Kids Bible Devotional for November 21, 2024
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Focus Verse
Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. (KJV)
Jump Start
15…16…17…18…19…20. Uh oh! I ran out of fingers and toes. I guess that’s as high as I can go. Unless, I can borrow yours. No? Didn’t think so. Oh well. And I had so many more blessings to count.
I have a confession. I’ve never been great at math. Maybe it’s all that rigid logic that melts my brain cells. But I certainly respect those that can do math, like teachers, accountants, and engineers. If math is challenging for you as it is for me, think about the way God does math. Jesus took five loaves and two small fishes and fed a multitude of thousands. They even had several baskets left over. God used one angel to destroy an army of 185,000 soldiers. Gideon started out with 32,000 men ready to fight, but God reduced it down to 300 before He said they were ready.
Not enough? Try wrapping your head around how many galaxies some scientists believe exist – trillions.
God’s math skills are on a whole other level that we can ever hope to understand. But there is one thing we can try to count. Blessings! The Psalmist writes, “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;” (Ps. 139:17-18, NKJV).
Today's Devotion
As Karen and her mother passed through the wealthy part of town, Karen sighed. “Wouldn’t it be nice to live in one of these fancy houses, Mom? Imagine how much money you’d have to make to live here.”
“Why do you think it’ll better here than what we already have?” Mom asked.
Karen jerked her head toward her mother, her mouth hung open in shock. “How can you say that? Of course, it would be better. We wouldn’t have to worry about not having enough money to pay rent or buy groceries like we do now.”
Her mom pulled the car up to a red light and stopped. “I think you’re looking at this the wrong way, Karen. You’re assuming more money will bring happiness. You’re also looking at what we don’t have, not what we do have.”
“We have a house with a leaky roof and a landlord who won’t bother to fix it. Eloise wears my hand-me-downs because there’s not enough money to buy her new ones. And you’re working two jobs just to make ends meet. Stop me if I’m missing anything.”
Her mother shook her head. “You’re missing everything, I’m afraid. You’ve missed the love we have as a family. How we all came together when your dad died. How you stepped up for your little sister without being told.”
“It’s been hard since Dad’s been gone.” Karen’s eyes filled with tears. “But we did what we had to do.”
“We did, but here’s the way I see it. The house may have a leaky roof, but at least we have a roof over our heads. We may not have the finest clothes or eat the most expensive meals, but God has never let us go without. You’re right. We don’t have a lot of material things. You know what we do have, though? We have each other and the Lord. To me, these things are priceless.”
“Count your blessings, huh?” Karen asked.
“Exactly. To the world, we may be poor. But to me, we’re rich because we’re blessed to have each other. I wouldn’t trade that for the biggest house in this neighborhood, or for anything in the world.”
Wrap Up
Contentment. That’s a big word that is hard to understand and, lots of times, even harder to keep. According to the dictionary, contentment is the state of being satisfied. In God’s world, its having gratitude regardless of what state we are in.
In our theme verse, Paul taught that circumstances are temporary, but contentment doesn’t have to be. We can be at peace in every situation. Why? Because we know that God is in control.
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