Psalm 121
Your Story
Talk about a time when you knew God was watching over you. Talk about the peace you felt.
My Story and the Bible Story
It’s almost Halloween, and this time of year tends to be a bit scarier than normal. People decorate their houses to look scarier, scary movies come on TV, and some people wear scary costumes on Halloween. Sometimes there’s even spooky Halloween music, like the song “Somebody’s Watching Me.” This song is all about how it feels like someone is watching, no matter where he goes or what he does. That sounds pretty scary right? Thinking that someone is watching you? Well, in fact, we have someone who watches us all the time. But it’s not scary. In fact, it’s an amazing thing.
Read Psalm 121. From the NIV: I lift my eyes up to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
The Lord watches over you. God doesn’t sleep. God doesn’t get tired and God doesn’t get bored. God keeps us safe and watches over us. We don’t need to be afraid of monsters under the bed or monsters in the closet or people dressed up in scary costumes because the Lord watches over us. Halloween may be a scary time but we don’t have to worry, because the Lord doesn’t ever leave us. God’s right there with us, watching us and keeping us safe. God sees us wherever we go and, if we get scared, God’s right there, ready to offer us comfort. Instead of being scared at Halloween, remember that God watches you. The God of the Universe cares about what happens to you. There’s no need to be afraid.
Discussion
• Ask the children in your life what they are afraid of. Talk about how God can help them face their fears, and what it means that God is watching over them.
• If there are specific things that they are afraid of during this time of year, talk about specific ways they can face those fears, reminding them that God gives us courage.
• Ask your children if there has been a time in their lives when it felt like God was watching over them and that everything would be okay. What happened?
Prayer
Thank God for always being there for us and for watching over us. Ask God for help in facing your fears, and ask God to give you courage.
Jessica Asbell is currently serving as the Minister to Children at First Baptist Church of Roswell, GA. She has worked with children in various capacities at several churches, including Winter Park Baptist in Wilmington, NC, First Baptist of Decatur, GA, and Highland Hills Baptist in Macon, GA. She has a Master of Divinity from McAfee School of Theology and a BBA from Mercer University. In her spare time she loves to read, watch movies, and of course spend time with her sweet kitty, Lucy.
