24th May 2020
Waiting is difficult and being patient is hard, but trusting God is always better than taking things into our own hands. God shows his patience towards us and as we produce the fruit of the Spirit we learn patience in trusting him, as well as in showing patience in difficult circumstances and towards others.
“Be patient and wait for the Lord to act.”
This week we’ll be looking at David’s patience as he waited for God’s promises to come true.
Once you’ve read or watched the story of David younger ones can try to complete and colour in this maze. Older ones can try to find a bible reference for each of the pictures in the maze - they each represent a different challenge that David faced on his journey to becoming king.
Here are some ideas to help you explore patience together at home.
In the world of next-day delivery (pre-lockdown!), microwaves and WhatsApp we aren’t great at waiting for things, so this task is a great exercise at waiting for something outside of your control.
It’s very simple: write and post a letter, and ask the recipient to write back.
Cut vertical slits in the top and bottom edges of a paper plate and thread wool or string through them to make a weaving frame. Weave paper strips in and out of the frame. The idea of this activity is to take time over it!
You could write or draw on the paper slips areas of life where you would like to be more patient and, as you weave them, ask God to help you.
If you know how to knit or crochet you could teach this skill to your family instead, or do a large puzzle together.
If you’ve already done some planting this spring talk about how seeds take time to grow and there’s very little that can be done to speed the process up.
Alternatively, for younger children who can’t visualise the growing process, draw a garden and the elements listed below (or print this one). Cut three slits into the soil. To emphasis patience add the following pieces to the picture one day at a time:
‘plant’ the seed in the first hole
add the sun
glue the half carrot into the second hole
add the rain cloud
place the whole carrot in the third hole ready to be pulled up
Finish the picture by adding this week’s memory verse to it.
This week we have been thinking about the life of David and how he waited patiently for God to act and didn’t take things into his own hands even when he had the chance. David was promised that he was going to be King of Israel when he was a boy, but he did not become King until he was 30! He spent at least 15 years, and probably longer, waiting for God to fulfil his word.
Take some time to read the passages in the Old Testament which cover this part of David’s life and think about how hard it must have been for him to be patient. These are some key passages, but you might want to read the whole story.
1 Samuel 16:1-13
After learning that he would become king, David carried on looking after the sheep. How do you think David might have felt about that?
What might he have done instead if he had been impatient?
How do you react when you have to wait for something to happen?
1 Samuel 24:1-7
Why did David’s friends want him to kill Saul?
Why do you think David didn’t kill Saul when he had such a good chance?
What might have happened if David had killed Saul at that point?
How do you think David was able to be patient?
2 Samuel 2:1-4
Saul and his son Jonathan died in a battle with the Philistines and so David finally became the king.
Do you think this is what David had been expecting?
How do you think he felt when it finally happened?
Being patient with people who are unkind to you is really hard.
Waiting for God to change things is really hard, even if you know he has promised to.
What have you learned from looking at David’s life that can help you?
Many of the Psalms were written by David. Reading them can help you to understand how David felt, and they can be helpful to read or pray when you are also finding it hard to wait:
“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
...
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
...
But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
...”
This week have a go at working together to build a tower of playing cards. The aim is not so much to complete the tower as to not lose your tempers!
Was the task easy?
What would have made it easier?
In what ways does this task require patience?
“Show mercy to others; be kind, humble, gentle, and patient. Do not be angry with each other, but forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, then forgive him. Forgive each other because the Lord forgave you.”
