The trust of a child

This is something that really spoke to me recently. I will be blogging more on this subject. I

want to inspire you all and myself to rely on our Heavenly Father. He does provide and He

is the most trustworthy!

Proverbs 3:5

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding" 

Notice how a small child, even a baby, allows you to pick them up and carry them. Does the child seem the least bit worried that you might drop him? Of course not. In fact, he usually has no idea whether he is one foot or 6 feet off the ground. He just assumes that since you have him in your arms, everything is going to be alright. He doesn’t ask for your credentials, to see if you are qualified to carry him or to be his parent. He trusts you completely.

You have no doubt noticed that as a child makes the transition into adulthood, trust is the first thing to go, and it goes gradually. "That’s not fair!!" is one of many exclamations commonly heard as kids get older. Typically, the child is asserting his independence; transferring his trust from you over to himself. He trusts his own judgment about what is right, and what is fair. This is part of becoming an adult, and to some extent, it is a good thing, but let's look at the spiritual application of this principle of trusting your Heavenly Father.

If there is any one predominant theme that runs throughout the bible, it is the idea that we must trust God, as everything that could go right in our lives comes from Him. If Adam and Eve had trusted in God's instructions not to eat of the fruit, they would have stayed in the Garden. When God wanted Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses argued with Him, and even asked Him to choose somebody else. But God’s message throughout this argument is "It's not you, Moses, it's Me. I'll make it happen." If Abraham had trusted God when He said that he and his wife Sarah would have children, he would not have tried to Do Something; that is, he made another woman pregnant with Ishmael, which was never God's intention.

Think about giving. If you give a tithe, you're making a statement that you trust God to make your remaining 90% cover 100% of your needs. Think about resting. If you follow God's example and take one day off per week, you are trusting Him that you will get everything done in 6 days that you need to get done. Since we are commanded to give and we are commanded to rest, we need to be able to trust that He will come through for us when we follow His directives for our lives.

Finally, think about the message of salvation itself. You cannot be good enough to spend eternity in the presence of God, so you have to trust in the blood of Jesus. God wants us to have a child-like trust in Him, that He will always provide for us, that He will cause all things to work together for the good of those who love Him.

To discuss the topic of trust without mentioning its opposite, fear, would be incomplete, to be sure. It has been said that the Number One command in all of the bible is "Fear Not." Younger children have no fear because they trust.

Psalm 56:11

"In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid . . . "

God's word makes it clear that you cannot simultaneously have trust in God and have fear in circumstances. It's like asking me to make you some coffee black, with cream and sugar in it. You can't have it both ways.

Fear does not come from God

2 Timothy 1:7

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

1 John 4:18

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."

Fear = bondage

Romans 8:15

"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."

Hebrews 2:15

"And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."

If fear is synonymous with bondage, then trust must correlate with freedom. If you have problems with fear, then you should pray for the freedom to trust God!

Test

Have you ever been out of work, or had some other financial catastrophe (or potential catastrophe)? Did you pray about it? Or did you worry? When you told friends, did you come across in such a way that you were showing how worried you were, or were you brimming with confidence that the Lord would somehow take care of it? Even worse, did you try and Do Something without praying about it first?

Pride Check

The more we trust Him, the less we trust our own strength and understanding. Satan would have us think that to place our trust wholeheartedly in Him is a sign of weakness. The world thinks this, but here's what the Word of God says:

Proverbs 3:5

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding" 

Post your thoughts let me know your feelings on this! Before you do, look at your child, or a child.