- Can you think of a time when something bad happened, but later some good seemed to come out of the situation? (Allow your students time to share; be prepared to share your own experience. Students may think of a time they had to move away from good friends but then found their BEST friend in their new school; maybe a bullying incident caused their school to rally together in a zero tolerance for bullying campaign, etc.)
There are many things in our lives that seem bad at the time, but eventually turn out to be good. Sometimes the bad things in our lives get more complicated. Let’s think about COVID-19 as an example of a bad situation.
- What are some of the obvious bad things that have happened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic? (People have gotten sick, thousands have lost their lives, families have had to stay home, many more people are out of work, lots of schools meet virtually, etc.)
- Do you think anything good has happened as a result of these changes? (Accept all reasonable answers.)
While many negative things have happened as a result of the pandemic, there have been some positive effects too. Because so many people have been staying home, they aren’t driving or using public transportation as much. People aren’t using as much fuel and energy, pollution has lowered by a large quality, and the air quality in our atmosphere has improved. Our environment has significantly improved in a very short amount of time!
God worked through the horrible situation of COVID-19 and allowed something good to happen too. In today’s Bible story, Paul goes through some seriously negative stuff. Let’s see how God can use it.