Child Like Faith

In July of 2016 I went to Alaska on a mission trip with my church to assist with a week of VBS. On the plane ride to our layover in Seattle there was a father and his 10 month old child sitting in front of our group. Once we landed and were waiting to get off the plane the father let his son sit in the overhead storage compartment. The small child’s face lit up and you could tell he felt like he was on top of the world. After a few minutes, the father took him down and held him as we waited to exit the plane. The child started reaching his arms back out to grab hold of the compartment door. He squirmed around as if signaling to his father to let go of him and let him hang. The father let him grab on and hold himself up but his hands never fully left his child. Again the boy’s face lit up. A few seconds later the boy let go and fell gently into his father’s arms. Immediately after falling, the boy stretched his small arms out to make another attempt. This attempt ended the same way and the cycle repeated several times. I smiled, but in the back of my mind I feared the boy would fall to the ground. However, the boy had no fear. He did not see falling to the ground as a possibility. Inside that small boy’s brain were two possibilities: he would successfully hang and never fall or he would fall and his father would be there to catch him.

This event made me think of Matthew 18:3, “And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.'” Why can’t our faith in God be as strong as the little boy’s faith in his father? Our fully developed mind causes us to view falling to the ground as an option. This is why when God calls us to a ledge, or out of our comfort zone, we let the fear of falling prevent us from doing what God has called us to do. When God calls you to a ledge and tells you to hold on, there are only two possible outcomes. First, you succeed and do not fall. Second, you do fall but you fall directly in to God’s arms.

When God calls you to do something there is no possibility of you falling all the way to the ground. I believe that sometimes God calls us to ledges that He knows we will fall from because He wants to see if we will put our full faith in Him and grab on. God does not promise that if you have faith in Him that you will never fall. Instead, He promises that if you put your faith in Him, He will catch you when you do fall.

The same God that was with Joshua is with us today. As Moses’ life came to an end, God called Joshua to lead the people. His message to Joshua in Joshua 1:9 is very well known and quoted often. God said to Joshua: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” God is always with us and He is always there to catch us when we fall.

What is God calling you to do in 2021? Do not let the fear of falling keep you from what God has planned for you. We must have faith like a child and know that even if our hands slip, we will fall straight into His arms. So when God calls you to a ledge, grab on. Trust in His power to lead you to success and know that even if you fall He will be there to catch you and lift you back up.