Hide & Seek: The Roller Coaster

We’re Teaching This:

ESP: Keep those 3 letters in mind as you read this. I'll come back around to them. Hide & Seek would not be the same, without someone hiding and someone seeking. It's kinda creep if everyone is hiding (and no one is seeking)... and it's boring if everyone is seeking (and no one is hiding). Hide and Seek requires both hiders and seekers. When it comes to life, I've always said, if everything was always fine, it would always be boring. We don't like pain. We never want to see the ones we love, hurting. But it's the pain and hurt and brokenness in life, that allows us to understand joy. I know, sounds crazy... but think of it this way... all that Jesus went through on the cross... all that brokenness led to grace and joy for us! Without that, we would just be helpless, hopeless, and boring. But when things go bad, how we view those moments and how we react makes all the difference if we experience further brokenness or further joy. One of our girls groups, when asked, "how do you deal with pain in life", said "ESP: Eat, Sleep, Pray". I told them that was good... nice that they included prayer, but what happens 5-10 years down the road when every time something bad happened they ate ice cream, then slept, and sprinkled in a prayer? After a few years, they will probably look in the mirror and move from brokenness into depression because of the affect tubs of ice cream and sleeping would have on their body. Sometimes the way we deal with the bad times, just leads to more worse times. 

Think About This:

So we focused on what Peter tells us to do when we suffer in 1 Peter 5:6-10:

• Humble Yourself (1 Pet. 5:6)
• It's not about putting yourself down. Being humble is being real with who you are, and Who you aren't. People without humility think the world revolves around them. They don't do anything wrong. It's always someone else's fault. Humble people realize their part in the pain, realize they are not always in control of what happens to them... but they also realize WHO is. They are not God, but God is. They are sinners, God is holy. The world revolves around God, not them.
• Be Alert (5:8)
• It's not so much about looking for the devil. Satan does not do anything that Jesus does not allow him to. It's more about realizing that when we are broken, hurting, and in pain, we are more susceptible to falling prey... we are more apt to sin
• Resist Sin (5:9)
• Who you put your faith in is key... faith in yourself, your friends, your family, your finances, your escapes... or faith in God. God loves you more than you can imagine. God knows what's best for you, even when life doesn't make sense. And God is control, no matter what happens. Don't give in to the lie that Satan is in control, that everyone hates you, that God hates you, that you aren't loved, that you are too messed up. Those are all lies... and easy lies to believe when bad things happen

Try This

In light of all that, what can we do, with out kids, when they go through hard times? How about when we go tough moments. The truth is, pain will come. Hurt will come. Brokenness will happen. But remembering that

GOD TURNS BROKEN INTO BEAUTIFUL 

seems hard to remember. Here are 2 things to do with your kids this week (and throughout the month/year) that may help remind them of God's promises (note what Peter says God will do if they work through the suffering moment with humility, alertness, and resistance - 1 Peter 5:10):

1. Pray through Joy
• WOW - What makes you say "Wow"? When things are going well, pray and tell God what He did was a "wow-moment" for you.
• THANKS - It's easy to forget to thank God (or others) when things are going well. Take the time to thank God specifically this week, as a family.
2. Pray through Pain
• HONEST - Sometimes, we don't understand God or why things happen. One way to work through that is to be honest with God. David and other Psalmists (in the book of Psalms) we very honest with their feelings towards God. Job was confused by what was happening, and was honest with God. Sometimes being honest can be the best thing for our (and our student's) faith)
• HELP - Sometimes we need help. Not only from our friends and family, but from God. And He is ultimately the only one that can really help us. He may not answer the way we want Him to... but refer to above ("Humble Yourself"), He is God and we are not.

Put this into practice as a family this week. Take the time to pray through your joy if it's a good week... and pray through your pain if it's not so good. Look for those moments, each day, to do that with your kids. Remember,

GOD TURNS BROKEN INTO BEAUTIFUL