Superkids, we are living in very challenging times, but be encouraged! God has a well-thought-out plan for His people to be victorious! Throughout history, God has had His heroes on the earth, ready to do His plan and carry His message, His power and His presence.
NOAH
Before the Flood, people’s hearts were full of evil all the time, so God decided to flood the earth and destroy them. Because Noah was faithful to God, God saved Noah and his family. God told Noah to build an ark and he obeyed! Imagine you are Noah: God says, “Build an ark.” So many questions! “What’s an ark? How do I build it? Why build an ark? Rain? What’s rain? Such a BIG ark? Why? Animals? Every animal? That’s a lot of animals!” Sure, Noah had questions, and God had answers and details AND MIRACLES! But Genesis 6:22 says Noah did everything just as God commanded. I would imagine that all the evil people were making fun and laughing at him instead of listening to him! Second Peter 2:5 says Noah was a preacher of righteousness but they didn’t listen. They probably said to each other, “Noah is CRAZY! HA HA HA!” But Noah didn’t let that stop him, he just kept building the ark. Then one day the animals began to come, just as God had said. Then God told Noah and his family to go into the ark, and He shut them in. Then came the rain, just as God had said. Noah and his family and all the animals that had come were safe in the ark as the rains flooded the earth. Noah and his family were heroes. God could continue with His plan because this family listened to Him and obeyed His instructions.
ABRAHAM
Abram was living surrounded by his family and friends when God told him to leave his country and family behind. The Lord told him to go to a land that He would show him and He promised to make him a great nation, bless him and protect him. The Bible says, Abram and his wife Sarai (God changed their names later) departed as the Lord had instructed. (See Genesis 12:1-4, New Living Translation.)
Abram and Sarai were 75 and 65 years old! Maybe older than your great-grandparents! Can you imagine them just packing up everything, loading it onto their camels and moving without knowing where they were going? That is what they did. God wanted to make a covenant, an agreement, with Abram that He would take care of Abram and Abram would rely on Him. God promised Abram that he would father many nations, but Abram and Sarai were old and she had never been able to have children! Impossible! Though it was many years later, God kept His promise. He changed their names to Abraham and Sarah, meaning “Father and Mother of many nations,” and they had a son named Isaac. It was very important for Abraham to trust God so completely that he was willing to offer his only son as a sacrifice. It took great faith, but Abraham was about to do it when God stopped him and provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice instead. This was a very important day in history! Because Abraham offered his only son to God, God was bound by their covenant to offer HIS only Son as a sacrifice for Abraham and his family (and that includes us!). Though Abraham and Sarah’s story happened thousands of years ago, their obedience and covenant with God led to us having a covenant with God through Jesus! They are heroes. God could continue with His plan for people because they listened to Him and followed His instructions.
MORE HEROES
Joseph was faithful to God even though he was betrayed by his brothers and others. God blessed and promoted him to a position that allowed him to help his family during a terrible famine!
Moses turned his back on being the prince of Egypt to become the rescuer of God’s people!
David, a shepherd boy, killed Goliath with a slingshot when the entire army had been afraid to fight! David’s courageous heart for God gave him boldness and God made him king!
They were heroes! God could continue with His plan because they listened to Him and carried out His instructions, no matter what was going on around them or how hard it was.
There are many Bible heroes, but the One I HAVE to mention is…
JESUS
Jesus came from His Father’s presence in heaven and became our sacrifice on the cross. He made it possible for us to become God’s family (remember Abraham’s offer?). Jesus left what was most important to Him—His Father’s presence. To die on the Cross, carrying all the sickness, sorrow and pain of every human being, was horrible! But for Jesus, enduring three days without His Father’s presence was even worse. That’s what makes hell, hell—no love and no Father. Superkid, our heavenly Father is the One who makes our lives worth living!
God continued with His plan for people because Jesus, the greatest Hero, listened to Him and followed His instructions. Jesus did what His Father asked Him to do and made it possible for us to be God’s children. But Jesus wasn’t the last of God’s heroes!
And that’s really the most important part of the story!
Oops, out of space! Stay Tuned!
Commander Kellie ♥