Children’s Day’s Journey
The Lion Leads the Way
Quiet Prayer
Dear Jesus, thank You for being faithful when we feel tired, dry, or lost. Lead us to Your refreshing waters and help us trust You every step of the way. Amen.
The Story
One warm morning, Joppa the Ostrich walked with her friends across a dry and dusty land.
Millo, the little bird, sat on Joppa’s shoulder.
Mahle the Spotted Lamb walked close beside her.
Rafi-Owl flew slowly overhead.
Hippi the Hippo waddled behind them, looking very thirsty.
Mr. T, Porky Pine, and Wally the Warthog followed along the path.
The ground was cracked. The flowers were droopy. The trees had very few leaves,
and there was no lake in sight.
Hippi sighed. “I miss the water.”
Mahle looked around. “This place feels empty.”
Millo chirped softly, “It feels like a wasteland.”
Joppa lifted her head and looked ahead. “Where will we find water?”
Just then, Lion walked in front of them with quiet strength.
His steps were steady. His eyes were kind, and He did not look worried.
“Follow Me,” Lion said.
Joppa looked at the dry ground. “But Lion, I do not see any water.”
Lion turned and smiled gently. “I know the way.”
So Joppa and her friends followed Him.
They walked past dry bushes. They crossed a sandy hill and stepped carefully over stones.
Hippi grew tired and sat down with a thump.
“I do not think I can go much farther,” he said.
Lion came near and said, “Rest for a moment. I am still with you.”
Rafi-Owl landed beside Hippi and opened his Bible.
“The LORD says,” Rafi read, ‘See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?’
Joppa’s feathers lifted a little. “A new thing?”
Rafi nodded and continued, ‘I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.’
Mahle’s eyes grew wide. “Streams in the wasteland?”
Millo fluttered his wings. “That means God can bring water even in dry places!”
Lion nodded. “Yes. The Father is faithful. He provides what His children need.”
Joppa looked around again. The land still looked dry, but now hope began to rise in her heart.
“Lion,” she asked, “is there really water ahead?”
“Yes,” Lion said. “Keep following Me.”
So they kept walking.
At first, nothing changed.
The ground was still dusty. The air was still warm, and Hippi still wished for a lake.
But then Millo tilted his head.
“Do you hear that?”
Everyone stopped.
Drip. Trickle. Splash.
Joppa listened carefully. “Water!”
They hurried around a large rock, and there it was—a clear spring bubbling up from the ground. The water sparkled in the sunlight and flowed like a little river through the dry land.
The flowers nearby lifted their heads. The birds began to sing, and even the grass looked greener.
Hippi ran to the spring and splashed happily. “Water! Refreshing water!”
Mahle bent down and took a gentle drink.
Joppa closed her eyes and thanked the LORD.
Rafi-Owl read again:
“I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to My people, My chosen.”
Lion stood beside them, faithful and strong.
Joppa looked at Him with tears in her eyes. “You knew the spring was here.”
Lion smiled. “I always knew.”
Millo chirped, “Even when we could not see it?”
“Even then,” said Lion.
Wally looked at the water flowing through the dry ground. “The wasteland does not look so empty anymore.”
Mr. T Porky Pine nodded. “Because the LORD brought refreshment.”
Mahle smiled. “And Lion led us there.”
Joppa watched the spring flow through the dry place and remembered something important:
When the land looks empty, Lion is still faithful.
When the path feels dry, Lion still knows the way.
When His children are thirsty, He leads them to refreshing springs.
And all of Joppa’s friends praised the LORD together.
The birds sang. The flowers danced. Hippi splashed.
Mahle smiled. Millo chirped.
Rafi-Owl lifted his wings.
And Joppa whispered,
“Thank You, LORD, for streams in the wasteland.”
Heart Lesson
Sometimes our hearts feel dry and tired.
We may feel like we are walking through a hard place.
We may not see the answer yet.
We may wonder where the refreshing water will come from.
But Jesus is faithful.
He knows where the springs are.
He knows how to make a way.
He knows how to refresh His children.
When we follow Him, He leads us to living water.
Memory Verse
“I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
— Isaiah 43:19
Reflection Questions
- Why did Joppa and her friends feel worried in the wasteland?
- Who led them to the refreshing spring?
- What did Rafi-Owl read from the Bible?
- How can we trust Jesus when we do not yet see the answer?
Prayer of Repentance
Dear Jesus,
Please forgive me for the times I worry when I cannot see the way. Forgive me for forgetting that You are faithful and that You know what I need.
Help me trust You in dry places. Help me follow You, even when I do not yet see the spring. Thank You for leading me to refreshing waters.
Thank You for leading Joppa and her friends to the spring in the wasteland. Thank You for caring for children, families, animals, and all creation.
Please refresh every tired heart. Bring hope to dry places. Make a way where there seems to be no way.
Lead us beside Your living waters, and help us proclaim Your praise.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
When the path feels dry, Jesus still knows where the springs are.
Soli Deo Gloria