Know Truth. Live Truth.
Job was a man of integrity. He believed the truth about God and then he stayed true to his beliefs. When trouble came, he didn’t sin or curse God. He held to the truth that he knew about God. Job’s faith was tested, but he continued to do what was right. He worshipped God even when he lost his possessions and family. He accepted suffering even though it was hard. God counted on Job to do the right thing and Job did!
Write each of the following Bible references on a slip of paper. Hide them around the room and then ask the kids to find the slips of paper. Look up each Bible verse and find an important truth to remember when trouble comes.
– Philippians 4:19 (God will supply our needs.)
– Hebrews 13:5b (God will not leave us.)
– Romans 8:28 (God can work things out for our good.)
– Romans 8:38-39 (Nothing can separate us from God’s love.)
– Jeremiah 32:17 (Nothing is too hard for God.)
Be Ready
Build good habits so when trouble comes, integrity is a go-to response. One way to do this is to build truth into your kids at a meal. Eat at least one meal together and feed them good truth.
Some ideas:
– Read a short devotion or Bible verse at breakfast.
– Memorize (reviewing often) a Bible verse at lunch.
– Talk about your day at dinner—good and bad things that happened and pray together.
Job was a man of integrity. He believed the truth about God and stayed true to those beliefs. Job was ready when trouble came. Job didn’t sin or get angry with God. He believed the truth about God and Job did what was right. He worshipped God even when he lost everything. Job’s faith was tested through suffering, but Job did the right thing!
Watch Carefully!
Do a simple coin trick to show how we can be deceived. Before doing the trick, let a helper in on the secret. Instruct him to discreetly remove the coin when he is called up to verify that the coin is still there. Also, put two identical coins in your pocket.
- Pull out one coin and show it to the audience. Tell them that you will make the coin disappear.
- Cover the coin with the handkerchief.
- Invite a couple of volunteers to reach under the handkerchief to prove that the coin is still in your hand.
- After they have checked, ask your helper (who is in on the secret) to reach under and verify that the coin is still there. (This is when the helper will quickly and discreetly remove the coin.)
- Say TA-DAH and whisk away the handkerchief to show that the coin is gone.
- Reach into your pocket and display the coin that you placed there earlier.
See if your children can figure out how you did the trick, then let them in on the secret.
I tried to make you think that I really made that coin disappear, but I deceived you. It was just a fun trick.
Have you ever tried to make others think you are doing the right thing, but you are really deceiving them?
What is integrity? (Doing the right and honest thing even when no one is looking.)
Job had integrity and did the right thing even when his faith was tested through suffering. Job worshiped God when bad things happened. If our goal is to please God, we will do the right thing no matter what happens.