Taking it Deeper:

Spend some time in 2 Samuel 15-16 and Ecclesiastes 3:1-9

Ice Breaker: 

Have you ever thrown a surprise party or been the “victim”? Have you attended a surprise party? Share the story! How did it feel to be surprised? To be the surpriser? 

Discussion Questions for Small Groups

or Individual Study

1. Read 2 Samuel 16:5-8. Identify the various assaults David and his men faced. What do you think emboldened Shimei? Recount the insults and injuries of a hard season you have endured or are enduring. What emboldened those against you? What worsens your circumstances? God isn’t surprised and sees what you are up against. Does this bring you comfort? Why or why not? 
2. Read 2 Samuel 16:9-13. Note the responses of David and his men. What do these different responses reveal? What was David made of? What can you learn from David’s response? Based on the message or what you know of David’s story, did this season last? How do you know?
3. Share what you are discerning about your current season. What is God up to? If you don’t know, pray together for God to show you. 
4. Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 line by line and ponder where you more closely land. If it is somewhere in the middle, how are you preparing for the inevitable tipping toward one or the other? What could you be doing to better prepare for difficult times? How can you be poised to embrace and steward times of peace and blessing?
5. Read 2 Samuel 16:13-14. David, exhausted, covered in dirt and bruises, took action. What was it? What do you think it looked like? How did it feel? Do you embrace refreshment or shrug it off? Why? How did Jesus find refreshment?