Child-like Faith in Jesus

(cross-post from WeUsed2bu)

One of the first memories I have of exercising my faith in God was many years ago when I was in grade school. Our refrigerator completely died, and my mom was upset, because we didn’t have the money to buy a new one. I remember having total confidence that God was going to provide a refrigerator for us. I just knew that the Lord was not going to leave us, a family of five, without one. So to cheer my mom up, I made up this song, “I’m Dreaming of a White Icebox” (that’s a fridge for those of you who never heard that term, lol). She and I just sang and danced in the kitchen, and I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t more than 24 hours or so before we had another refrigerator in place of the old one. I don’t recall where it came from, but I do know that it was God Who made it happen.

That’s what having child-like faith is all about. We need to know in our heart of hearts that our heavenly Father loves us and will provide all of our needs, according to His riches in glory. Sometimes as we get older, we start to assume that we have more ability to make things happen for ourselves. We begin to rely more on our own resources, rather than trusting in the Lord’s plans and provision. Instead of submitting our needs and desires to God, and allowing Him to work, we jump ahead and often miss the blessing that He would have given us, had we just been a little more faithful and patient.

In the gospels, we see a number of times when Jesus instructed His disciples in the importance of child-like faith. These lessons hold several important keys to having the faith that is pleasing to God.

First, we have to BELIEVE. We need to believe in our hearts that Jesus is Who He says He is, even if we can’t see Him. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:29) When we were small, it was so easy to believe that things were real, even if we couldn’t see them. Now that we’re older, we often want to see it to believe it. But we don’t have to see God to know that He’s real, because we see the effects of how He’s working in our lives and changing us. It’s like the air around us—you never actually see it, but you see how wind bends the trees in a storm, and you trust that you will be alive five minutes from now because there’s enough oxygen around you to sustain life. You don’t need to see it to put your faith in it. We don’t need to see God to believe that He is.

Next, we have to RECEIVE. Once we believe in Him, then we can receive Him, and all that He offers to us as His children. Our heavenly Father has given us so much—love, salvation, an inheritance in His kingdom—and we need to receive it with the open arms of a child (Mark 10:15, John 1:12-13, I John 3:1). If we truly know Who our heavenly Father is, then every day should be like Christmas morning, with the expectation of only the greatest things to come. True, sometimes we don’t always get what we want, and sometimes it looks like God gives us a lump of coal. But that’s only because He knows exactly what we need to become who He wants us to be. That’s why we need to receive everything He gives us, both the good and the bad, with thanksgiving and praise (I Thess. 5:18).

Finally, we have to stay MEEK. It’s a funny little word that carries a lot of meaning. To be meek is to be humble and submitted to God. Just as a child has no authority over a parent, we have no authority over God. When we are meek, instead of insisting on what we want, we believe and receive from God what He wants for us. Maybe we weren’t expecting that spiritual maturity would look like that, and we might have thought that we would get to be in control of our lives once we “grew up” in the Lord. Jesus taught some of the disciples what meekness should look like when they asked Him who would be greatest in heaven. He again used a child as His example, telling them, “Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 18:4) Our meekness is an acknowledgement of our complete dependence on Him for everything. Just as a child trusts a parent to protect and provide for her, we must have total faith in God to do all that He has promised, and be willing to work with Him as He works in us.

In God’s kingdom, it’s good to be small. We’re more when we’re less. We only become great when we decrease, and Christ increases (John 3:30). Nurturing the child-like faith in us will keep God in His proper place in our lives. We need to remember how blessed we are to be children of the King of Kings, Who is faithful in all His promises and loving towards all He has made (Ps. 145:13). If you have been struggling lately and thinking that you’re walking your road alone, you’re not. Your Abba Father is right there with you, waiting to take your hand and lead you home. Believe it.