Scripture: 2 Kings 4:8-6:7
Learning Objectives:
- Students will learn God sometimes asks us to do things that don’t make sense to us.
- Students will learn we need to trust God knows what is best for us even if we don’t understand what is happening.
- Students will learn even though we have free choice, God expects us to obey Him, even if we don’t like what He has told us to do.
- Students will participate in an activity encouraging them to do “the next right thing”.
Guiding Question: What should we do while we are waiting on God?
Materials: none
Procedure: Tell students the stories from Elisha’s ministry from the scriptures above. As you tell or read each story, ask students to notice how long people had to wait for whatever it was they wanted God to do. What did Elisha often tell them to do? Why did Naaman struggle, even though he knew he would be healed if he did what Elisha said to do?
Explain to students that sometimes God makes us wait for His answer to our prayers. Often the answer will be yes, but God knows the time is not right for us to have what we want right then. Or there may be something God wants us to do first. Ask students what they do while they are waiting.
Explain that even if they have prayed for something really important, they can’t just stay and do nothing until God gives them an answer. It’s important to trust God loves us very much and gives us what He knows is best for us. Explain that while they are waiting they need to stay focused on doing the “next right thing”.
Doing the “next right thing”, means they are continuing to obey God. They are making good choices. They are serving others and sharing their faith. Not so God will answer their prayers, but because they know God will answer their prayers (even if it’s “no”). Explain to students that in order to do the “next right thing” they need to know what God wants them to do. This will help them always make the best possible choice.
For younger students, give appropriate scenarios they may encounter. Mark two or more places in the room with numbers or some other identifying object. As you share the scenarios, give students two or more choices as to what is the next right thing to do. You can start by having one obviously correct choice and one obviously incorrect choice. They should run to the area of the room that represents the next right choice (“Run to the door if you think this” “Run to the window if you think that). As the students become more comfortable with the game, make the choices more difficult. If students are split in their decision, discuss the options in depth and help students learn how to decide which is really the next right thing to do.
For older students, this can become an Improv experience. Give the scenario. As many students as necessary should begin acting out the scenario you have given. At some point, each actor should tap someone else in class who will take their place and pick up the action. In scenarios involving more than one person actors should be encouraged to each try to do the next right thing. After each scenario, discuss the option depicted and any additional options that would have been good choices. Encourage students to vary who is chosen to act. To make it more difficult, you can choose to share the original scenario with only one person. The others must try to guess the scenario and react accordingly. Students can also be encouraged to create their own scenarios.
Sample scenarios:
- You need to borrow something from your sibling. You have been told to never enter her room or take anything without her permission. She is away with friends and can’t be reached.
- You are hanging out/playing with friends. You just got a new toy/game/gadget you have wanted for a very long time. Your friend asks if he/she can play with it for a few minutes. The last time you let them play with something of yours, they broke it.
- You have a big test tomorrow, but no time to study because of an activity. If you don’t get a good grade, you will have to go to summer school.
- You and your friends were goofing around and accidentally broke your mother’s favorite knick-knack. Your friend thinks it can be fixed so she will never know.
- Your friends are talking about the latest “news” about the new girl in your class. They ask you what you have heard.
- Your friends can’t stand this one guy. He asks to sit at the lunch table with your group, and your friends quickly tell him he can’t.
- Some classmates you don’t know well or teasing a girl you don’t know at all. You walk by and notice she looks upset.
- Your mom tells you that you need to clean your room before going outside to play. You can probably shove everything under the bed and she will never know.
- Your dad told you no more than one hour of video games each day. They left you with a babysitter and you have three hours before bed.
- Your parents have told you it’s time for bed and think you are asleep. You aren’t really very tired and have a book you need to finish for school tomorrow.
- Your friend doesn’t want to share her stuff with you.
- You hit your brother because he made you angry. Your babysitter comes in and asks who started the fight and what happened.