Jesus commends childlike faith. Have you ever wondered what that looks like? Let’s look at two examples of childlike trust.

Dressed in blue Superman pajamas complete with a red cape, our three-year-old, Brant, thought he could fly. He leaped off furniture onto my cousin and his friend’s backs. At four, Brant fell off of a tall slide and bumped his head. Because he couldn’t remember what happened, I told him we needed to visit the emergency room. He flailed, argued, and refused to cooperate.

“It will be all right. We have to go,” I said, puzzled at his resistance. He quieted and climbed into the car.

The door swooshed shut with the doctor’s exit. Brant turned his brown eyes to me. “Is he going to cut off my legs now?”

“You hurt your head,” I said. “Why would he cut off your legs?”

“Oh. Is he going to cut off my head?”

My breath caught. Our neighbor’s legs had been amputated at a hospital. Brant associated hospitals with amputation. No wonder he’d panicked when I said he had to go to the hospital.

I swallowed the lump of emotion lodged in my throat. My son had trusted me even when he believed he’d lose his legs.

[bctt tweet=”Jesus commends childlike faith. Have you ever wondered what that looks like? @DebbieWWilson #Trust, #RechargeWednesday” username=”PatHolbrook”]

Jesus said, “So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt. 18:4 nlt). Abraham, one of the greatest heroes of the faith, practiced childlike faith. He trusted his Father, even when asked to offer up his only son.

After waiting twenty-five long years to hold this baby, after memorizing every facial expression and savoring every giggle and antic, Abraham could have reasoned with God and begged for a different test. “How can you fulfill your promise if you take Isaac? You’ve already sent Ishmael away. Take me, but, please, don’t take our laughter away.”

But Abraham didn’t argue or bargain. He humbly trusted his heavenly Father. God had promised to give him descendants through Isaac. And God would keep his promise. Abraham’s childlike faith was stronger than a mighty oak.

The Battle between Our Affections

Warren Wiersbe wrote, “Our greatest battles are not waged between love and hatred, but between two loves: our love for God and our love for God’s blessings. And the deeper we love, the more difficult is the test.”[i]

Childlike faith knows that God’s tests are not punishments. “For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” (James 1:3–4 NLT).

Abraham began his journey of faith by leaving his home, his family’s gods, and his relatives in order to obey God. Through the decades, each act of obedience strengthened Abraham’s trust in God. He circumcised his men. He lived as a stranger. He sent Ishmael away. Each test stretched Abraham the way exercise leaves you sore but stronger.

Abraham’s grownup faith trusted his Father in the most childlike way. He packed his donkey and set off to sacrifice what he loved most in the world—because he loved God more than anything on earth. Do you love God more than his gifts? Do you trust him with what is most dear to you? Grown-up faith reveals itself in childlike trust.

It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him.Hebrews 11:17 (NLT)

[bctt tweet=”Abraham’s grownup faith trusted his Father in the most childlike way. He packed his donkey and set off to sacrifice what he loved most in the world—because he loved God more than anything on earth. @DebbieWWilson #BigGod, #Faith” username=”PatHolbrook”]

Adapted from Little Faith, Big God Copyright © 2020

[i] Warren W. Wiersebe, Run with the Winners (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1985), 81.


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[bctt tweet=”LINKUP is open! This week, my friend @DebbieWWilson reminds us that true faith is childlike faith. Are you trusting God for whom He is or for what He does? Join us! ” username=”PatHolbrook”]

 

 

 

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