the faith of a four year old

my sons faith never ceases to amaze me.  he is four and i wish that i could have the amount of strength and conviction that this boy has.  its amazing really.  you see, coming from my background i still struggle with my old ideologies.  i see Gods fingerprints all around me, but i still question it sometimes.  i think that it is natural for all of us to doubt... to not only question our belief... but to also question His strength and power.  i think the important thing though is that we have the will to keep searching for Him... to keep looking for God in everything around us.  i am beginning to realize that when i have these doubts it is the Enemy working on me.  sometimes i really have to fight the devil to push those thoughts out and just throw myself at Gods feet and beg for forgiveness.



i dont see my son (or daughter for that matter) having these struggles.  he just has pure faith.  i know that the questions and doubt can come with age.  i think all of that starts happening when we see the world for how harsh and cruel it can be.  when we realize that all is not perfect, we start to become jaded to just how amazing and beautiful (however flawed) our lives are, and thats when the enemy starts working on us.  the devil comes and whispers in our ear and makes us start to wonder why God would let these things happen to us.  but my son doesnt have the weight of the world on his shoulders just yet, and it is so awesome to watch this boys walk get stronger every day.

just recently i was struggling with something personal.  i asked God for the strength to help me get through this, and when i didnt make it through what i was trying to get through, i felt like i had let God down.  deep down i knew that i had tried to get through it on my own....i hadnt trusted God to give me the strength to help me get through it.... i had doubted him.

i was sitting on the couch the next morning all torn up about it because felt like i had disappointed God... that i had let Him down...  when my little angel came and crawled up in my lap.  he gave me a big hug on his own accord.  (which isnt rare, but it is happening less and less often, which makes me sad)  anyway, he gave me a big hug and kiss and told me that God wanted him to tell me something.  i kind of snapped my head around a little and thought... what?... youre four!  how do you know when God is talking to you?.... but this little four year old had gotten a message from the Holy Spirit... and without questioning... he got in my lap to tell me what God had told him.  i asked him what it was, and my son cupped his hand up to my ear and whispered...

...this is the word of love that the Lord has given us...

my jaw dropped when he said those words because i realized instantly that, through my son, God was telling me that he loved me.... that i was forgiven.  i looked over to tripp with tears in my eyes and he gave me the big knowing smile.  he knew that Gods words had comforted me.  he knew that the Holy Spirits message had been important.  for a couple of minutes i just sat there and was like... holy cow... because of his faith the Lord is already working through him.

i kept thinking about it over the next few days and came to realize that the message my son whispered in my ear that morning wasnt the only thing the Lord wanted to get through to me that day.  in another one of His beautiful brush strokes, God had specifically picked my son to deliver His message... and tripp delivered it without question.  He could have told robert to give me those words that morning... but He hadnt... he had picked tripp to not only tell me that i was forgiven, but to also show me that i should have had more faith in Him...to show me that i need to trust Him without question the way my son did that morning... to show me that i need to have the faith of a four year old... and ever since then i have found myself praying to God in a more childlike way.  without thinking i hear myself saying.... daddy, i cant do this... i need help.... just like how my son or daughter would ask me.  and you know what?  He has been answering my prayers the way a father would answer his childs cries for help.... with love and compassion.

i think the lesson in all of this is that we all need to be more childlike in our faith and in our relationship with Him.   God is our Father and we are His children.  He knows that we need His help, but we not only have to ask for it...to cry out for it...we also have to trust Him when He gives us his solution.  and when the obstacle we are facing seems too hard, or too big, to overcome... like children, we have to let Him carry our burden...or carry us for that matter... just like we would for our own children.