CHILDLIKE FAITH

In John 2:1-11, Jesus’s mother informs him that the wine has run out during a wedding celebration at Cana. She then tells the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them to do.  Mary’s words and actions evidenced childlike faith that Jesus would address the need which she brought to him.  Pastor Lawrence pointed out the purposes of this miracle, the first of Jesus’s recorded miracles, in his sermon last Sunday.

Our perspective of what God can do is driven from finite, mortal thinking while our God is infinite and in control of everything.  The seemingly impossible to us is a small thing for God.  Our perspective of life’s challenges and how we turn them over to the Lord (or not) is largely a derivative of our faith.  God has told us that He will never leave us, so we can say with courage that He is our Shepherd and we will not fear.  But when challenges arrive, we sometimes forget to reflect on what He has told us or how He has answered before, allowing apprehension and trepidation to crowd out our faith, to default to reliance upon our own feeble abilities.  Then the difficulties become like giants, creating anxiety that God never intended for His children.

Two tenets to live by: Be filled with the Spirit and have a childlike faith.  The Holy Spirit of the triune God lives within every Christ-follower.  Rely on that Spirit to push out the uneasiness and fear.  Nothing is outside of God’s ability, so when challenges arrive have faith that He can deliver and that His purposes will be served.  An old saying is “girt about with truth”, which means confidently allowing faith in the Lord to lead your life. This is a childlike faith, a purposeful Christ-follower attitude emphasized by our Lord.  No attitude can express such solemn awe and familiarity as that of a child (see Matthew 18:3).  We should follow the example provided by the mother of Jesus and have a childlike faith after going to him with our needs.

Expect miracles!