During the lesson, the information for you to know is written in regular type, and what we suggest speaking or reading aloud to children is in bold. All resources for this lesson, including the Teacher Guide, Student Page, Family Connection Card, and other resources can be downloaded in a ZIP file by clicking on the following link:
In some lessons you will find "resource articles." These are articles written by experts from around the world to help equip you for your work with children and adolescents. Share them with parents or guardians if you consider it appropriate.
I was patient while I waited for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry for help.
Psalm 40:1
Waiting patiently can be very difficult. God listens to us when we call out to Him, but sometimes the answer does not come right away. Patience involves endurance and perseverance. It also requires trusting in who God is—His character, power, and love. Think about a time in your life when your patience increased. Did your patience surprise you? Sometimes God uses difficult circumstances to help you grow in patience.
You cannot read about patience in a book and instantly have more patience. you cannot talk with a friend about patience and then have more patience. Each time your patience is tested it is an opportunity to grow. Remember you can trust God with your problem. Cry out for His help. Give your problem to God and believe that He will handle it, no matter how long it takes. When you rely on God, your patience will grow. God hears your prayers and will help you to be patient!
Encourage families to talk about things that take a long time such as projects they do or growing plants or other things that take a long time. They can talk with the children about how they have patience while they wait.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Welcome the children as they come to class. Ask them what they have done in the past week that required patience.
As you came to class, I asked you to think about something you did last week that required patience. Turn to a child next to you and share with him if it was difficult to have patience in this situation and why.
Allow 2–3 minutes for children to share with their partners.
Patience can be very difficult sometimes. Today, we will talk about having patience with situations that happen to us. To help us get started, let’s play a game!
You will sit with your hands flat in front of you on the ground. You cannot move them until I signal you by raising both hands above my head. If you move your hands before I give the signal, you must stand up and wait for the game to end. Are you ready?
Sit quietly with the children for 1 minute. Do not move or say anything unless you must. This will seem like a long time, even for you! If you notice any children moving their hands, politely ask them to stand up. After 1 minute, raise both hands above your head to signal the children to move.
Wow! That took a long time, right? That is what 1 minute of waiting quietly feels like. Raise your hands if you thought it was difficult to sit and wait for me to give the signal. Sometimes, it is very difficult to wait through a situation. Let’s try our game again. This time, we will do something while we wait.
Sit with the children for 2 minutes. Give the children some distractors as they keep their hands flat in front of them. Some suggestions are to sing, make a clicking rhythm with your tongue for the children to repeat, or ask the children to follow movements you make with your head. At the end of the 2 minutes, raise both hands above your head. Allow 2–3 children to respond to each of the following questions.
Did you know that you waited for 2 minutes this time? That is twice as long as the first time you waited for the signal!
Answers may include: we could move, we were doing fun things, and other similar answers.
Remember, patience is waiting, or going through something without complaining or becoming angry. Patience means you trust God and keep working toward something. It can mean that you wait for a difficulty to end without losing hope. Or it can mean waiting for a promise to be fulfilled.
There are times in your life when you will have to wait for something exciting to happen. There are other times when you will have to wait for something difficult to end. You do not have to stop everything else while you wait. In fact, it is often easier to wait patiently when you can think about other things.
You may have to wait for a long time for some situations to change. Sometimes it can take days, weeks, months, or even years. Remember the story of Noah and the ark? It took a long time for Noah, his family, and the animals on his boat to return to land. The most important thing you can do while you are waiting is to trust that God will help you. He loves you!
When something bad happens, you will probably want that situation to get better. Perhaps your father is ill and cannot work. Maybe you are in a situation where someone is hurting you. You want these situations to change. However, the situation may or may not change. But you can ask God to help you while you wait to see what will happen. You can also ask Him to help you focus on other things while you wait. God can also make you hopeful by showing you good things that are happening in your life.
Sometimes you may want a situation to change because you are expecting something good to happen next. And if it takes a long time for that good thing to happen, you can lose patience. This was true of a married couple in the Bible who were expecting to have a child.
Today, we will read a true story from the Bible about a man who had to wait many years for something to happen. In the story, God reminds Abram many times that He has not forgotten His promise to him. As we read, we will act out parts of the story. Watch me and repeat the actions I do.
Listen to the true story of Abram from the Bible. When he first heard (put your hand to your ear) God promise to make his family into a great nation, Abram was 75 years old (hold up 7 and then 5 fingers). He and his wife did not have any children (indicate no). This did not stop him from listening to God, though.
During the next 24 years of his life, God continued to promise Abram that his family would become a great nation (spread arms wide and look around). But he still did not have any children (indicate no). During this time, the Bible tells us that Abram began to doubt what God had promised (look down toward the ground). As I read these verses from the Bible, think about whether Abram is being patient with what is happening.
Read these verses directly from your Bible.
But Abram said, “Lord and King, what can you give me? I still don’t have any children. My servant Eliezer comes from Damascus. When I die, he will get everything I own.” Abram continued, “You haven’t given me any children. So this servant of mine will get everything I own.”
Genesis 15:2–3
Remember, patience is waiting, or going through something without complaining or becoming angry. Patience means you trust God and keep working toward something. It can mean that you wait for a difficulty to end without losing hope. Or it can mean waiting for a promise to be fulfilled.
Allow 2–3 children to respond to each of the following questions.
Sometimes, we can be like Abram—who was not patient while he waited for the children God promised to give him. Abram doubted that God was going to keep His promise because it had been so long. God reminded Abram of His promise that Abram would one day have many children in his family. Abram believed God and continued to wait patiently for children.
God then spoke to Abram in a dream. God explained the plan He had for Abram’s family and that they would one day live in a land God promised to give them. Abram continued to follow God and wait for a child.
The Bible tells us that God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, which means “father of many nations.” When the time was right, God told Abraham and his wife, Sarah, that they would have a son. God told him:
I will now act on my covenant between me and you. I will greatly increase the number of your children after you.
Genesis 17:2
It was difficult for Abraham to believe what God told him, but God can do anything. Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90. They had waited a long time, but the miracle they had waited for finally arrived! Their baby was born. They called him Isaac. Listen to what Bible says about Abraham:
Abraham was patient while he waited. Then he received what God promised him.
Hebrews 6:15
It was not easy for Abraham to wait for a son to be born. In fact, God had to remind Abraham many times that He was faithful and would keep His promise. Like Abraham, we can sometimes find it difficult to wait. Whether we want something bad to stop or we are excited for something good to happen, it can be difficult to have patience. This can be especially true when we do not have control over when something will happen.
While you are waiting for a situation in your life to change, there are some things that can help you wait patiently. As we saw in the story of Abraham and Sarah, you can start by talking to God. Listen to this verse:
I was patient while I waited for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry for help.
Psalm 40:1
God hears you when you talk to Him. He listens and responds! Sometimes talking to God can calm you down and help you to be patient with a situation. Remember, patience is waiting, or going through something without complaining or becoming angry. Patience means you trust God as you wait and do not lose hope.
In the game we played at the beginning of class, you waited more patiently when you were busy doing other things. Doing other things while you are waiting is a good thing to do!
Allow 2–3 children to respond to each of the following questions.
Answers may include: playing games, spending time with friends, and other activities.
You will have the opportunity to find out how these things can help you to be patient in the next activity.
Form groups of 4–5 children. Have each group of children sit in a small circle. Give each group 4 sticks to make a square or use a piece of paper. Have the children come to the front of the space, and allow each child to pick 3–4 colourful items to use in the mosaic.
In a moment, you will create a mosaic in your group. A mosaic is a picture that is made up of many small objects. We will make a mosaic in the squares you made with your group. You will take turns placing the colourful items in your group’s square to create a mosaic. While you are waiting your turn, do something to help you wait such as quietly singing or clapping your hands or talking quietly with someone in your group. You must stay seated and you must be kind to one–another.
As you place each item in the mosaic your group is creating, think of a situation where you need patience. Maybe you need patience when you have to watch a younger sister while your mother works because you would rather play. Maybe you need patience to trust God that He will provide for your family. When you place the item in the mosaic, pray quietly, “God, I will patiently wait for You.”
As the groups work on their mosaics, walk around the space and help the children as needed. If children struggle to wait patiently, direct them to ask God for help and suggest doing another activity while they wait.
Optional: If you are using Student Pages, place a handful of cardboard or paper scraps where groups of 4–5 children can reach them. Allow 3 minutes for the children to create mosaics.
We must remember to be patient with the things that happen in our lives. God is patient with us, and He challenges us to be patient, too.
Show the Memory Verse poster, if you are using it.
The end of a matter is better than its beginning. So it’s better to be patient than proud.
Ecclesiastes 7:8
Read the verse with the children 3 times. As you say the verse together, allow the children to use the same rhythm and “instruments” as they did for the previous class.
End class by saying this blessing, based on Psalm 40:1, over the children.
Blessing: May you turn to God when you wait. May you ask Him to help you to be patient.
Lead the children in singing this quarter’s song if possible.
Life on Life ©2020 David C Cook. Reproducible for home or classroom use only. All other uses require written permission from David C Cook [email protected]. All rights reserved.
