Advent Day 30: Unexpected Answer

12/30/24 • 5 min

Countdown to Christmas with Zach - An Advent Podcast for Kids

Thank you for joining Keys for Kids Radio's Countdown to Christmas Advent Activity! Read the story below, answer the questions on the cards, and send us a voice message with your answers! Then you could hear yourself on Keys for Kids Radio as we talk through each day's story!

Send In Your Answers

Unexpected Answer

Christmas was over. Colorful wrapping paper and bright ribbons had been cleared away, and the opened presents were sitting under the tree.

Because Dad had been out of work for several months, most of the gifts were very practical—useful things like socks, sweaters, mittens, and boots. “God is good,” Dad said. “My best Christmas present is that He has provided a job for me. It’s an answer to prayer!”

Grandma noticed her grandson’s frown as he got up and walked to the kitchen. She followed him. “Is something bothering you, Marcus?” she asked.

“God may have answered Dad’s prayers, but He sure didn’t answer mine! I prayed and prayed for a scooter, but did I get it? No! I hardly got any fun stuff at all!”

“Could it be that you missed God’s answer?” Grandma asked.

“Is there another present somewhere?” Marcus asked in surprise. He started back to the living room to look, but Grandma stopped him.

“That’s not what I mean. What would you think if your dad had turned down his job offer and then declared God wasn’t providing for his family?”

“Why would he do that?” asked Marcus. “That would be silly.”

“Yes, it would,” agreed Grandma, “yet your mother told me Mrs. Brown offered you the job of shoveling her walkways this winter, but you weren’t willing to do it.” She paused for a moment. “You asked God for a scooter, and He gave you a chance to earn it. But now you’re blaming God because you don’t have it. Isn’t that silly too?”

Marcus sat down at the table. “I guess it is,” he admitted.

Grandma sat down next to him. “I know it’s been a tough year for your family, and you just wanted to get something fun for Christmas. God understands that too. He loves you and promises to do what’s best for you. Sometimes that means His answer to your prayers is no, but in this case, I think it may be a yes, but you need to take action. Perhaps He knows you’ll appreciate your scooter more if you work to pay for it yourself.”

Marcus nodded. “I’ll see if Mrs. Brown still needs help. Maybe it’s not too late to earn money for a scooter.”

So how about you?

When you pray for something, are you prepared to be part of God’s answer by taking action? For example, do you pray for good grades and then study hard? Sometimes God answers prayer by providing you with the next step to take. In today’s Bible reading, God answered Cornelius’s prayer by instructing him to ask Peter for help. So pray, and then be ready to follow God’s action plan.

Key Verse

Matthew 7:7 NIV "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

Key Thought

Pray and be ready to act!

Further Reading

Acts 10:1-2, 30-33

Send In Your Answers

Unexpected Answer

Christmas was over. Colorful wrapping paper and bright ribbons had been cleared away, and the opened presents were sitting under the tree.

Grandma noticed her grandson’s frown as he got up and walked to the kitchen. She followed him. “Is something bothering you, Marcus?” she asked.

“God may have answered Dad’s prayers, but He sure didn’t answer mine! I prayed and prayed for a scooter, but did I get it? No! I hardly got any fun stuff at all!”

“Could it be that you missed God’s answer?” Grandma asked.

“Is there another present somewhere?” Marcus asked in surprise. He started back to the living room to look, but Grandma stopped him.

“That’s not what I mean. What would you think if your dad had turned down his job offer and then declared God wasn’t providing for his family?”

“Why would he do that?” asked Marcus. “That would be silly.”

Marcus sat down at the table. “I guess it is,” he admitted.

Marcus nodded. “I’ll see if Mrs. Brown still needs help. Maybe it’s not too late to earn money for a scooter.”

So how about you?

Key Verse

Matthew 7:7 NIV "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

Key Thought

Pray and be ready to act!

Further Reading

Acts 10:1-2, 30-33

Previous Episode

Advent Day 29: Gabe and Asaph

Send In Your Answers

Gabe and Asaph

Gabe crossed his arms and scrunched his face in disgust. “Hunter’s parents let him do anything he wants,” he told his dad, “and it seems like everything always turns out right for him. He just got a brand-new skateboard for Christmas!” Gabe started to feel bitter as he thought of all the things Hunter had. “I thought God would treat people who love Him better than those who don’t. Hunter isn’t a Christian, but he’s got better things than me! How come?”

Dad smiled. “You sound a lot like Asaph.”

“Like who?” Gabe peered quizzically at his father.

“Asaph. He was a man who wrote some of the psalms in the Bible. Come over here—I’ll show you.”

Gabe and Dad sat down on the sofa, and Dad brought up Psalm 73 on his phone. “Look here, Gabe,” he said. “At the beginning of the psalm, Asaph is complaining to the Lord because evil people are prospering and having lots of success while terrible things are happening to him.” Dad read several verses.

“Wow! I know just what he means,” said Gabe.

“I thought you might,” said Dad. “Later verses show that Asaph changed his mind. He was reminded that people who don’t know the Lord can only look forward to destruction in the end. Those who are saved will have it good when life on earth ends.”

Gabe thought about that. “I guess I don’t have it so bad after all,” he said. “Hunter will get what’s coming to him someday.”

“Whoa!” said Dad. “Not so fast. We can be thankful that God has shown us mercy. It’s only because we trust in Jesus, who took the punishment for our sins by dying on the cross, that we won’t get what we deserve. It’s not up to us to judge Hunter. Instead, let’s pray for him. Ask God to use you to show Hunter His mercy and love so he will put his trust in Jesus and all will be well for him in the end. Okay?”

Gabe nodded. “Okay,” he said. “I know Jesus loves Hunter too, and I want both of us to spend eternity with Him.”

So how about you?

Do you know unsaved people who seem to have it better than you? Unless they trust Jesus as their Savior, they don’t have a future with Him in heaven. Thank Jesus for saving you from sin, and pray for those who don’t know Him. Tell others what He’s done for you so they might know they can be saved from sin and have eternal life with Him too.

Key Verse

Psalm 73:28 NLT "How good it is to be near God! I have made the sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do."

Key Thought

Jesus saves us from destruction.

Further Reading

Psalm 73:3-7, 12-18, 25-28

Next Episode

Advent Day 31: End of Vacation

Send In Your Answers

End of Vacation

When Jack sat down for lunch, his mom noticed his glum mood. “What’s wrong, Jack?” she asked. Jack just shrugged.

Mom placed sandwiches and chips on the table. “It’s a beautiful day,” she said after they thanked God for their food. “You have several Christmas gifts to keep you busy, and school is out for a few more days. But you don’t look very happy.”

“It’s just that...Christmas vacation is almost over,” Jack replied. “School starts next week, and I haven’t gotten anything done.”

“What do you mean?” asked Mom. “What didn’t you get done?”

“I was going to read the book Tommy lent me and learn how to ski during vacation,” said Jack. “And I was going to surprise Dad by cleaning the garage and vacuuming the car. I was even planning to shovel Mrs. Patten’s walks and driveway for free, but I never got around to it. She ended up hiring someone.” He sighed loudly. “I wasted my whole vacation.”

“I understand how you feel,” Mom said. “I often feel that way myself when I don’t get to everything on my to-do list. But, Jack, you didn’t waste your vacation.”

Jack looked up from his sandwich. “I didn’t?”

Mom shook her head. “You spent time with friends and family, and you also got a much-needed break from a busy school year. Rest and relationships are important too. Instead of fretting over everything we want to get done, we need to trust Jesus to help us do the things He wants us to do. We can rest and enjoy time with others because Jesus did what we could never do ourselves—He died and rose again so we could have eternal life with Him!”

“So, it’s okay I didn’t do all that stuff?” asked Jack.

“Would it even be possible to do all that in two weeks?” Mom asked, grinning. Jack smiled. “I guess not.”

“But it’s good you want to use your time well and help others,” said Mom. “Maybe you can set aside time to work on things that are really important to you. And you still have a couple days of vacation left.”

Jack nodded and began wolfing down his sandwich. “I should have time to clean the garage before Dad gets home!”

So how about you?

How have you been spending your Christmas vacation? Did you have fun? It’s important to relax and enjoy spending time with others. Maybe you had things you hoped to accomplish too—did you do them? It’s good to set goals and get things done, but remember that Jesus has already accomplished the most important thing of all. Trust Him to help you use your time well as you balance work, fun, and rest.

Key Verse

1 Peter 3:18 NLT "Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but He died for sinners to bring you safely home to God."

Key Thought

Use your time well.

Further Reading

Ecclesiastes 3:1-14; John 19:28-30