February Memory Verse: II Corinthians 10:5b, “And we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Bible Story: Judges 7:1-8, 12, 16-22

Main Point: Good news, we can’t lose

Daniel has faced down three negative voices in his life so far – insecurity, fear, and condemnation. He’s about to come up against another one – let’s see what happens.

What Daniel was struggling with was discouragement. In this case, feeling that he didn’t have enough of his life planned out. Our Bible hero this week, Gideon, faced a similarly discouraging situation. He felt called to take on the Midianites but as he followed God’s instructions, his army shrank instead of grew. But he trusted in God’s plan rather than giving in to the voice of discouragement, and God worked a great miracle through his life.

As your kids look to their future, it could be easy for them to get discouraged – there’s always someone smarter, more talented, or prettier than them. It would be easy for them to give up on their dreams. But as you talk with your family this week, talk about their plans for the future – the things they are good at and like to do, their hopes and dreams. And be quick to encourage them that even if they don’t know what their future will look like, when they trust in God’s plan, they don’t have to give in to discouragement.