Thinking of Childlike Faith

I, being the avid outdoorsman that I am, like to read Field and Stream magazine. Not having a subscription to this fine publication myself, and being unwilling (generally) to pay newsstand prices, I recently did what I normally do...I perpetually borrowed my dad's copy. In the latest copy I have there was an article written about outdoor survival skills. I always like to read these just for grins, and because, who knows...someday it might really be necessary to know some of those things, but I digress. So I am sitting reading this article the other afternoon, and Nathan is sitting on the couch next to me. I'm reading through the part where they have interviewed a survival skills instructor and he is discussing eating bug...in particular grasshoppers. He give the protein and iron contents (twice the iron and only .3g less protein than a spoonful of lean ground meat), discusses the methods people use to help them go down (remove the legs and head so it doesn't stick in your throat), talks about how roasting them is essential because it kills any bacteria or parasites, and ends by saying "Once you get past the bug phobia...it's really just a little spoonful of meat...think of it that way." So, I'm sitting there and shuddering at the idea of eating grasshoppers, and decide to see what Nathan will say. So I show him the picture and ask him. It went something like this:

"Nathan, would you like to eat a grasshopper like that?"
"NO WAY!"
"What if you were lost in the wilderness and had no food?"
"I'd just look for something else to eat."
"What if you couldn't find anything else and the grasshopper was all you had?"
(At this point Nathan stops and shudders a little himself before replying)
"Then I would just pray and ask God to help me find something else to eat."

Yes, you may now take a moment to say "Aaaawhh, that's so sweet." which, by the way, is what I initially did too. ("Nathan, that's a fantastic answer! I'm glad that you would first turn to God and ask Him to help you. I know that He would because God answers our prayers doesn't He?""Yes, He does.")

Okay, so the sweet moment is now past and the meat of this blog comes to be...Nathan's answer has been haunting my thoughts for the past several days.
I am increasingly certain that children have a knowledge of who God is beyond anything adults can even imagine. I think this is exemplified even in scripture too. But here is the thing which stuck with me, what has been haunting me...my son's faith that God would provide for him.

See, Jessie and I have been diligent in trying to teach your boys (and soon our girl) about who God is, that we can trust Him, that He is faithful, that He cares for us, He died for us, He loves us, He wants a relationship with us, all the wonderful things about the Christian's walk with God. We want our kids to grow up knowing their Father, and not just a passing head knowledge of Him, and intimate, passionate knowledge, experiential, relational, and beyond anything we could ask or imagine...that kind of "words can't describe it" knowledge of God, that only comes from Him alone. So we have tried to teach them, and many times I have been surprised by them. Here is the thing that has bothered me though: I was reading this article saying to myself, "I could maybe do it...if I was really hungry enough." Nathan says, "I'd just ask God...He'll give me something to eat."
Yes, it's simplistic, yes he's just a kid, but that is the whole point...His faith hasn't been tainted by thoughts of what God can't do, or won't do...he simply believes Him to do. Nathan simply will take Him at His word and believe that God will care for him and provide for his needs.
This made me think..."What happened that I stopped thinking that way? That I stopped believing that way?" See, I have been told on more than one occasion that I have an unusual amount of faith, perhaps I do, but I find myself at times wondering if God can do such and such, or if God will answer my prayer.
What happened to my childlike belief?!
The word tells us again and again that kind of faith is key:

Matthew 18:3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Isaiah 11:6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.

Mark 10:14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

This last one is mentioned twice in the gospels, it is also in Luke 18:16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

How many of us have lost a childlike faith? Is your God only "big enough" for what you're doing now? Or is He the one who hold the universe together with His spoken word, who holds it in the palm of His hand, and for whom the very rocks will cry out in praise? How big is your God? I urge you do NOT try and make Him small, for He IS NOT. I could go on for some time about that alone, but I want to wrap this up.

My niece is three, and she recently had to go and have a scope done to check out her digestive system and see if there was something wrong. They put her out for this. Want to guess what she told my sister-in-law when she came too? "Jesus was right there with me while I was sleeping."

Nathan was three when one of my best friends died of cancer. It was a tough thing because Mark had been sick for some time, and he and his wife had been friends of mine for a long time. It was very sad for us all, and I for one, was wondering why it might have been that God didn't answer our prayers for Mark's healing. I wouldn't say it was a trying of my faith really, but I was just wondering why he wasn't healed. Jana (Mark's wife) asked us to come back to the church and eat with the family after the funeral. So, Jessie and I picked up Nathan and Noah, who had not gone to the funeral, and went back to the church. I will never forget the conversation we had on the way there though. Nathan says, "Daddy, where are we going?" "We're going to eat with Jana and Mark's family." "Is Mark going to be there?" "No, Nathan, Mark died and went to live with Jesus." (This is the part that still brings me to tears today) "Oh...he went there so Jesus can heal him?" (long pause as my eyes fill with tears) "Yes, son, that's exactly why...so Jesus can heal him."

I maintain what I said, that children have insight into who God is that we can't begin to imagine as adults. They simply believe and trust Him, it's about what He will do, not about what He won't. It's about what He can do, not what I think He can't. When will we realize this truth and start trusting Him the way He intended?

Paul said, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Guess what? I'm convinced too.

So, that being said, I am exercising my childlike faith. One desire I've had for the past couple of years is to get totally out of debt. I think this is something that God has laid on my heart in order that my family can being to be a blessing to others, something we cannot do if we are in debt, at least not in a financial manner anyway. But, believing that this is something God has laid on my heart, and Jessie's heart too, I am no longer going to look at our debt and shake my head going, "It's gonna be 30 years before we get all this paid off." (When I say out of debt, I'm including my house in that too.) So, I am believing and asking God to provide $100,000 for us before the end of the year. That will allow us to get totally out of debt, and also to have a nice sum left over that we can start using to bless others, and to provide a future for our family. I don't know how He is going to do that, but I am excited to see Him do so. I ask for you to join with us in prayer for this. I am excited to see it happen and to see God provide above and beyond all that I could ever ask or imagine.

I urge you to put to death your doubt, and exercise your childlike faith once again and wait to see God provide.

In Christ Alone,
th