Child-Like Faith: Discovering God in the Impossible

I recently had the pleasure of taking my children out on a four-wheeler (that is, if you find hair-raising fright pleasurable). They sat in the driver's seat, tiny hands on the steering and little thumbs on the throttle, with me on the back holding on for dear life, lunging now and then to correct the steering or the speed. I could've taken them for a ride on the back, but children love doing with you what is impossible without you. There's something about a parent bridging the gap between the possible and the impossible that delights them. It gives them confidence, trust, and encourages them to stretch and try new things. These corollaries are far more important than the activity itself.

God leads us to do things that are impossible without him for much the same reason that we do it for our own children—to grow and encourage us—but there's also something more going on here. A higher purpose. It's not really about teaching your children to ride a motorcycle, a bike, or how to build a Taj-Mahal sand-castle (although all of these things are fun)! Their need is never for new toys or new adventures—it's for doing things with you, spending time with you, and growing their relationship with you. They won't remember everything you did with them as they grow up, but they'll remember the way you made them feel. They're built to be that way towards their parents, and so are you towards your Heavenly Father.

Why doesn't God click his fingers and instantly do those things which he has entrusted to us to do in our lives? Why does he watch us fickle humans fumble around with the steering and the throttle, going too fast, too slow, or steering into danger; getting distracted and off-track, misled, and frustrated by our limitations? Because it's not the thing itself that's important, it's the doing it with Him that counts. God guides you into the impossible so that you will rely on Him, and in doing so be far more capable than you ever would be alone. The enormity of the task is not to discourage you but to lead you to Him and to unlock His strength and power in your life. His greatest gift is to give you Himself. You were created to thrive on His presence.

It doesn't even matter whether you succeed in the thing or not—the point is to grow with God. Each time you do something with God that cannot be done alone, He deposits something invaluable into your heart—a tendency to pursue Him and to rely on His strength and power and guidance. Once you can do it on little things, He will progress you to bigger things, where you need Him even more. If we pursue God, stretch ourselves, do in faith what seems impossible without it, we will grow in faith, hope and love. The three aspects of the faith that the Apostle Paul said were most important. On the other hand, if we are lacking in these, maybe we aren't pursuing God enough, or stepping out enough in faith for Him to reveal Himself in the gaps.

What can we learn from the way children jump on the bike and have a go, trusting us to guide them if they get in trouble, trusting us enough to enjoy the thrill of doing something outside their own ability? Just have a go. Stop overthinking it. What has God called you to do that seems too big for you? It may be a dream He has placed on your heart, or it may be something daunting you need to do like reconciling with someone, or it may be simply managing the stress of an overloaded life. Do it with God. We were not made to do any of it by ourselves. We are made to be in relationship with Him.

We don't serve a small God, we serve a huge God, an unlimited God, an infinite God, who is only limited by the restraints our faith places on Him. He calls us to embrace dreams, to step out in faith, and to delight in Him as He bridges the gap between the possible and the impossible. He calls us to trust him in the small things, so that he can lead us into the big ones.

Maybe you've tried without God and failed. Maybe you've fallen off the bike. Maybe you've stretched too far by yourself. Maybe you've focused more on the task itself and forgotten that the point is to lead us to Him. It's time to get back on that beaten track that is your life, but this time with Him on the back, guiding you, leading you, empowering you, and allowing Him, now and then, to lunge forward and put on the brakes, or to redirect your steering or your speed if you get off track. It's time to trust Him again, to take a risk for God. It's time to embrace child-like faith.

All else aside, just have a go, you might just enjoy it.

#getbackonthebike #trustGod #psalm121:3 #childlikefaith