Week 8: Chapter 7 — More Than a Fan of the Miracles (Following in the Hard Places)

1.Idleman observes that the crowds are always largest around Jesus' miracles, but that genuine followers are the ones who remain when the miracles seem to stop. Have you ever had a season where God felt absent or silent? What did that season reveal about the nature of your faith?

2.He draws attention to the detail in John 11 that when Jesus hears Lazarus is sick, he deliberately stays two more days before going. What does that delay say about how God sometimes works — and how do you personally respond to God's delays in your own life?

3.Idleman points out that both Mary and Martha say the same words to Jesus — "If you had been here, my brother would not have died" — but with very different tones. Martha's seems to be faith holding on; Mary's seems to be grief letting go. Which of those feels more like you when you are suffering?