God’s hands are always reaching out for us. He loves us. He cares for us. This family night lesson will literally help illustrate that point! So, gather the kids and get read for a fun night and great faith message to help your family feel God’s love and know that He’s there. This is perfect or a Primary or Sunday School class, youth group activity, or Family Home Evening (Family Night.)
Trust in God’s Hands Activity for Kids
President Nelson said…
“God knows all and sees all. In all of eternity, no one will ever know you or care about you more than He does. No one will ever be closer to you than He is. You can pour out your heart to Him and trust Him to send the Holy Ghost and angels to care for you. He demonstrated His ultimate love when He sent His Only Begotten Son to die for you—to be your Savior and your Redeemer!
“Through His Atonement, the Lord Jesus Christ overcame the world. Therefore, He is ‘mighty to … cleanse [you] from all unrighteousness’ [Alma 7:14]. He will deliver you from your most excruciating circumstances in His own way and time. As you come unto Him in faith, He will guide, preserve, and protect you. He will heal your broken heart and comfort you in your distress. He will give you access to His power. And He will make the impossible in your life become possible.
“Jesus Christ is the only enduring source of hope, peace, and joy for you.”
Trust in God Discussion
- Look down at your hands. Wiggle your fingers! Clap them together.
- Ask your family: “What types of things have your hands done today? Did they feed your body? Did they write words at school, carry a ball, or wave to a friend? I bet most of our hands were used to send a text message or post a picture online. Our hands are busy.
- Have you ever fallen down and been offered a hand to help you rise to your feet again? Worthy Priesthood holders use their hands to bless and comfort people with the power of God. Hands are used to serve and to cuddle. Our hands are important!
- In the scriptures, hands are used as a symbol of power, strength and protection. Think of how a father or mother cradles a tiny new baby. They gently hold the baby’s head in their hands to protect and comfort their child.
- Our Heavenly Father uses his hands in our lives to protect and bless us! He is our Father and wants to keep us happy and on the path that will lead us back to him. The words of Mormon state: “Know ye not that ye are in the hands of God? Know ye not that he hath all power?”
- W. Craig Zwick of the First Quorum of the Seventy taught, “To be in the hands of God would suggest that we are not only under His watchful care but also that we are guarded and protected by His wondrous power. Throughout the scriptures, reference is made to the hand of the Lord. His divine assistance is evidenced over and over again. His powerful hands created worlds, and yet they were gentle enough to bless the little children.”
- Have you ever felt that Heavenly Father has had a hand in your life? Sometimes the guidance is small like a gentle whisper from the Holy Ghost. Other times, we are given inspiration that helps us to make big decisions. We have access to personal revelation and we also have revelation given to us from the prophets and apostles that act as the Lord’s hands on Earth.
- Sometimes, it is tempting to think that we know better than God. We listen to the commandments and feel like maybe we could do better on our own. This is a risky road to travel. Have you ever felt peer pressure from a friend to turn away from the things that you know are right and true? It could be the encouragement to bully a classmate or buy an inappropriate dress for a special occasion. Maybe a friend looks up something on the internet that is offensive and crude. Do you feel tempted to look and watch, or do you feel the hand of God directing you to stand up for what is right?
- We do not need to face the world alone. With all of the forces that drive us to stray away from the righteous path, we have an even greater force that is helping us stay on course. We can hold God’s hand and let Him lead us along the path of happiness! “Every one of us needs to know that we can go on in the strength of the Lord. We can put our hand in His, and we will feel His sustaining presence lift us to heights unattainable alone.” If we can develop faith in our Heavenly Father and trust in his plan for us, we can create a life that is better than anything that we could accomplish on our own. As humans on Earth, we have a limited view of just the present moment. We cannot see the future or know the past. But, God does. His view is eternal. His perspective is much more grand than ours.
Trust In God Game (Object Lesson)
One of my favorite Christmas party games is a game that you play with a paper plate and markers. You put the plate on your head and then follow audible directions on how to draw a Christmas scene on the plate atop your head! It is always a crowd pleaser. Have you played it?!
This Family Night lesson takes the basic concept of the festive paper plate game to the next level. Not only are we going to create some artistic fun, we are going to build testimonies while we are at it! Your family will get to experience the difference between creating a life solo and creating a life with the help of God’s hands.
Each person will need a paper plate and a marker. Direct your family to place the plate on their heads. During the activity they cannot take it down to look at their picture. It has to stay in place.
Give these commands:
- Draw a house.
- Draw a sun in the sky.
- If you haven’t already, put a chimney and windows on the house.
- Draw a line where the ground should be.
- Add flowers coming up from the ground.
- Place a happy face on the sun.
- Draw a tree on the side of the house.
- Add a person to the scene under the tree.
Now, let everyone look at their artistic creations! It is always silly to see how the scenes turn out. Ask a few questions. Was it difficult to know where to put the objects? What was the hardest part about drawing this pictures? What would have made it easier?
Now, play a second round. Choose partners. Let one person be the artist and the other gets to represent “Gods Hands.” It’s a pretty important role!
Repeat the process and read the instructions aloud. The artist will still draw the objects on the plate, but this time they will have “God’s Hands” to direct and assist them. The helper can use their hands to place the marker in a good spot on the plate, or to shape the objects in an appropriate manner.
Once the eight steps are competed for the second time, compare the two finished scenes. What method was easier? Did it help to have someone who could see the whole picture guiding the artist? Was it hard to give some control over to the helper?
This object lesson is to help your family understand that God is the ultimate creator. Under the direction of His powerful hands, the world was created. We were created! Can we trust in His knowledge and experience to allow him to shape our lives? If we try to live life on our own, without God, things can (and most likely WILL) get pretty messy. Just like our pictures. Even when you try your best, it is hard to live a happy and complete life without the influence of our Heavenly Father.
God’s hands are always reaching out for us. He loves us. He cares for us. He is our Father. He wants to walk with us. He will pick us up when we are feeling sad, clap for us when we are choosing the right, wipe away our tears, and point out the way we need to go.
If we will keep the commandments of God and walk hand in hand with Him in His paths, we will go forward with faith and never feel alone.
If you liked this FHE on trusting God, check out:
- Name Game – God Knows My Name Family Night Idea
- Does God Hear Prayers?
- Prepare for General Conference Family Lesson
