Daily Devotional for September 7, 2022
Clever Bees
“Ow!” Ian wailed as his mom rubbed a baking soda mixture on a bee sting. “It still hurts! Why did God make bees, anyway?”
“I didn’t hear you complaining when you were spreading honey on your toast this morning,” said Mom. “But hang on—I’ll get you some ice to hold on the sting. That will help it stop hurting.”
Ian sighed. “I guess bees are useful,” he said when Mom brought the ice. “But I wish they didn’t have stingers.” Ian frowned. “I don’t see why God made some other things either—like volcanoes or earthquakes.”
“Well, think of it this way,” said Mom. “Remember the farm we visited last year where the bees were building hives and making honey?”
“Yeah,” Ian said. “It was fun to see all the cool things bees can do. They’re really smart!”
“Yes, they are,” said Mom. “But do you think bees could build a skyscraper?”
Ian grinned. “Of course not. But neither could we, Mom!”
Mom laughed. “True, but there are engineers and builders and other people who know how to build them. Do you think if they explained how to build a skyscraper, bees could build one?”
Ian shook his head. “They’re just tiny little bugs, and we’re humans. You know they can’t understand the things we do or say.”
Mom nodded. “And compared to God, we’re just tiny little humans, so how can you expect us to understand everything He does?”
“You mean, we’re just like tiny little bugs to God?” asked Ian, sounding rather shocked.
“No—we mean much more to Him than that,” Mom said. “We’re very important to God. He created us in His image and blessed us with many amazing abilities, but we’re not equal to Him. Many things He allows to happen won’t make sense to us, but we can trust Him because He is good and knows what He’s doing. Jesus came into our broken world to die for us so we could be saved, and He promises to put an end to suffering and death one day. Even though we don’t always understand God’s ways, we can trust Him because everything He does is good.”
Ian nodded. “And even though they sometimes sting, bees do lots of good things too.”
-Heather M. Tekavec
How about you?
Do you wonder why God created certain things or allows some things to happen? The Bible says God created everything to be good, but when sin entered the world, it became broken. As a result, we experience pain and death in this world—and so did Jesus when He came to save us. We may not understand everything God does or allows, but we can trust Him because He is good.
Thank you for reading this Keys for Kids devotional! Did you enjoy the story? Has Keys for Kids been an encouragement to you and your family? If so, would you please consider supporting Keys For Kids Ministries in our effort to continue to provide these daily devotionals to children around the world?