PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• Occasionally, when I’m not sure what to write about, I start searching for a picture to inspire me. And this picture of a little boy on a pier just spoke to me. With a whisper of innocence, this picture screams at me the charm and carefree days of a child’s curiosity and inquisitive nature. It reminds me of my son.
As a mother, I wish I had a time machine to go back and enjoy the endless curiosity of my son when he was younger… the boundless energy… the innocence… the feel of a small, trusting hand holding on to mine as we walked through a parking lot or store…
It’s not parenthood itself that made me understand childlike faith. It’s the aftermath of parenthood. Watching my now 21-year-old who is determined to do his own thing and do it his own way makes me appreciate from a new perspective how God feels about us.
He also longs for us to put our hand in His, trusting in Him to lead us. To protect us. To love us. To provide for us.
That’s the whole point of childlike faith. To recapture the innocence that looks to our Heavenly Father for everything we need.
Jesus explained this in Luke 18:15-17. He said, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it” (v. 17, ESV). With these words, He reminds us that we can’t be willful or determined about our own way. We have to surrender our lives to God and trust in His leading. We have to trust Him for everything we have, and equally as important—trust Him with the things we don’t.
Just as we expect our children to trust that we won’t give them things that aren’t safe for them, so should we trust that God won’t give us what isn’t safe or good for us. When we embrace childlike faith, we may not understand, but we accept it.
Today, as you pray, thank our Heavenly Father for the good He gives us and thank Him for withholding the things we shouldn’t have. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you trust, with childlike faith, and accept that God’s plan is always good.
