4 reasons having childlike faith isn't a bad thing
Children are often described as innocent, pure and unassuming. Many adults today are defined as the opposite of these qualities. We tend to worry about things that haven’t occurred yet, and we get caught up in the day-to-day grind. In our desire for control, we sometimes forget about the power of faith.
Childlike faith is often misunderstood. People think of it as naiveté or gullibility, but that could not be further from the truth. You can be fully aware of the challenges of life and choose to believe God is going to direct you in every situation. You position yourself in anticipation for what He and you are going to do next.
True childlike faith is easy to spot. It belongs to those who have complete and utter trust in God. It belongs to those who are not easily swayed by the opinions of others. It belongs to those who know the power of prayer and use it often. It belongs to those who are not afraid to speak the words God gives them, regardless of whether or not people believe them.
Having childlike faith sounds like a great thing, right?
Here are four reasons why having childlike faith isn't a bad thing for Christians:
Questions asked are often questions answered — Children often don't see the consequences of asking questions until they're much older. Their curiosity drives them to keep asking "why" and "how" until they're satisfied with the answers they get. We can learn from them and, in our pursuit of God, keep seeking, asking and knocking.
Childlike faith means we have no fear of coming before God — We come boldly to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16) when we approach God in prayer. We can go to Him with our needs and wants because He is our heavenly Father who loves us and wants us to talk to Him about everything. There is no need to beat around the bush, or sound extra spiritual; with thanksgiving in our hearts we can get to the point with the Lord.
We believe in God’s promises without a doubt — Children naturally tend to trust those who love them and care for them. They have no reason not to believe what their parents tell them, especially when they know their parents always keep their word. We can trust the Lord with the same confidence because His Word is accurate, and He always keeps His promises! This helps us to get out of our own way, let the Lord handle what we can’t fix.
There is no overthinking outcomes — When we grow up, it can be hard to trust God in certain situations because we can easily find ourselves overthinking things. Our imaginations run wild with what COULD happen. Unfortunately, we limit the potential for the good by thinking everything depends on our ability, or what is currently available to us. In reality, unless the Holy Spirit reveals how the Father is going to work things out, we cannot imagine the solution that is already in the works. The Lord always does things from outside our realm of understanding.
When it comes to being childlike, problems don’t belong to the child. It belongs to the parent(s).The problem might concern the child, but it’s not theirs to fix. They go off and play, work on homework and do chores.
That’s what we need to do. What our brains can’t mentally figure out, give it to God; then go and do what life requires of us in other areas of life.
You know God will take care of everything even if it doesn’t make sense!
We can take steps to take to develop this type of childlike faith:
Meditate on God's character — Our childlike faith will never be more robust than our knowledge of God. Therefore, if we want to increase our confidence, we must meditate on who God is and what He has done. We must ask ourselves, "What kind of God do I serve? Is He able to do what He says? Does He keep His promises? Will He answer prayer? Can I depend on Him?”
It is not a blind trust but one that is based on God's character and attributes as revealed in His Word. When we trust God in this way, we are mimicking the faith of Jesus (see Hebrews 12:2).
When we focus our thoughts on the truth about God, our childlike faith will grow as well.
Speak out loud your faith-filled words to God — Matthew 17:20 (MSG) says, “‘Because you’re not yet taking God seriously,’ said Jesus. ‘The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, “Move!” and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle.’”
Believe that God loves you unconditionally — When we feel loved, we trust more. According to 1 John 4:17-18 (MSG), “God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day — our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life — fear of death, fear of judgment — is one not yet fully formed in love.”
Be guided by childlike faith rather than sight or feelings — Second Corinthians 5:7 (MSG) says, "It's what we trust in but don't yet see that keeps us going." It takes practice. Even when you do not have all the pieces in place, practice taking steps of faith. Although we may think we are walking by faith (due to our knowledge of Scripture), we still may lean on our own understanding. The childlike faith of children doesn't lead to paralysis.
Developing childlike faith may not happen overnight, but when we begin to see the types of results we’ve never seen before, we’ll wonder how we ever lived without this kind of faith.
Centerpoint Church is ready to walk with you on your faith journey
At Centerpoint, our community believes in purpose and passion, and we would love to walk with you on your journey in finding yours. You can also find out what our community’s drive and passion are all about by checking out some of the past sermons we’ve posted on our website.
Do you want to grow in your faith, or are you curious about who this Jesus guy is? You’re not alone. We encourage you to listen to our podcast series online and welcome you to come to one of our Sunday morning services in Valrico, Florida.