High Wire: Daring To Trust

Whether on the high wire or in life, trust is important. If we don’t trust, we might miss the opportunity to watch God show up and do what only He can do.

Throughout the Bible we see different people who have put their trust in God in the midst of some unbelievable circumstances.

Abraham picked up everything and moved his entire family to a new home and a new life following God. Elijah trusted that God would send fire from heaven to consume a sacrifice after it had been over-saturated with water. Even Jesus trusted God’s plan when He humbled himself and gave His life for us on the cross.

Putting our trust in God and the people He’s put in our lives isn’t always easy. That’s why we’re taking the month of September to see what God says about trust.

We define trust like this: putting your confidence in someone you can depend on.

There’s a phrase we often say around here, “I can trust God no matter what.” And it’s true; we know that God is that Someone we can depend on. Our own understanding can have a way of getting us in trouble sometimes, especially when life doesn’t turn out exactly how we’d want or expect. That’s why it’s important that our trust is grounded in God, His love for us, and His willingness to do whatever it took to have a relationship with us.

As we read through all the examples of trust throughout Scripture to find the best stories to help kids unpack this idea of trust, we kept coming back to one guy in the Old Testament, Joseph. After all, his entire life was built on his trust in God’s faithfulness. Joseph found himself in some of the craziest situations throughout his life, yet time and again Scripture tells us that Joseph trusted God and found hope in Him. So each week this month, we’ll take a closer look at Joseph’s life and discover something about how we can trust God and the people He’s put in our lives.

Our Memory Verse is Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not depend on your own understanding,” (NIrV). It’s easy for us to choose our own path, but it’s not always best for us. When we trust in God, He’ll give us the best path for our lives.

WEEK 1 In Genesis 37 and 39:1-2, we discover that Joseph was his father Jacob’s favorite. He gave Joseph a colorful coat, which made the rest of his brothers extremely jealous. On top of that, Joseph told his family about his dreams where they bowed down to him. Eventually, they sell Joseph into slavery and lie about it to their father. Though Joseph was alone in a far-away country, he chose to trust God.

Bottom Line: When you think you’re alone, you can trust God is with you. Kids may have time when they feel like no one is with them or on their side. Although they feel that way, Someone is looking out for them. We pray that kids come to realize that God is always with them.

WEEK 2 We continue Joseph’s story in Genesis 40. Joseph is accused of something he didn’t do and finds himself in prison. Joseph still trusted God, and God was with him. While he’s in prison, Joseph meets pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker, who both end up having dreams they don’t understand. With God’s help, Joseph interprets their dreams. The Cupbearer promises to talk to pharaoh about Joseph and his situation, but forgets about Joseph. Still, Joseph trusted God and eventually is put in charge of the rest of the prisoners.

Bottom Line: When life doesn’t make sense, you can trust God is with you. There will be times in a kid’s life when something happens that just doesn’t make sense like a divorce, moving to a new home or a new school, or getting a serious illness. And while that situation is confusing, we pray kids continue to trust God and allow Him to help them get through that difficult time.

WEEK 3 In Genesis 41, we look at the next chapter of Joseph’s life. Pharaoh had a dream that no one could interpret. The cupbearer finally remembered how Joseph interpreted his dream while they were in prison and recommended they get him to help. With God’s help, Joseph interpreted the dreams and formulates a plan to help Egypt survive through the seven years of famine that God said was coming. Pharaoh ended up putting Joseph in charge of the entire project. Joseph could have been worried and decided that the task was too difficult, but instead he trusted God and God was faithful.

Bottom Line: When the pressure is on, you can trust God is with you. Kids will face moments when they’re called to do something that might seem crazy to us—maybe something as simple as getting up in front of the class and giving a speech—but we can trust God to give us the strength and courage to face whatever comes our way.

WEEK 4 We finish our look at Joseph’s life in Genesis 42-45, where we discover that the famine spreads all the way to where Joseph’s family lived. Jacob sends Joseph’s brothers down to Egypt to get food where they end up in front of Joseph. After some back and forth, Joseph finally reveals his identity and forgives his brothers for how they treated him. Throughout his entire life, Joseph trusted God and realized that what his brothers intended for harm, God intended for good to help preserve their family.

Bottom Line: You can trust God no matter what. This is one of the basic truths of 252 Basics. Above all else, we want kids to realize that they can take God at His word. We see throughout the Bible that God is working on our behalf to rescue us. He sent Jesus to make a way for us to be with God forever. We pray kids put their faith in Him.