Faith like a Child

 

The past two days have had a measure of great satisfaction and ridiculous frustration. First the frustration — definitely a first world problem. Normally my computers work in my car. It is an older vehicle but if my android phone is on, I have Wifi even traveling a couple hundred miles from home. This time, we took my hubby’s newer vehicle with all sorts of bells and whistles. His phone calls and texts come through the cars technical screen. BUT mine would not. I tried everything and wound up not able to read my devotions or enter them in my word processor, never mind get on the Internet to post them. The same held true as we drove home, I could play Solitaire but not read or write in the care — just like the day before.

However, it was an incredible day with my cousin. She is my age and the two of us have been lifelong friends. We put together the plans for our July family reunion. All the agenda, funding, and venue details, plus the caterer came so the food is figured out too. What fun we had doing it. Then we stayed in her home, watched sports on TV, looked at scrapbooks, and reminisced our childhood. It was a total blessing.

Tonight, at home, my tech stuff works just fine, just at it did at my cousins’s home. Today’s devotional is about the carefree life of a young child, which was already on my mind from the joyful visiting yesterday and talking about the things we did when we were little. The devotional compares that to the Christian life.

The chief characteristics of a young child is living by faith and in freedom from care. Back then, when we were little, our lives were one long trust from year’s end to year’s end. We trusted our parents, teachers, and sometimes even people utterly unworthy of trust.

Our parents took care of us, providing everything. We took no thought for anything, made few plans (just to go swimming at the mud hole) and yet life was incredibly good and much simpler than it is today. It is wonderful to remember the carefree life we had.

The life of faith is to be like that — a child in our Father’s house, our weary, burdened life transformed into one of blessedness and rest, leaving ourselves in His hands…

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7)

PRAY: Lord God, the reminiscing was both a great delight and a sort of sadness and we wished it was not so far from what we know now. Our days are often filled with busyness and responsibility, yet these verse become a wonderful reality when I slow down and remember that You want my childlike faith and trust. When it is in place, I can be that carefree youngster all over again. Belonging to You need not be frustrating at all, but a joyful satisfaction. Thank You for caring for us, Your children.