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Upper Elementary

Emerging Trust

  • Lesson 4
  • Fall 2023
  • By: RLD Editorial Team
  • September 24, 2023
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Lesson Focus:

Trust God even when things go wrong.

Bible Basis:

1 Samuel 18:5—19:18

Materials Needed:

Step 1:

  • Internet access

Step 4:

  • Index cards or pieces of paper
  • Pens/pencils

Summary & Links:

Students will view an example of an insect’s metamorphosis challenge and talk about trusting God in difficult situations.

Memory Verse:

The Lord will vindicate me.
—Psalm 138:8

Step 1:

Students will view an example of an insect’s metamorphosis challenge and talk about trusting God in difficult situations.

Materials Needed:

  • Internet access

We all face challenging situations throughout our lives. Maybe some of you are facing challenges right now. Over the last few years, we’ve seen a rapid increase in difficult worldwide events including natural disasters, contentious politics both in our country and the world, mass shootings, and infectious diseases.

  • What are some news stories or current events you’ve heard in recent months? (Accept all reasonable responses, inviting students to share respectfully.)

Thank you for sharing! These are just a few examples of challenges happening in the world, but we may not have even listed the types of situations that may be affecting you or your family right now.

  • In what area of life are you most likely to run into challenges? Does anyone feel comfortable sharing examples? (Answers may vary; encourage discussion by sharing your own experience.)
  • What ways do you use to cope with difficult situations? (Possible answers: asking for help from teachers or parents; trying to stay focused on positive things; some students may say they try to ignore them and hope they will go away.)

Sometimes in nature, we find examples of how challenges can be overcome. For example, when a dragonfly first emerges from its skin, its legs are too soft and unformed to support it. It just hangs there upside down—helpless and vulnerable to any predator that might come along. Things look pretty bleak!

Play the following video for your students [1:46]:
From Nymph to Wings: The Dragonfly Life Cycle | Asia’s Weirdest | National Geographic Wild UK

Just when things seem the worst for the dragonfly, something amazing happens: the dragonfly’s legs stiffen and it pulls itself up and pulls its tail loose. Its wings are free to open, and in just a few hours, it’s ready to fly! God made sure that the dragonfly had everything it needs in order to take flight. He will make sure you have everything you need to get through your struggles too.

No matter how difficult or impossible a situation seems, we can trust God for the outcome! That’s what today’s lesson is about!

Looking for Steps 2 & 3?

You can find Steps 2 and 3 in your teacher’s guide. To purchase a teacher’s guide, please visit: Bible-in-Life or Echoes.

Step 4:

Materials Needed:

  • Index cards or pieces of paper
  • Pens/pencils

If you are meeting online, invite students to bring supplies with them to class.

As students clean up from Step 3, move back toward the lesson focus. David had a lot to deal with. It might have seemed impossible for him to trust God—maybe it felt like God just didn’t care about his situation. But in the end, David’s trust in God was precisely what got him through.

  • Is it easier to trust God when things aren’t complicated? Why or why not? (Possible answers: There is less pressure when things are simple; trust is only trust when it is challenged.)
  • Why does God put us into challenging situations? (Possible answer: He wants us to learn to trust Him.)

Trusting is easy when things are simple, but God asks us to trust Him when things get really, really difficult. Distribute supplies (or invite students to have supplies ready at home).

Write down a situation you’re facing where things seem to be going wrong and it seems risky to trust God. If there’s nothing in your life right now, try to think of something that happened to you in the past. Instruct students to brainstorm steps they can take to trust God in those situations—or, if it is a past situation, have them write about ways that God kept His promises and helped them even if it was difficult to see at the time.

After students have had time to think and write, call their attention back together as a group. This week, keep your notes full of ideas handy; work on using them in trusting God in every situation you encounter.

Encourage your students to be prepared to share about their experience next time you meet. Then, close in prayer.

Spread the word

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In some lessons, we may provide you with suggestions of third party content or provide links to third party websites that may align with the lesson topic. At the time a lesson is written, our editors carefully review the cited third party content and websites. However, we do not own or control the third party content or websites and they may change over time including, for example, the addition of advertisements, suggested content, pop-ups, etc on a website page that may not be appropriate for children or classroom use. We take no responsibility for such third party content or websites or for your use of them, including your use of them in a lesson. Please review each cited content or website carefully before utilizing in a lesson.

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