If your kids are like most kids, they will experience good days and not-so-good days. They will have “glads” and they will have “sads.”
Spend time as a family with everyone sharing one glad and one sad for the day. (Don’t try to fix anything, just listen and celebrate and commiserate.)
After the sharing of glads/sads bring up the story of Daniel in the den of lions. In the days of Daniel, being sentenced to be thrown to the lions would count as a not-so-good day. It would have been a major sad!
Daniel got thrown in with a bunch of lions because he broke a law – he openly prayed to God rather than to King Darius. What did Daniel do about his situation?
He trusted God to take care of him.
This is my favorite part of this story… when the king discovers that the lions didn’t harm Daniel…
Not a scratch was found on him, for he had trusted in his God.
Talk with your kids about how our “sads” can be like being “thrown to the lions.”
When that happens, will they remember the story of Daniel?
It’s not easy trusting God. It takes practice.
God is always with us, even when we are in the midst of hardships.
Photo credits:
A stuffed lion by Terry Johnston, who licensed this photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.
Family Faith Companion 
Interesting coincidence! This is the story we are doing in Sunday School this Sunday and I just was working on the lesson! Thanks for the inspiration!