Live Like Men, Trust Like Children

One of the prerequisites for following Christ is to trust Him and what He says. Acts 16:31 reads “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” and Proverbs 3:5 clearly tells us to “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” It is not our understanding that matters but our faith and one important reminder is, without faith, there can be no pleasing God (Hebrews 11:6).

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”

–Proverbs 3:5

Christ hands down these scriptures to their respective authors for a clear and direct purpose and their meanings are significant but they are not easy even for believers. Wait, what? Yes, that’s right, we are all human and we have our sin nature. Our mind, while powerful, is also fragile and it can be difficult to let go of thoughts of negativity and/or doubt and the older that I grow; the more I believe that God instructed us to be like children. No, not act like little children but rather, to have the spirit of a child as illustrated in Matthew 18:2-3: ”And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 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.:”

And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 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 18:2-3

Our Lord became man and walked this Earth so He knows how hard this Earth can be on a soul. He understands everything that we go through and knows exactly what we are up against. Several years back, I told a woman I dated that God instructs us to have such a spirit but she did not understand what this meant. We often hear stories of grown adults acting like children and this is not what Christ had in mind but rather, to trust and have faith like children and this is the perfect illustration of how we, as believers, are to be: 2 Corinthians 5:7 informs us “For we walk by faith, not by sight” and children, even if they can’t see something, they still believe.”

For we walk by faith, not by sight” and children, even if they can’t see something, they still believe.”

–2 corinthians 5:7

For grown adults, this may not make a lot of sense but children are born innocent and yes, each of us, as well, but as we grow older and live with the hustle and bustle of this old world, we begin to lose this innocence and it happens quicker than it should. We are exposed to things and situations that we should not and while many of us have parents that would protect us from anything and everything, many do not. The baby Moses was put into a basket by his mother and sent down the river so he would survive the decree placed on Hebrew children of this period of time and she did this out of love which shows you that humanity has always had an evil spirit about itself.

For just a moment, think about what it means to be childlike or possess the spirit of a child. Christ simply wants us to put things in His control and let Him work. While there is still work for us to do, He wants us to possess a trusting spirit. Children are born with a trusting spirit about them and we see this in the way they interact with one another and with their parents. They fight with other children but minutes later, they are playing again and they trust their parents even when they’ve been scolded. Trust, for many of us, is very hard to come by and this is something that I struggle with greatly but we must place our trust in Christ and let Him have all things.

There are many great examples from scripture to show that we have to simply trust Christ but maybe the best one is that of David being sent to slay the giant, Goliath. No, this is not fable or a storybook tale you tell to your children before bed but is a real event that shows how important trust is with God and how a even a child can do great things including freeing a group of people from the wrath of a giant with nothing more than a slingshot and rocks. No, this is not a tale of Dennis the Menace but certainly, David was a menace to Goliath and Satan who was, once again, defeated and put in his place.

While we can learn many things from the story of David particularly about slaying Goliath, it serves as a reminder to go where it is you are sent. David was just a shepherd boy and brought food to his brothers but it wasn’t his age or how tall he stood that mattered to God but rather, his heart. God knew that He could use David in great ways even if David was just a boy and the same is true for each of us. Sometimes, it’s the spirit of a boy and the wisdom of a man that gets us through rather than anything that we can do. With God, all things are possible (Mathew 19:26) and He guides and directs our paths (Proverbs 16:9) if only we will trust in Him like a child (Mark 10:5).