God can do ANYTHING. There is literally nothing God can’t do. He knows everything and He sees everything, and He is powerful enough to make anything happen.
Even though God is completely self-sufficient, He chooses to work with us. From the beginning, God looked for ways to work with the people He had created to accomplish His plan. God worked with Noah to build the ark that saved both people and animals. God worked with Moses to bring the Israelites out of slavery. And when Jesus stepped on this planet, He worked with His friends and disciples to share the message of God’s love with the world.
Just like God doesn’t work alone, God doesn’t want us to work alone. God wants us to work with others, seek help from others, and be ready to offer help to others. This month’s memory verse helps kids understand: “Two people are better than one. They can help each other in everything they do,” (Ecclesiastes 4:9, NIrV). When we don’t cooperate with others, we will always be limited in what we can accomplish.
A one-man band can play a simple tune, but with more than one musician we can have a true jam session and build a beat together. Because cooperation is working together to do more than you can do alone.
In Week One, our Bible story demonstrates how the Israelites cooperated to build the tabernacle (Exodus 28:1, 3; 31:1-11; 35:21, 25, 34; 39:42-43). All the skilled workersand artisans had to work together to build this first “church location” for God in the middle of the desert. We still work together as the church to accomplish God’s work. OurBottom Line is: With God, we can work together to get His work done. When we team with other people and rely on God’s strength, we can do what He asks us to do.
In Week Two, Our Bible story shows how cooperation helped Joshua win the battle over the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8-13). Moses, Aaron, and Hur were not the victors of the battle. Joshua was. But the three men cooperated with God and each other to help Joshua succeed. Our society does not often emphasize helping others succeed, but ourBottom Line is: With God, we can work together to make someone else succeed.
In Week Three, our Bible story tells of Nehemiah, a man who wasn’t afraid to ask for help with the impossible task of building the wall (Nehemiah 1:1-6, 2–4; 6:1-16). OurBottom Line is: With God, we can work together to do what seems impossible. Our tendency is to desire self-sufficiency, but teaching kids when to ask for help is important. It’s the only real way to accomplish something bigger than ourselves.
In Week Four, our Bible story shows how cooperation led to Jesus healing a paralyzed man (Luke 5:17-26). Because the friends cooperated with Jesus and each other, the man walked out of that house. Our Bottom Line is: With God, we can work together to change someone’s life. Whether we think about changing someone’s life through bringing them to Jesus, or through helping meet their physical needs, both require the combined efforts of teamwork.
We aren’t made to only work with other people. We are also made to cooperate with God. And it’s when we learn how to work with God and others that, in His strength, we can do incredible things.
By Jessica McKee ©2012 The reThink Group. All rights reserved. http://www.ThinkOrange.com *Used by permission.
