For Kids · 4 min with a grown-up
Jeremiah was a prophet — one of God's messengers. For years he lovingly asked his people to turn back to God. Today he paints a beautiful picture of what happens when we do.
Today's Story
God gave Jeremiah a picture to share with the people. It was a picture about two kinds of plants.
The first plant was a little bush growing all alone out in the desert. The sun beat down. The ground was dry and dusty. No rain came. The bush had no water to drink, so it shriveled up. That little bush, God said, is like a person who tries to do life all by themselves and forgets about God.
But then God showed Jeremiah a second plant. It was a tall, leafy tree, and it was growing right beside a river. Its roots reached down, down, down into the cool water. So when the hot summer came, the tree wasn't worried at all. Its leaves stayed green. It kept growing fruit. Even in a long dry spell, that tree was happy and strong — because it was drinking from the river the whole time.
“That tree,” God said, “is like the person who trusts in Me. I am their river. They will never run dry.”
A Big Word
Memory Verse
Talk About It
- A tree by the river stays green even when there's no rain. What is a hard or “dry” thing that has happened to you lately?
- The tree's roots drink from the river. What are some ways we can “drink” from God — talking to Him, hearing His words, singing to Him?
- Why do you think the tree by the river wasn't scared of the hot summer?