “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love... There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”
Job 17:11 – “My days are past; my plans are broken off, the desires of my heart.”
Additional Resources on Rest
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
Explores how silence, solitude, and Sabbath help us reconnect with God’s love in a distracted world.
Keeping the Sabbath Wholly by Marva J. Dawn
A practical guide to experiencing rest as a form of spiritual resistance and renewal.
Culture Care by Makoto Fujimura
Encourages a life nourished by beauty, rest, and soulful reflection.
*Group Guide for the week of April 7, 2025.
