12 Bible Stories for Children About Hope

Hope is not always easy to keep as an adult or a kid. Bad situation after bad situation can get us down and keep us there. However, there are many Bible stories that teach kids about hope. These stories range from Job, who faced a tragedy, to those in the New Testament who trusted God for healing. Hope is beautiful to hold on to during good and bad times.

If you are looking for a Bible story to teach your kids about hope, look no further. These Bible stories tell about people who hit their lowest moments, longed for impossible things, and faced terrible circumstances. Ultimately, their hope carried them through until they saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Now, take a look at twelve Bible stories you can use to teach kids about hope.

• Found In: The Book of Job

In this book, God talks to Satan about Job and how he loved God. Satan said, "Yes, a man will give all he has for his life. But put forth your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh (and severely afflict him); and he will curse you to your face." (Job 1:9 AMP version) In other words, Satan was telling God that Job served him now because God was protecting him from trouble. However, if Job faced hardship, he would absolutely curse God.

So, God tells Satan that Job was his; he could do what he wanted to him, but he had to spare Job's life. (Job 1:12) Sure enough, in the book of Job, the man loses his children, home, and livelihood. Later, he develops painful boils in his body. When Job hits rock bottom, his wife tells him to "curse God and die." (Job 2:9) Later, three friends come to comfort Job. During this time, one of them questions what he could have done to deserve such a terrible fate. Job defends his faith and continues to express that he did nothing wrong. He also continued to hold onto his faith.

Through Job's trouble, his hope in God doesn't wavier. At the end of the book, you can see his life turning around for the better. This Bible story is excellent for teaching how to continue to have hope no matter what terrible events we face. Better times do come back around.

• Found In: Genesis 6:13-22

In Genesis, after the creation of man, you see God growing tired of humanity. He couldn't find anyone righteous except for Noah. So, God decided to wipe out the earth with a flood, but he was going to spare Noah and his family. God tells Noah to build an ark to house animals and his family. The people around Noah laughed at him when he told them of the flood and asked them to join him. They thought Noah and his family were crazy for listening and believing that a flood would happen when it never had before.

However, Noah held on to his hope in God. he continued to listen to what he was told to do and built the ark. When the time came, God shut the door to the ark. It then rained for 40 days and 40 nights. After the flood, Noah continued to hope in God. He sent out a raven and dove to find land.

Although a tragedy happened, Noah knew God spared his life for a reason. After the flood waters started to subside, God produced a rainbow as a promise never to flood the earth entirely and destroy humankind in this manner again. (Genesis 9:13-17)

Found In: John 11:35

During Jesus' ministry, he had a good friend named Lazarus. One day, Lazarus passed away while Jesus was in a different town. He was sent word about his friend being sick, but Jesus could not make it to him in time. When he arrived, Lazarus's sister ran out to meet Jesus. She said, "Lord, if you had been here on time, my brother would not have died." (John 11:21)

This chapter is also where you will find the shortest verse in the bible. "Jesus wept." (John 11:35). He wept and grieved for his friend.

Yet, although Lazarus had been dead for three days, Jesus went to his grave and loudly said, "Lazarus, come out!" (John 11:43). Then Lazarus emerged wearing his "grave clothes."

From this Bible story, children can learn that having hope no matter what is important, even when it seems bad, and that all hope is lost. Even amid our grief, we can have hope. It is easy to see that in this story, even Jesus and Lazarus's sisters are grieving. However, God still brought about a miracle during a tragedy.

• Found In: Luke: 8:43-48

During the ministry of Jesus, many came to him for healing. Crowds followed him everywhere he went. During this time, there was a woman who had an issue of blood. Since she was bleeding, she was considered "unclean" and not allowed to touch anyone without the fear of "contaminating" them as well. She had been to doctors and healers, and no one could help her with this issue.

She knew, however, that if she could touch the hem of Jesus' garment, she would be healed. Although pushing through the crowd and touching other people put her at risk socially, she had the hope that her healing was coming. At last, the woman with the issue of blood was able to push through the crowd and touch the very hem of Jesus' garment.

At that moment, Jesus felt "the power" leave him and asked, "Who touched me?" His followers were stunned. They said, "There are so many people around, so many people are touching you." However, Jesus knew someone had touched him for healing. When he found the woman, she said she knew she needed to only touch him to be healed. He tells her that her faith has made her whole.

Found In: John 21:15-17

On the night of the Passover feast, before Jesus died on the cross, he had one last meal with his followers. Jesus began to explain to the disciples what would happen to him that night and how they will desert him. At this time, Peter told Jesus that he would never forsake his name.

Although Peter truly believed that in his heart, Jesus told him, “I tell you the truth, Peter—this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.” (John 13:30)

Peter was one of Jesus' most rash disciples. He was passionate and a little short-tempered. He cut off the ear of a soldier when Jesus was being arrested and jumped at walking on the water when Jesus was walking towards them.

However, after Jesus was arrested, Peter was asked three times if he was a follower of Christ. He replied each time that he did not know who Jesus was. When the rooster crowed, Jesus and Peter locked eyes, and Peter felt complete remorse when he remembered the words of his friend and teacher.

However, after Jesus rose from the dead, he visited his disciples. Peter was already repentant of his sin of denial, so Jesus reinstated him three times. When Jesus returned to his disciples, he asked Peter three times if he loved him, to which Peter replied, "Yes."

Peter's forgiveness is a beautiful story that shows that God does forgive no matter the sin. Peter was fully repentant, and Jesus forgave his denial. Peter became one of the most influential Christian leaders and was later martyred for his faith in Christ.

Found In: Genesis 17, Genesis 21:1-8

Abraham and Sarah were getting up there in age with no descendants. They longed for a child, but it didn't seem possible. After all, Sarah was well past childbearing age. However, in their old age, God told Abraham that he would have descendants that numbered the stars in the sky. God then sent a messenger to Abraham to tell him that he and Sarah would have their son in a year. Abraham held on to that promise and one year later she gave birth to Issac.

If you look at Jesus's heritage, you see that his line comes from Abraham (on his earthly father's side.) Although it seemed impossible for Abraham and Sarah to have any hope they would have any descendants, they did anyway. The couple held onto the promise from God, and although the situation looked hopeless, it wasn't.

Found In: The Book of Esther

Esther was a Jewish girl with a cousin named Mordecai; the King was looking for a new wife during her time, and Esther's cousin encouraged her to go before the King for this opportunity and she was chosen to be the queen. However, custom during this time meant that even though she was the queen, she couldn't just go before the King whenever she wanted.

Well, the King's right-hand man plotted an evil plan to kill all the Jews, which Mordecai got wind of. So, he went to Esther and asked her to plead for her people before the King. Although Esther risked death by going before the King without an appointment, she trusted that God would protect her.

Esther continued to hope that her people would be saved, even if it meant risking herself. The King heard her case and put the plotting to an end.

Found In: Mark 5:21-43

During the ministry of Jesus, there was a synagogue ruler named Jairus. His daughter was dying, and he had heard of the miracles that Jesus had performed. He went to Jesus and asked him to heal his daughter. When Jairus brought Jesus to his home, Jesus told the mourners that she wasn't dead; she was asleep.

When he went to her room, Jesus told the girl to get up, and she did. Jairus had hope that Jesus would heal his daughter. Furthermore, when he brought Jesus to his home and learned his daughter had already died, Jairus didn't lose hope. He continued to trust Jesus for his daughter's healing.

Found In: Matthew 8:5-13

In Matthew, a Centurion approaches Jesus about his servant. He tells Jesus that his servant is at home, paralyzed, sick, and suffering. Jesus replies by asking if the Centurion wants him to come to heal his servant. The Centurion tells Jesus that no, he doesn't deserve to have Jesus come into his home. Instead, he knows that if he says the words, Jesus can heal his servant right then and there.

When the Centurion went home, his servant was healed. He had the slightest faith that Jesus didn't need to touch his servant; instead, Jesus only needed to speak healing.

Found In: 1 Samuel 1:10-11; 12

In Samuel, we see Hannah before she had a son. She is in deep pain and grief because she has not been able to bear children. During her prayer, she "weeps bitterly" and tells God that if given a son, she'll dedicate him to God.

Although Hannah was in deep pain, she was hopeful that her dream of becoming a mom would come true. After some time, Hannah gave birth to a son named Samuel. True to her word, she dedicated Samuel to God, and he became one of the most well-known prophets from the Old Testament.

Found In: 1 Samuel 17:45-50

In the Old Testament, the Israelites faced a tribe of Philistines who wanted to make them slaves. These large people were described as giants. The group seemed impossible to beat, so the Israelite army stayed in their tents and avoided confrontation with these men.

David was just a small shepherd boy whose brothers were in the army. His father sent him to the battlefield to take his brothers' food. This is when he noticed the Philistines taunting their army and asked why no one was trying to fight. Since no one was brave enough to do it, David volunteered. He said the Lord was on their side, so there was no reason to fear.

Armed with his slingshot, David gathered five stones and faced Goliath. With one shot, David was able to bring Goliath down. With the victory, their giant was no longer looming above them. No matter how big the giant looks in front of us, we should always hope it can be taken down.

Found In: Genesis 37-39

Joseph was the eleventh son of Jacob and his mother Rachel's first son. Joseph was favored by his dad, which made his brothers jealous. If you don't know Jacob's story, it's important to know that Jacob loved Joseph so much because he was in love with Rachel. On the other hand, Rachel and Leah's father tricked Jacob into marrying Leah (Rachel's older sister) out of obligation.

Jacob gave Joseph a coat of many colors. Additionally, Joseph would have dreams of his brothers bowing down to him one day. These dreams and the apparent favoritism their father showed Joseph upset his brothers. They were so envious that they plotted to get rid of Joseph. At first, they planned to kill him. However, one of the brothers talked them out of that plan, and instead, they sold Joseph into slavery.

During his time in slavery, Joseph became favored by his master, but he refused to have any intimacy with his master's wife. Therefore, he was framed by the wife, who told everyone he had assaulted her. From there, Joseph was thrown in jail. After several years, Joseph became a favorite of the King because he could interpret dreams. These interpretations allowed Joseph to gain a high seat next to the King and help save the land from drought.

After several years, his brothers came to get grain from the King and had to face Joseph (unknowingly.) Although Joseph had every right to be upset with them, he eventually embraced them and showed them mercy and love.

Joseph had every reason to give up hope in God, in the future he knew would be his, and in his family. However, he didn't let bitterness settle in. Instead, he trusted God to guide his steps, and the result was Joseph could save his family (whom he loved) from a drought that was starving them.

Hope can be hard to hold on to when situations seem unbearable. However, deep in the Bible, you can find story after story that proves that holding on to a bit of hope is sometimes the difference between coming out of the situation and having a brighter end. These 12 Bible stories about hope are a great place to start with.