Each year we plan a youth group hike. We meet at the church. Drive about 20-30 minutes to park somewhere near a trail. Walk about 40 minutes. Have a lesson. Walk back. Drive back. Eat pizza and hang out.
While we are hiking, we stop to look at cool boulders, find geocaches, and sometimes get lost.
We have found that this change of location makes a big difference in the excitement of the group. There is just something about walking through the woods with a bunch of people. The change of scenery also provides a great opportunity to talk about God and relate the environment to some spiritual truths.
Yesterday was part 3 in our series through the book of Job. Job had a lot of questions for God. And that was ok! My youth group students didn’t get any information from me about the hike, and they were asking a lot of questions! And that was ok!
During the hike we climbed up an observation tower. I also took them to a random open field. Then we settled on some rocks.
The lesson was about why bad things happen to us, and how God answered Job’s questions.
Job was dealing with a lot of things. He had a lot of questions. Sounds like us right? God answered Job by helping him see Himself more clearly. God helped Job understand that He was in control. That He was the creator and sustainer of everything and He knew what He was doing.
I told the group, this little rock that I’m standing on is pretty big. It does a nice job of raising me up to talk to you. But when you compare it to the rock you are sitting on, it’s small! We need to see our trials and difficult life circumstances as compared to our great big God!
This change of perspective has a way of shrinking our trials and helping us get through them.
