Our intent of teaching adaptability in Character Connection is to help children find a way to do right, even when life throws some tough times at them. Some children have challenging situations at home and might think they cannot possibly do right in that environment. Even those with Christian homes still face a culture every day that lures them away from living right. They need to learn to live with all the changes and challenges without turning away from God and embracing the wrong life. If there was ever a person in the Bible who could be an example of dealing with hard circumstances, it would be Joseph.
Joseph’s father, Jacob, loved him. As the “…the son of his old age…” and the next to youngest of Jacob’s twelve sons, Joseph was loved more than all the rest. This was not a secret to Joseph’s brothers. They knew how much Jacob loved Joseph. Jacob gave him a coat of many colors that served as a constant reminder of this fact. Over time, the brothers grew to despise and hate Joseph so much that they conspired together to kill him. One day as Joseph went to find his brothers, as his father had commanded him, they pounced upon him. Reuben, the eldest, stopped the attempted murder and convinced the others to throw their little brother into a nearby pit to perish. They agreed, but as they sat eating a meal, some traders came along. A plan was hatched. They would sell Joseph to these traders and be rid of him forever. They dipped Joseph’s coat of many colors into some goat’s blood to make their father believe a ravenous animal had eaten Joseph. Jacob believed the story, and Joseph rode off into Egypt with the traders. Many more unfortunate circumstances would there befall Joseph, but each and every time, he responded with an adaptable spirit and saw God’s grace given to him. He remains an excellent example of adapting to the situation and making lemonade out of bitter lemons.
Many people in today’s world have begun to believe that God is just a force who may have created all things but has left us to our own devices and is not at all interested in His people. Some would see evidence of this through constant wars, murders, lying, cheating, divorce, and abuse, just to name a few. However, nothing could be further from the truth! Just as God was with Joseph in the pit and through the long years of loneliness and hardship in Egypt, He desires to be involved in our lives every day. He is not blind to our sorrows and griefs. Just because God does not “rescue” us from every problem we face does not mean He is being neglectful. Though He may appear absent, rest assured that God knows what is happening to us. Though we can often forget that God cares for us even in the most difficult situations, it does not change the fact that He does know what we face.
We need to communicate to our children that the way they adapt to those hard times has a lot to do with how happy their lives are. Some will come to a hardship in their lives and then escape into a shell of insecurity. However, those who will learn to find a way to get through life intact and ready to face the next challenge in their lives will know that hardship, however bad it looks, is normal and can be used for their good. In Character Connection, teachers relate the true stories from God’s Word to encourage children to trust God and adapt to their circumstances, just like Joseph. Join us this Sunday!
MEMORY VERSE
“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Philippians 4:11