In the 1990’s “WWJD?” (What Would Jesus Do?) bracelets were all the rage. The idea was that people would wear them to remember to approach life with the same mindset, goals, and attitude as the Savior Himself. If we think about what He would do — when people are rude, when things don’t go as planned, when we have real trouble — we can conform ourselves to His example. This week, the topic of childlike faith has pretty much followed me around. I have been seeing it in my Bible reading and online and even heard it from the pulpit. It occurred to me that if we would similarly focus on what a child would do when it comes to having faith, we could start to realize the kind of simple trust that we need to believe for the impossible.
“And said, ‘Verily I say unto you, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”’”
Matthew 18:3
Become as Children
Children are dependent on their parents for everything. They believe what their parents tell them and trust them to take care of their needs without questioning how it will be done. As children of God, we can learn a lot from the simple faith of a child.
Kids Take Their Parents at Their Word
I heard a sermon illustration on the radio once about a father who was reading his newspaper. His little girl came in to talk to him about the playhouse that she wanted him to build. He paused from his paper long enough to tell her that yes, he would build the playhouse. Then he told her to run along and play while he finished his paper. A few minutes later, he happened to look up and saw her in the backyard. Her arms were full of items like baby dolls, blankets, and various toys. His wife happened by at the very moment, and the man said, “What in the world is our daughter doing?” His wife said, “You told her that you will build her a playhouse. She’s getting ready to move in.” The father immediately got up and left for the lumber yard.
What if we, as Christians, would take our Heavenly Father at His Word? The Bible is full of promises that God has made to His children. (I wrote a blog once about the “wills” and “shalls” of God that lists twelve promises and the Bible verses that go with them.) Instead of overthinking and rationalizing, what if we simply prepared to receive them?
Kids Believe That Anything Is Possible.
My own pastor told another story of a missionary to Africa. A young mother had died in labor despite their best efforts, leaving an infant and a two-year-old girl behind. The little girl was upset and crying, and the baby was in danger of getting too cold in the chilly night that followed. Usually, the missionaries would have put a warm water bottle next to the baby, but their last one had burst from wear in the tropical climate. They did the best they could to keep the baby warm that night, and the next day, the main missionary went to the orphanage to pray with the children. She old them about the tiny baby and the problem of keeping him warm so he didn’t get sick from chills and about his sister crying because her mother had died.
A ten-year-old girl prayed, “Please, God. Send us a water bottle today because tomorrow will be too late. And please, God, will you send a dolly for the little girl so that she knows You really love her?”
The missionary cringed inwardly and could barely say “Amen.” Her mind raced with the logistics of it. While she knew that God COULD do the impossible, the only way He could answer this prayer would be to send a box from her homeland. In her four years as a missionary there, she had never received even one. And even if she did get a box that day, who would think to send a water bottle to a place with such a hot climate, much less a doll?
Her Prayers Were Answered
Later that afternoon, a 22-pound box arrived. The missionary had tears in her eyes as she went to get the children to help her unwrap it. Inside were various items, but about halfway into the box, she felt the cool rubber item and pulled it out. The children gasped excitedly. It was a water bottle. The little girl who had prayed said, “If He sent the water bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too.” She reached in and rummaged around and came up with a doll. The box had been sent a full five months earlier from the missionary’s home church. God had answered the prayer before it had even been prayed.
The Bible says that nothing is impossible for God. What if we quit trying to work out the “how” and just prayed for the “what”? God has resources we can’t even imagine and isn’t hindered by time or place. “Nothing is impossible for God” isn’t just a cool saying on a bumper sticker. It’s real. Big prayers receive big answers from our big God.
Kids Depend on Their Parents to Be There for Them.
Max Lucado once told a story about an earthquake in Armenia in which over 30,000 people were killed in less than four minutes. A father rushed to his son’s school but found only a pile of rubble there. He immediately went to the back of the building where his son’s class used to be, and he started digging. He had made a promise to always be there for his son, and he wasn’t going to break it now.
As the hours went by, well-meaning parents came to tell him to go home and get some rest. Firemen came to tell him that he was in danger, and a police officer came to tell him that he was endangering others, but the father just kept digging and digging. Thirty-eight hours into his dig, he moved a big rock and heard his son’s voice. He called to him.
“Dad!” he called back. “I told the other kids that if you were still alive that you would come to save me. You promised that you would always be there for me. You did it, Dad!” Despite being buried alive for almost two days, the boy held on to his trust and hope in his father and had even passed on that hope to his fellow classmates who all survived. More than his own son’s life was saved because of a father’s promise and a child’s faith in it.
What if we simply expected God to always take care of us and never leave us or forsake us? His Word tells us that He knows we have needs. He hears us when we cry, and He will never let us down. What if we let our faith be contagious, passing on that hope to those who come into contact with us? How many more lives could be saved because of it?
What Would a Child Do?
“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
Mark 11:24
Maybe we need a new bracelet: “WWaCD?”
Bracelet or not, childlike faith is about taking God at His word, believing for the impossible, and expecting Him to always be there for us and take care of us. After all, if earthly parents know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more so our Heavenly Father? God not only CAN answer prayers, but He wants to as well. He wants to show Himself strong for His children.
If you like stories about how God takes care of His people, try God Hears the Cries of the Deserate. Or, try When God Calls, He Equips. Please sign up to receive my blog in your email inbox. You can find that at the upper right of your screen (or at the bottom on a phone). Also, check out my YouTube Channel where I read the blogs out loud. I also have a playlist of hymns from my church.
