The point of every session is a main idea with the goal of informing our knowing, feeling, and doing.

It’s not about you doing something great for God; it’s about God forming something great in you. 

To know that we may be able to outrun chariots, but we can’t outrun our emotional issues or mental health. To feel grateful for ways God gives us margin and seclusion to renew our soul is vital To embrace the process of rebuilding our inner world is the path forward.

Think about your experiences of climbing mountains and even those times of sleeping in a cave. What stands out?

Do caves intrigue you or freak you out? Why?

We tend to think of caves as dark and gloomy, but in this session, we’ll discover that when Elijah’s journey took him to a cave, God used the cave to bring perspective and healing. If you find yourself in a figurative cave, you can trust God to do the same for you.

As you watch, write down how Benjamin answers these questions.

Why does Elijah feel as if he has been treated unfairly?

What is the difference between isolation and solitude?

What three things can cave experiences do for us?

What’s the result of a healthy inner world?

 Show SESSION #4: The Process (13 minutes)

Benjamin opens this session with a recap of events in Elijah’s life: Elijah has just achieved his greatest success but finds himself in a place of inner exhaustion. He sits under a solitary broom tree, crippled by anxiety. God shows up in an interesting way. He doesn’t magic-wand Elijah to perfect mental health. Rather, He gives him bread and water, and encourages Elijah to journey through the wilderness to the mountain. In 1 Kings 19:9–10, we read that Elijah enters a cave. Why does Elijah feel particularly sorry for himself at this point? How does the cave reveal the architecture of his soul? What indication is there that Elijah will use the time in the cave to process his faith and mental health?

Elijah outran chariots, but he couldn’t outrun the complications of his inner world. How have you allowed busyness and pace to disguise real issues you need to deal with? If you’re a parent, how would you explain to your six-year-old, or your sixteen-year-old, the danger of filling their lives with excess activity to the neglect of their emotional wellbeing?

 Benjamin says, ‘Some things are only revealed in the quiet and introversion of the cave. Sometimes, it is only when we get away from the constant noise and distractions that we can start to listen to what’s happening inside us.’ Have you ever had an Aha!-moment in the quiet of a figurative cave?

 Benjamin makes the point that we need to be intentional in the cave, or we’ll get stuck in isolation. Why is isolation so dangerous? Do you know someone who tends to isolate themselves and, as a result, to exaggerate their problems? Have you ever been that someone? How did Elijah’s isolation play into his insecurities? What false narrative did he end up believing? What insecurities have you had to wrestle with in the cave?

A cave may look dark and depressing, but it can signify a season in which God restores your soul. A cave can be an emotional womb from which something new is born. Are you currently in a figurative cave? How might it be a place of divine reinvention? Can you trace the ways the cave experience is recharging, refining, and releasing you?

Benjamin explains that we prefer events, but God builds our lives through processes. Do you find yourself wanting to get straight to the tree – when God is still planting the seed? What would it look like for you to embrace the process of rebuilding your inner world?

Personal reinvention happens through a collection of changes, ideas, and next steps that combine to provide enough momentum to nudge you onto a different path. Do you agree? Why, or why not? Have you recognised this kind of personal reinvention in someone close to you? Have you experienced it yourself?

God’s greatest goal for your faith journey is your maturity and character: your inner world. If God can do it in you, He can get it through you. Is it hard for you to accept that it’s not about you doing something great for God, but about God forming something great in you? What ambitions is God prompting you to surrender to Him? If your inner world is healthy, what do you suppose will happen to your relationships or your influence in your career space?

Jesus’ earliest disciples called themselves followers of ‘the Way’ (Acts 9:2). They were describing a fluid, ongoing pursuit of Jesus. This reminds us that our human flourishing is a process. Have you found yourself, consciously or subconsciously, believing that following Jesus is a feeling, experience, event, or one-off decision? Which experiences over the past week or month have reminded you that your faith journey is the unfolding story of a pilgrimage?

Exodus 4–14 details God’s deliverance of His people from Egypt. He could have instantly released them from Pharoah’s grip, but instead He sends plague after plague upon the Egyptians until eventually, Pharoah agrees to let the nation of Hebrew slaves walk free. God splits the Red Sea and they escape their pursuers. How might God have used the process of the plagues to prepare His people for their destiny, in the figurative cave of Egypt?

David was hiding in a cave when his mortal enemy, Saul, came into the same cave, intending to use it as a toilet. David had the perfect opportunity to take revenge on Saul, killing him when he was at his most vulnerable and undignified. He didn’t (1 Samuel 24). How did God use the physical cave of David’s hiding to transform his character and build his inner world so that his decisions were aligned with God’s purposes?

Like Elijah, Gideon felt sorry for himself. The angel of the Lord found him at the bottom of a winepress, hiding threshed wheat from the marauding Midianites. Read Judges 6. How does God meet with Gideon in his ‘cave’, graciously taking him through a process to grow his faith so that he was ready for the task God had prepared for him?

The Gospels are full of accounts of Jesus miraculously, instantly healing people. Read Mark 8:23–25. Why do you think Jesus used a process to heal this blind man? 

Before you head into the final session of this series, take a moment to remind yourself you’re not alone. God is with you. You have a bright future full of hope and possibility. God is working miracles through the processes unfolding in your life as He rebuilds your inner world and moves you toward freedom. The cave is not your permanent home. If you feel as if you’re sitting in the darkness of regret or failure – if there’s hopelessness where once you had dreams and ambitions – know that God is beside you, providing for you and taking you on a path of profound, beautiful renewal.

Select at least one activity below to complete before watching the next session.

Read: Read Matthew 27:57–28:10 and meditate on the truth that it was from the dark cave of Jesus’ tomb that God released into history the resurrection power of the risen Saviour.

Write: Write a letter to someone currently in a ‘cave experience’, encouraging them to trust the process of reinvention and rebuilding God is taking them through.

Pray: Form a WhatsApp group with two or three friends, to pray for each other and to hold each other accountable as you each embrace the process of rebuilding your inner world with patience and integrity.