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and welcome back to Kids' Bible stories. Today's story is called growing pains, and this comes from James Chapter one, verses one through eight. Have you ever had your legs heard at night? I remember one time when I was kid, I told my mom.
My legs are sough ache.
They hurt. I was lying in bed and kept twisting around under the covers, trying to find a comfy spot. I rubbed my shins with both hands, like I was trying to warm them up or rub the hert away. I didn't know why they hurt. I hadn't fallen or bumped into anything. They just well, they ached and hurt. She came in, kissed my forehead and said, oh, sweetie,
those are growing pains, growing pains. I wasn't so sure I'd like the sound of that, but then she smiled and said, sometimes when your body is growing taller and stronger, it can ache a little. That's because your bones, your muscles, and joints, they're all stretching and changing. It might, but it's actually healthy and normal. Listeners, doesn't that sound strange? That pain could actually be a sign that something good
is happening that I'm growing. Today, we are going to talk about the kind of hard things that God can use to help us grow in our hearts and in our faith. So let's go ahead and jump right into today's story. Many people believe that the person who wrote the part of the Bible we were about to hear that it was actually Jesus's brother, James. Can you imagine what that must have been like, growing up with Jesus,
eating breakfast with him, playing outside with him. Oh wow, Well, James wrote to encourage those who are going through a hard time, So let's hear what he wrote.
James, a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations. Greetings, consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.
Oh, hold on, mom, what's a trial? It means something really hard that you're going through. It can be painful. It could be something that makes you feel sad or scared, frustrated, like starting a new school, or even getting really sick. Oh okay, let's hear what else else?
He says? Consider it pure joy, brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds. You know that the testing of your faith it produces perseverance to keep going. Let perseverance then finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all, without finding fault, and it will be given
to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave in the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. The person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double minded and unstable in all that they do.
Thank you for that message, James.
You're welcome.
Now. Listeners. We were just talking about trials and pain, and did you catch what James said? He said, we should consider it joy when we go through trials. Wait, what huh? That sounds kind of backwards. I mean, I thought it would say something like feel sad or be frustrated when hard things happen. But joy that seems like the opposite of what we'd expect. James does say why we can feel that way?
You know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance, and that will finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Let's talk about what James means. Sometimes a way that can help us understand something like this is through a story, So let me share one with you. There was once a girl named Mia who wanted to race in the big school bike race at the end of the year. She had never done a bicycle race before, but she thought it sounded exciting and she really wanted to try. So Mia started training every morning before school. At first, it was really hard. Her legs got tired fast. Sometimes
she got side cramps. One morning, she hopped off her shiny blue bike, sat down on the grass, and proclaimed, Oh, this is too hard.
I'm not sure I want to do this anymore.
But her mom, who had been watching, knelt beside her and said, gently, remember when your legs used to ache when you were growing taller. That was growing pains. Right now, your muscles are doing the same thing. They're working hard and getting stronger. If you keep going, you're going to be amazed at what you can do. Mia wasn't so sure, but she decided to trust her mom's advice, and you know what, week after week she kept biking. It was
still hard. Sometimes her legs still ached a little, but she started biking farther and faster, and by the time the race came, Mia stood at the starting line with confidence in her heart and strong legs underneath her. On your marr, get your head at it. She didn't win first place, but she did finish the whole race, and she smiled because she had grown, not just in her legs, but in her heart too. You see, that's kind of
like what James was talking about. He told us that when we face trials, hard things, when life feels like a tough race, we can actually be growing. Our faith can get stronger, just like our legs get stronger when we use them. Our trust in God grows when we hold on to him even when things are hard. And guess what, He will always be with you. He loves you, dearly. Well, that is it for our story today. But before we go, let's think about what we just heard. Raise your hand.
If you've ever had growing pains, I haven't, usually at night or after running a lot. Thanks for sharing. Now, we just heard that when we go through hard things in life, things that might feel painful, James tells us how we can look at them with joy. Just like growing pains help your body grow taller and stronger, sometimes our hearts go through hard things so they can grow stronger too, And while we don't always like it, those hard things might be part of how God is helping
us become brave, kind, loving, or wise. I do want you to remember that not all pain is the same. There is a pain that can help us grow, and then there's a pain that's not good. Sometimes pain is a warning sign that something is wrong, like when you bump your head or have really sad feelings. That's why it's always important to tell your mom or dad when something hurts, because they can help you know the difference. This week, I want you to remember God is always
with us, even in the hard things. He doesn't waste our tears. He sees every struggle, every late night leg ache, every prayer we whisper, and He uses them to help us grow. So next time something feels tough, remember this might just be your growing season and God is right there cheering you on. Well. That is it for our story today. Thank you so much for joining us, and as always, bye for now.