** Unlocked은 Keys for kids Ministries에서 지원받은 프로그램입니다. 원본으로 듣고 싶으신 분들은 홈페이지 Unlocked.org로 들어가시면 < March 28, 2022>에서 다시 들으실 수 있습니다.**
Fear of Missing Flowers
• 1 John 3:1, Psalm 19:1, James 1:17–18
At the beginning of every spring, I get stressed. The long, harsh winter is finally coming to a close. I know the flowers will start blooming soon, and I worry that I’ll miss it. That I’ll miss seeing the crocuses peek up through the grass...before they’re mown over. That I’ll miss seeing the flowering trees full with blossoms... before the next windy or rainy day strips off the petals. I find myself anxiously looking all around me whenever I go outside, desperate not to miss a hint of the beauty I’ve been starved for all winter long. When I do see something alive and growing, I fear I can’t appreciate it enough, can’t take in the vibrance enough. I’m afraid of missing it.
But this past spring, I paid closer attention to this feeling. And I noticed something hopeful. The blossoms stayed on the trees longer than I expected them to. Not only that, but when one kind of flower finished its bloom, another kind would show itself. I’d forgotten—flowers don’t just bloom in spring. Every season has its own kinds of flowers.
Lately I’ve been reminded that God is the giver of all good gifts—and He keeps giving them! If I miss one of His gifts today, I haven’t exhausted His grace. He keeps giving good things, every day! It’s who He is. Goodness just flows and bursts out of Him, like flowers erupting from every nook and cranny of the springtime soil.
If you haven’t guessed already, change isn’t easy for me. But it has been so helpful for me to realize that God brings beauty in the midst of change. In every stage and phase of life, He is generous. He cares about my needs, and not just physical needs like food and clothing, but also my need for beauty and wonder. He knows what my heart needs, and He delights to delight me. He longs to comfort me. To draw me near to Himself and share His good gifts with me.
And God helps me enjoy His gifts. Instead of fretting that I will miss out, I can rest knowing that I am beloved and delighted in by God, the giver of all good gifts. • Hannah Howe
• What good gifts have you noticed God giving you lately? Consider taking a moment to thank Him for one of these!
See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children— and we are! 1 John 3:1a (CSB)
** Unlocked은 Keys for kids Ministries에서 지원받은 프로그램입니다. 원본으로 듣고 싶으신 분들은 홈페이지 Unlocked.org로 들어가시면 < March 26, 2022>에서 다시 들으실 수 있습니다.**
Feeling Forsaken?
• Psalm 37, Hebrews 13:5–6
Life is full of ups and downs. When everything seems to be going well—when we have friends and are at peace with those around us, when we have all the material things we need and are in good health—we feel good and acceptable. But when these things are lacking or we think we don’t have enough of them, we feel forsaken or abandoned, even by God Himself.
In Psalm 37, we have the testimony of an old man who had walked with God for many years through different stages of life—in his youth, in middle age, and now as an old man. His name was David, and he was the second king of Israel. He says, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread” (Psalm 37:25). In his own life, David had experienced war, loss, violence, and death threats, yet He knew God was his protector, provider, and healer. He saw what happened to people who followed God, and people who didn’t. In the same Psalm, he says, “Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous” (Psalm 37:16-17).
What does it mean to be righteous? Psalm 37 gives several examples, but simply put, being righteous is being right with God and honoring Him in everything we do. But we can’t be righteous on our own. Apart from Jesus, we are all “wicked,” and our sin leads to death. Yet God loves us, and Jesus died and rose again so that we could “become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). If we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we can follow His good ways even as we rest in God’s promise: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
When it seems like we do not have enough, we can remember that God cares about our needs (Matthew 6:31-34), and we can ask Him for help, remembering that He gives us strength to be content in every situation (Philippians 4:11-13). When things are not going well and we start to wonder where God has gone, let us remember the testimony of this old man David, for God is with us in every situation and He will never leave us alone. • Enid Adah Nyinomujuni
• Have you ever felt forsaken by those around you, even by your own relatives? (Psalm 27:10)
• Do you sometimes feel like God has forsaken you? You can be honest with God about this. As you come to Him, He will reveal Himself to you. He is trustworthy and good, and He loves you.
I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken... Psalm 37:25a (NIV)
