Date: November 16, 2025
When a Time of Inactivity Slows You Down
The Point: Use unexpected downtime to prepare for what’s next.
Get Into the Study
Read after discussing Get Into the Study:
To help prevent the Georgia Aquarium’s five sea otters from getting bored in their enclosures, aquarium staff has partnered with researchers from Georgia Tech to make new enrichment toys for the animals. These new toys are highly specialized and embedded with motion sensors to track how the otters learn, interact, and adapt over time with them.
During this study, each otter was given two types of enrichment items: one new and one familiar. The familiar one was a food-dispensing KONG dog toy, while the second was a custom-built scallop shaped device. Both toys contained motion sensors to measure play intensity and interaction time, and the food rewards inside each toy were weighed before and after play.
Just as the otters pass their time playing with enrichment toys, we too have to find ways to spend our downtime that enriches us. As believers, God often gives us downtime between calls to join in His work so we can rest and prepare for what’s next. We should be good stewards of that time and prepare for future kingdom work and not waste it.
Get Into the Study (Option for Adult Leader Guide)
In advance, play a video clip of someone who is forced to wait. Then ask Question #1.
Study the Bible
Read after discussing Question 5:
After two years of war, the final 20 living hostages are being released from Gaza, thanks in part to a ceasefire and peace deal between Israel and Hamas.
Under this peace plan, the Gaza enclave will be administered by a mix of international and Palestinian leaders. All of the enclave’s work will be overseen by a governing board. Already, humanitarian aid is pouring into Gaza in the form of food, medical equipment, and other supplies.
When the war started on October 7, 2023, Hamas abducted 251 people from Israel. Only 168 have been returned alive, along with the bodies of 58 others. People around the world have been praying for the return of the hostages since they were taken in 2023. While we may never understand God’s timing in waiting for the hostages’ release, we can still praise Him for answering these prayers and providing their return.
Study the Bible
(Option for the Daily Discipleship Guide Leader Guide)
Play a worship song such as “Waiting Here for You,” “It Is Well,” or another song related to trusting God in the waiting. Invite the group to spend a few minutes asking God to help them to wait well and confessing difficulties they have trusting His timing during seasons of unexpected downtime.
Study the Bible (Option for Adult Leader Guide)
In advance, play a video clip of many languages being spoken or sung to help the group relate to this early miracle in the church.
The week’s writer for Extra is Emily Duncan. Emily is a Southern California native who lives in west Georgia with her husband and daughter. God saved her from Wicca when she was sixteen while at a youth retreat. Emily’s a member of Midway Church in Villa Rica and mentors young women as they transition from high school to college.
Additional Questions
Icebreaker
- How do you feel when unexpected delays slow down your plan?
- What is your favorite thing to do when you have nothing to do?
- When has a delay turned into an unexpected adventure?
Acts 1:4-8. Sometimes God places us in a season of waiting.
- What can tempt believers to ignore God’s command to wait?
- What attitudes can contribute to a negative view of waiting?
- How have you experienced God’s power after waiting on His timing?
Acts 1:12-14. A time of seeming inactivity can be a time for prayer and drawing close to God.
- What is the difference between simply waiting and waiting in the Lord?
- What can cause believers to see prayerful waiting as less important than other godly activities?
- How can Christians support and actively care for one another when we are in seasons of waiting for God’s promises, plans, and provisions?
Acts 2:1-4. God will do His work through us in His timing.
- How can a firm trust in God’s timing help us during seasons of waiting?
- What difficulties have you experienced in waiting for and trusting God’s timing?
- Why it is critical that believers function in the power of the Holy Spirit and not their own?
Podcast
Click here for a 20-minute podcast for both the group member and the leader.
This was so helpful and gave me extra ideas to share with my Sunday School class this Sunday. Please keep sharing these Leader extras
Hi Johnny, Thanks so much for letting us know! I’m glad the Leader Extras were helpful and gave you new ideas for your class. We’ll definitely keep them coming—your feedback really encourages our team as we work to serve group leaders like you each week.
Thank you both so much! You are both such wonderful teachers. I just found these, and just started teaching the adult class at our small church. Please don’t stop! Thanks again! Keep up the good work. You are definitely making a difference in my life and the life of my class.
Hi Linda, thank you for listening and for sharing this encouragement. It means a lot. I’m grateful you’ve stepped in to teach your adult class, and I’m honored that these resources are helping you and your group engage God’s Word together. Thanks again for taking the time to comment—we’re cheering you on as you lead your class faithfully!
I’m a roaming substitute… (I’ve been called worse!), and can teach from the student book. I can always find extra material to make the class interesting, but I always end up here, as you give me ideas that get the class into the study. When I teach the senior class (tomorrow), I almost never cover anything they have not already heard or studied. So my goal is involving them, and sometimes add a little comic relief, like the sloth. Thank you for your ideas, and posting them here. You keep our class lively, and interactive!
Hi Keith, thank you for jumping for the encouragement—and for leading as a substitute who’s willing to step into any class and make the lesson come alive. Your heart to involve your group goes a long way in helping people engage with God’s Word. Thanks for sharing how you use these ideas. I’m really glad they serve you and your class well. Keep leading faithfully!
I am 75 and if a honk-sec is the shorter unit of time, what is the longest?
That is how long it’s going to take me to get out of your way.
But I don’t know what it’s called..
LOL
Brother Walter, Ha! Thanks for listening and commenting. We’re glad you enjoyed the extra illustrations!