Where is the hope?
As I have been teaching Bible classes these past few weeks, it has been interesting to see how God likes to use the simplest lessons that we are teaching to show me something I need to hear. This week we have been talking about the story of the Elisha and the widow with the oil. We talked about how when we give our needs to God, he takes care of us.
We often use an object lesson to illustrate a point during our class. This week we were using a game with balloons. First, we have two student volunteers come and help. We ask what some needs are that we might have in our lives. So we have things like food, water, a house, etc. written on the balloons. The two children then have to keep all 5 balloons in the air at the same time for a whole minute. If one balloon touches the floor they lose. They always drop the balloons after trying really hard to keep them up. Then we give them one balloon to keep up, this one is labeled Jesus. The students are then able to keep that one balloon in the air very easily. The point is that when we focus on Jesus instead of our needs and worries, those are taken care of. It is much easier to put our eyes on Jesus rather than running around trying to focus on everything that worries us. I think that's a lesson we can all learn from.
Sometimes it's difficult to teach a lesson like this to these children. What happens if they try to focus on Jesus and it doesn't work? My heart was breaking last week seeing a child crying during class. When I asked him why, he told me that he was hungry. He said he didn't have any food, didn't have any money to buy food, and didn't have any food at home either. I pray that God will provide for them in the things that they need. But what happens when God doesn't provide? What happens when a child doesn't grow correctly because they are malnourished? What happens if a child gets sick because of lack of nutrition? What if a child dies? I don't have the answers. I simply have to trust that God knows what he's doing. I have to trust as these sweet children do that the Lord has a plan for their lives, a hope and a future.
They are also memorizing Jeremiah 29:11. It's hard not to believe in God's plans for me or for them when I have 100's of kids reciting this verse by memory each day. I pray that God would continue to give them hope and give each one of us hope as well, knowing that he is truly the one who meets our needs.
We often use an object lesson to illustrate a point during our class. This week we were using a game with balloons. First, we have two student volunteers come and help. We ask what some needs are that we might have in our lives. So we have things like food, water, a house, etc. written on the balloons. The two children then have to keep all 5 balloons in the air at the same time for a whole minute. If one balloon touches the floor they lose. They always drop the balloons after trying really hard to keep them up. Then we give them one balloon to keep up, this one is labeled Jesus. The students are then able to keep that one balloon in the air very easily. The point is that when we focus on Jesus instead of our needs and worries, those are taken care of. It is much easier to put our eyes on Jesus rather than running around trying to focus on everything that worries us. I think that's a lesson we can all learn from.
Sometimes it's difficult to teach a lesson like this to these children. What happens if they try to focus on Jesus and it doesn't work? My heart was breaking last week seeing a child crying during class. When I asked him why, he told me that he was hungry. He said he didn't have any food, didn't have any money to buy food, and didn't have any food at home either. I pray that God will provide for them in the things that they need. But what happens when God doesn't provide? What happens when a child doesn't grow correctly because they are malnourished? What happens if a child gets sick because of lack of nutrition? What if a child dies? I don't have the answers. I simply have to trust that God knows what he's doing. I have to trust as these sweet children do that the Lord has a plan for their lives, a hope and a future.
They are also memorizing Jeremiah 29:11. It's hard not to believe in God's plans for me or for them when I have 100's of kids reciting this verse by memory each day. I pray that God would continue to give them hope and give each one of us hope as well, knowing that he is truly the one who meets our needs.
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