“Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Mark 10:15 (NIV)
Jesus made it very clear that He loved little children, and He told us if we want to get to heaven, we need to become like one of them. A child believes without seeing, and trusts their parents, with total reliance. There is a childlike place of faith, trust and humility, that Jesus invites everyone to.
Trusting Him without seeing Him, can be difficult under pressure. As much as we all believe and desire this, problems can drag us down, until we forget that Jesus is with us in the fire, extending His hand to us. It requires true childlike reliance and trust to believe something we cannot see. We need to recenter ourselves, by finding the child within us.
I have been trying to believe God has a purpose in over one month delay of Jon’s CT scan of his brain to finally be authorized and scheduled. Despite the miscommunications, his surgeon and NH doctor both ordered the test over a month ago, but Medicaid has still not approved it. I persuaded the NH to schedule the CT and I would pay for it out of pocket, since Jon is now receiving disability payments. His CT is finally scheduled for 7/29.
When you feel like you’re in a black hole of government agencies and insurance company restrictions, all you can do is trust God that His will is going to be done in the end. God probably has a reason for the delay, since His plans are greater than the roadblocks of government agencies, and His timing is always perfect.
There are going to be times in our life when all we can do is reach our hand up toward Jesus and trust that He is still holding on to it. God, our Father, is walking with us through all the fiery trials of our life, whether it is bureaucratic agencies or any other kind of fires that makes us feel as helpless as a child.
It reminds me of the dream I had at the age of five, which I’ve written about before, so sorry if this is boring anyone. The vivid memory of this dream has stayed with me since my childhood, and I believe it carries a message from God for any believer.
It helps to find the child within, during the most challenging and stressful trials in life.
I dreamed my elementary school was on fire and people were panicking and running in all directions. I was walking through the school halls in all the chaos, unsure of which direction to go, when someone took hold of my right hand and walked beside me. I was being led peacefully through the school halls, around corners and finally out the exit door. When I looked up, Jesus was standing next to me. He was still holding my right hand, but didn’t say a word. That’s all I remember, but it was a divine image that left me with a lesson that is lasting a lifetime.
Life resembles a burning school at times, with chaos everywhere we look, and we walk through the fires, not knowing what’s around the next corner. If we trust Jesus with childlike faith, He will hold our hand and guide us safely to all the fire exits.
I learned that this “school of life” is not meant to make us scholars, but saints. If we keep reaching toward Jesus in faith, letting Him hold our hand, He will walk beside us through every fiery trial. He never promised to put out all the fires in our lives, but He knows where all the fire exits are, and He will lead us out in peace. We just need to keep our hand in His.
Lord, help us to find the child within so we will trust you in fiery situations. As we keep our hand in yours, lead us in perfect peace. We also pray for the families and all the lives affected in the Texas floods this week. Amen
