Penny the Penguin Learns about Strength in Christ
By Bill Conley
America’s Favorite Children’s Storyteller
Moral of the Story:
True strength comes not from muscles, but from faith. When we rely on God, we
discover courage we never knew we had. Christ gives us power to overcome fear,
doubt, and weakness. Every challenge becomes possible when our hearts trust
Him. Faith transforms obstacles into opportunities for growth. Jesus walks
beside us, guiding every step we take. When we feel small, His strength makes
us mighty.
Through Christ, we can do all things.
Far away in a land of ice and snow,
there lived a little penguin named Penny. She was small, curious, and always
full of dreams. While the other penguins spent their days sliding on the ice
and fishing, Penny loved to look up at the wide sky and wonder what was beyond
the frozen hills.
One morning, the penguin colony
gathered near the cliffs to prepare for their first big swim of the season. The
icy water below sparkled like glass, but it looked deep and cold. The older
penguins dove in easily, cutting through the waves like torpedoes. But Penny
hesitated.
Her friend Toby noticed her
shivering. “What’s wrong, Penny? Aren’t you coming?”
Penny shook her head. “I’m scared,
Toby. What if I can’t swim that far? What if the current is too strong?”
Before Toby could answer, Pastor
Puffin flew down from a nearby rock. “Good morning, little ones,” he said
warmly. “What’s this I hear about being afraid?”
Penny looked down. “I want to swim
like the others, but I’m too small. I don’t think I can do it.”
Pastor Puffin smiled gently. “Do you
know what Philippians four thirteen says?”
Penny shook her head.
“It says, ‘I can do all things
through Christ who strengthens me.’ That means when you trust in Jesus, He
gives you the strength you need to do what seems impossible.”
Penny thought for a moment. “Even if
I’m afraid?”
“Especially then,” said Pastor Puffin.
“Courage doesn’t mean you’re never scared. It means you trust God more than
your fear.”
That night, Penny stood under the
shimmering northern lights, thinking about those words. “I can do all things
through Christ who strengthens me,” she whispered softly. Then she bowed her
little head and prayed, “Dear God, please give me Your strength to swim
tomorrow. I can’t do it alone, but I know You can help me.”
The next morning, the penguins lined
up again at the edge of the ice. The wind was sharp, and the water looked
colder than ever. Penny’s heart raced, but this time she remembered her prayer.
She took a deep breath, looked up to
the sky, and whispered, “Jesus, please help me.”
Then, with a leap of faith, she
jumped.
The freezing water closed around
her, and for a moment she panicked. But then something amazing happened. Her
little flippers began to move, her body glided forward, and she realized, she
was swimming! Not perfectly, not as fast as the others, but she was moving with
confidence and joy.
Toby cheered from nearby. “You did
it, Penny! I knew you could!”
Penny laughed. “Not me, God did! He
gave me the strength!”
By the time they reached the far
side of the bay, Penny was beaming. The older penguins congratulated her, and
Pastor Puffin smiled proudly. “You see, Penny,” he said, “when we trust God’s
power instead of our own, we discover that His strength never fails.”
Days passed, and Penny grew
stronger. Soon she began helping younger penguins who were afraid to swim. One
of them, a tiny chick named Millie, clung to the ice, trembling.
Penny waddled over and said kindly,
“I used to be afraid too. But do you know what I learned? You can do all things
through Christ who gives you strength.”
Millie sniffled. “Even this?”
Penny smiled. “Especially this.”
The little chick nodded, took a deep
breath, and jumped, and when she came up, Penny was right beside her, cheering.
From then on, Penny became known as
the penguin with unshakable faith. Whenever anyone in the colony faced
something hard, a storm, a long journey, or fear of the unknown, they
remembered her words: “You can do all things through Christ.”
One evening, as the sun dipped below
the horizon and the sky glowed pink and gold, Penny looked out across the icy
sea. She whispered a prayer of thanks. “Lord, thank You for teaching me that my
strength comes from You. Because of You, I can do anything You ask me to.”
A gentle breeze swept over the
water, and she felt peace, the kind that only comes when you know you are never
alone.
And from that day forward, whenever
Penny faced a challenge, she smiled and said with confidence, “Through Christ,
I can do all things.”
Poem:
When fear begins to whisper near,
God’s gentle voice says, “Do not fear.”
His strength is mine, His love my guide,
With Christ, I walk with hope inside.
No mountain tall, no sea too wide,
Can keep His children from His side.
Through faith I rise, through Him I sing,
For Christ gives strength in everything.
Discussion Questions:
1.
What helped Penny the Penguin find
courage when she was afraid?
2.
How does trusting in Jesus make us
strong, even when things feel hard?
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