Devotion - God Protects Me

Hi! My name is Tickles the Bear! I'm here to tell to you all about how your Father in heaven cares for you and protects you. I think you will learn a lot. Well, here goes..

Bible Verse: Matthew 23:37

I have wanted to gather you people as a hen gathers her chicks under her wing but you did not let me. NCV

God Protects Me

Many animals in the wild care for their babies in ways that we don't even know about. Just like the opposum. Have you ever seen a mommy opposum up close? She has a little pouch where she carries her baby oppossums. They are safe in her pouch. They stay right there in mommy's pouch until they are old enough to get out and run around. The mommy kangaroo is like the opposum. She also has a nice big pouch to carry her little roos around in. A baby kangaroo is called a joey. Joeys love being in their mommy's pouch, safe and warm.

Birds have different ways to protect their chicks. Have you ever seen how big a mother hen's wings are? When she spreads her wings, they are large enough to gather all of her little baby chicks. She gently nudges them close to her so they can hide under wings and not be harmed. Under her strong wings they are safe and happy. They are warm and comfortable with mommy's soft feathers all around them. And, when its time to move on she gets up to lead them. The little baby chicks line up and waddle right along behind her. They feel safe because she is close by. And she knows where she is going. They would be lost without her; But with her leading them, they are safe.

Mommy owls protect their baby owls by building a big, comfy nest for her little baby owls. The nests hide the baby owls from dangerous animals. And the nest is high enough up in the tree so the other mean animals can't get at them. The nest has lots of leaves and twigs to keep the baby owls warm and comfy. She keeps them in their nest while she goes out to look for food every day. The little baby owls know that mommy owl will come back soon with yummy worms and seeds (That doesn't sound like very good food to us, but the little baby owls like it). Then the mommy owl comes and sits in the nest with them and covers them with her wings to keep them warm. Ah-h-h-h...nothing is better than sitting next to mommy in the big comfy nest.

Have you ever seen baby koala bears? They have long claws that are good for hanging onto mommy's furry back. So the little koala bear just hops on and gets a free ride! Wh-e-e-e-e! He is protected right there on mom's back. Its a good thing he can just hop on because he wouldn't be able to keep up with his short legs. This way the two of them run away much faster when they need to get away from big, scary animals. Sometimes its a bumpy ride, like when mommy koala has to jump up over things. But baby koala doesn't mind. There's lots of fur on mommy's back that is like a big puffy cushion. And, he actually has fun riding on mommy's back even though they are trying to get away from a scary animal that is chasing them.

That's just how a few of the animals protect their young. God made the animals this way so that the babies would be safe and grow up to be big, healthy animals. And you already know that your parents protect you. They protect you and take care of you by feeding you and giving you warm clothes to wear. They also stay with you when you're away from home in unsafe places. They know how to care for you and protect you, just like the animals know how to care for their young too.

Well, did you know that there is someone else who is protecting you too? - someone besides your mom and dad? There is....and that someone is God. He is our Father in heaven. He knows everything that happens to you. And, he is there to protect you, just like the mommy animals protect their babies.

Its not that you will never get hurt or go through hard times. We all go through some tough times sometimes. But there is someone who you can call on. Someone who is there to listen to you - someone who will lead you and guide you through your problems. He is waiting there for you to call on him and come under the protection. That someone is God. If you pray to God, he hears your prayers. He is your place of safety, just like the baby chicks are safe under their mother's wings. And, God will lead you just like the mother hen leads her little chicks. People get lost too when they don't have anyone to lead them, just like the little baby chicks. But God is always there to lead you when you ask him to.

God may not always take your troubles away from you, but he will be a support you and be with you - Just like the baby kangaroo is near his mother when he is in his mommy's pouch. When you come near to God, he is right by you too. And, you can come near to God just by saying a prayer. Isn't that great? He will help you through any problem that you have.

So, when scary things happen, and when you are not sure what to do, just call on the Lord. It will be like the free ride the baby koala bear gets when he hops on his mother's back. He has his mother to take him through the rough spots, just like God is there to help you through the hard times. When you trust in the Lord, and let him lead you, you will end up going the right way instead of getting into all kinds of trouble. Sometimes you even end up having fun and laughing about the problem later, even though it was scary at the beginning - just like the little baby koala has a lot of fun on the bumpy ride on top of his mommy's back.

So just remember God is there waiting there for you to call on him. He loves taking caring for his children. He loves caring for you. You are his special child. He loves you very much. He wants to lead you and guide you. You're not all alone; God is always there to help you. So just say a prayer and he will be there.

© copyright Virginia Sigle / biblekidsfunzone.com

Lesson

I hoped you liked the lesson. Whenever you see mommy animals with their babies, I hope it reminds you about how God protects you and loves you too. Now we have some fun stuff for you to do to help you remember this lesson. Click on the boxes below to get to the color pages, craft and activity pages.

PRAYER: Dear God,

Thank you for loving me so much.

Thank you for being my place of safety.

Thank you for protecting me.

Thank you for leading me.

Help me remember to call on you when I need your help.

Help me trust in you so I'm not afraid.

In Jesus name, Amen.

Match the animals Game - You'll need both Page 1 and Page 2 for this game.

Baby Turkey Color/Craft Page