This 6-day devotional, designed especially for parents to read with your children ages 3–7, helps little ones explore what it means to trust God in every situation—whether they feel scared, confused, or worried. Through Old Testament heroes, your child will learn that God is powerful, loving, and always ready to help them make wise, brave, and peaceful choices.
ABS Armed Services Ministry
Day 1
Scriptures: Joshua 1:9, Joshua 11:23, Psalms 27:1, Matthew 28:20, Ephesians 6:10
Brave Like Joshua
I’ve commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged! I am the Lord your God, and I will be there to help you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9 (CEV)
Are there things you have to do that scare you? Maybe it’s scary to move to a new place. Or maybe it’s scary when your parent is away.
Did you know that everybody gets scared? Yep, even the biggest, toughest warrior is afraid of some things. Even your mom and dad get scared!
Today’s verse tells of a man named Joshua who had to do some scary things, including lead an army into battle. God promised to help Joshua and his people and tells him to be strong and brave!
God knows you are afraid sometimes, too. But he promises to help you. You might not feel brave, but you can be brave because God is more powerful than anything you face, and he loves you.
So next time you have to do something hard or something that scares you, ask God to help you. He can make you brave even when you don’t feel like it. Great things happen when we trust God and do what he says.
HERO TRAINING
Think about God helping you be brave when you are scared. Draw a picture of yourself as a superhero, and ask God to help you while you do.
GOD’S WONDERFUL WORLD
Wood ducks make their nests in hollow trees, high above the ground or water. But baby wood ducks can’t fly! When they get older, their momma calls them and they have to jump out of the nests. They must be very brave to do this!
Day 2
Scriptures: Exodus 14:13-14, Exodus 14:24-25, Psalms 46:9-10, John 10:10, Galatians 4:7
Big Problems, Bigger God
But Moses answered, “Don’t be afraid! Be brave, and you will see the Lord save you today. These Egyptians will never bother you again. The Lord will fight for you, and you won’t have to do a thing.”
Exodus 14:13-14 (CEV)
Imagine you just escaped bad guys who made you work all day without paying you. God got you out of there and is taking you safely home. But now you see the bad guys coming again… and they have you cornered against a big sea! Eeek!
That’s what happened to God’s people, the Israelites. They were being kept as slaves, but God sent Moses to free them. After escaping, the bad guys went after them to try and get them back. The people became afraid and didn’t know what to do.
Do you ever feel like that? Maybe there’s a hard math problem you just can’t figure out on your own. Maybe your parents are fighting, your friend is sick, or some kids aren’t nice. What can you do?
Moses asked God for help. God answered, “I will fight for you.” Then God opened up a path in the sea! God caused the wind to move the water until there was dry ground the people could walk across. God’s people escaped and were free!
You can ask God to help with your big problems, too. Remember, he is bigger than the problems and he promises to be with you always and help you get through them.
HERO TRAINING
What is something you need God’s help with? Pray about it now! Remember that he is a big, big God and can help you with your problems!
GOD’S WONDERFUL WORLD
When sea turtle eggs hatch, baby sea turtles leave their sandy nests and walk across the beach into the sea.
Day 3
Scriptures: 1 Samuel 25:32-33, Leviticus 19:18, Joshua 1:7-8, Matthew 5:9, Romans 12:17-19
Staying Smart, Staying Safe
David told her: I praise the Lord God of Israel! He must have sent you to meet me today. And you should also be praised. Your good sense kept me from taking revenge and killing innocent people.
1 Samuel 25:32-33 (CEV)
“Help! They’re coming! Do something!” screamed the workers on the farm. Abigail looked at the people around her, workers on her husband’s farm who helped with their sheep and goats. Everyone was afraid.
A fighter named David and his men had been staying nearby the farm. He was a good man who loved the Lord and did what was right, and he protected their farm.
But when David and his men were hungry and they asked Abigail’s husband for food, Abigail’s husband said no. David became angry and decided he and his warriors would kill every man on the farm. What a bad idea!
Abigail knew and listened to God. He helped her know what to do. She quickly packed food on top of donkeys for David, as an apology. David accepted and quickly changed his mind about killing the men. Abigail listened to God and helped stop David from making a terrible choice!
Sometimes it is hard to know the right thing to do, but God knows. You can pray to him and ask him to help you make good, safe choices—like the good choice Abigail made. God will help you!
HERO TRAINING
If you were Abigail, what food would you pack for David? Draw a picnic basket full of what you’d give to help!
GOD’S WONDERFUL WORLD
In a lot of places, people still use donkeys to carry things. They can carry more than 100 pounds!
Day 4
Scriptures: Ezekiel 36:26-27, Psalms 51:10, Jeremiah 24:7, Matthew 22:36-38, Hebrews 8:10
A New Heart
I will take away your stubborn heart and give you a new heart and a desire to be faithful. You will have only pure thoughts, because I will put my Spirit in you and make you eager to obey my laws and teachings.
Ezekiel 36:26–27 (CEV)
Have you seen people do really mean things? Have you ever done unkind things that you really feel bad about? Maybe you were very mad, or you wanted something badly and you just did a wrong thing before you thought about it?
It happens to everybody. We all need a new heart… one that doesn’t hate and isn’t selfish.
The Bible tells us about a man named Ezekiel who was sad. His whole country, the people of Israel, needed new hearts! They weren’t following God and being kind like they should. And they were being punished for the bad things they were doing.
Ezekiel prayed to God, and God spoke to him in amazing ways. God promised he would give new hearts to his people. These weren’t real, beating hearts in their bodies. God was talking about people having new attitudes and wanting to do good. With these new hearts, people would no longer be selfish or mean.
God’s son, Jesus, made a way for anyone who believes in him to have a new heart. When we say we are sorry for all the bad things we do, decide to obey God’s words, and ask Jesus into our heart, he makes us clean and new!
HERO TRAINING
Jesus can make anyone’s heart brand new! Pray and ask Jesus today to help you show kindness and love to everyone.
GOD’S WONDERFUL WORLD
The blue whale has the biggest heart on earth. It’s about 5 feet tall, which is probably taller than you!
Day 5
Scriptures: 1 Samuel 15:22, 1 Samuel 15:23, Psalms 40:6, John 6:38, John 14:23-24
The Best Gift
“Tell me,” Samuel said. “Does the Lord really want sacrifices and offerings? No! He doesn’t want your sacrifices. He wants you to obey him.
1 Samuel 15:22 (CEV)
“Amelia, please clean up the living room,” Amelia’s mom said while she was doing the dishes. Amelia went and started picking up her toys when she got an idea. I’ll make it extra pretty in here with flowers, she thought, and headed outside to pick some from the yard. When her mom came in after a little while, she found Amelia’s toys still all over the floor, but there were flowers on the table. Do you think her mom was happy?
This is kind of like King Saul’s story. God told him to fight a battle and not take anything from the land. Saul and his men decided instead to take the best sheep and cattle. They said they were going to give them to God, but that’s not what God wanted. Samuel, the prophet who spoke to the people for God, told the king he would be punished because he didn’t obey. God didn’t want Saul’s gifts. He wanted Saul to listen.
Sometimes we don’t do what God says to do, like obeying mom. But it’s important to always listen and obey what God says. He knows what is best for us.
HERO TRAINING
How do you think your parents would react if you went and cleaned up your room without being asked? Give it a try today to see how they react, and thank God for helping you!
GOD’S WONDERFUL WORLD
Lions hunt in groups. All the young lions must wait patiently in the grass. If they don’t wait like they are supposed to, they scare away the prey and no one gets to eat.
Day 6
Scriptures: 2 Chronicles 16:9, 1 Chronicles 16:11-12, Psalms 118:5, Proverbs 3:5-6, Philippians 4:6
Peace Instead of Worrying
The Lord is constantly watching everyone, and he gives strength to those who faithfully obey him. But you have done a foolish thing, and your kingdom will never be at peace again.
2 Chronicles 16:9 (CEV)
When your parent has to leave for an extended period of time, do you worry about them? Do they tell you to be strong, too?
The most important truth to remember is that God can keep them safe. We must trust God.
In today’s Bible story, King Asa and his strong army had won some battles and kept the kingdom of Judah safe. They even beat an army that was way bigger than theirs! But when some other bad guys brought trouble for Judah, King Asa didn’t trust God. He didn’t ask God for help. Instead, he paid another king to send forces to fight the enemy. Although he won that fight, because he quit trusting God, his kingdom didn’t have peace anymore.
It’s important to remember to trust God. When we do, he will help us be strong and have peace. Then we won’t have to worry, because we know God is on our side!
HERO TRAINING
We know God is always watching us! Draw a picture of your family, while you pray for them.
GOD’S WONDERFUL WORLD
Pets learn to trust their humans. A puppy will learn to trust that their owner will feed them, care for them, and protect them.