A smoke-filled room, cards in sweating hands and the moment when everything has to be staked on one card. That image opens a reflection on the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath in the seventeenth chapter of First Kings (1 Kings 17), two people whom God leads to a place where, humanly speaking, there is neither logic nor security. The sermon asks it plainly: why should I trust God when his word takes me against every instinct of common sense, and it points to the answer hidden in the faithfulness of his promises. Listen if you are standing today before a decision with no plan B.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- In 1 Kings 17:9-24 God sends Elijah to Zarephath, a pagan town, to a poor widow on the edge of starvation. What about this command seems senseless from a human point of view, both for the prophet and for the woman?
- The widow did not know the God of Israel, yet she gave Elijah her last handful of flour and oil. What do you think enabled her to trust the words of a stranger?
- The sermon contrasts gambling, a risk based on blind chance, with putting everything on one card for God. What is the difference, and what role do God's promises play in it?
- Elijah had already seen God keep His word: the drought He announced came, and ravens brought him food. What experiences of God's faithfulness in your own life help you trust Him today?
- The story of the man who went away for treatment shows that his decision changed his wife, his son and his whole home. How does God make Himself known to others through one person's trust?
- Where this week are you clinging to the last of your own safety nets while God invites you to trust Him, perhaps to forgive, to leave a toxic relationship, or to persevere? What first step can you take?
