Faith Like A Child

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matt. 18:2-4

I stood terrified in front of the scariest roller coaster I had ever seen. Had I known that my first trip to Six Flags would include facing one of my wildest fears, I wouldn’t have been so excited to go. I felt I had been duped by promises of big swings and merry-go-rounds. My parents knew of my fear of roller coasters, yet there I stood along with my mother wondering why she would knowingly torture me so.

The mile-long line wait was filled with desperate pleas that fell on deaf ears. I cried. I begged. I made promises that sentenced my five-year-old self to years of service. “Mom,” I pleaded. “If you won’t make me go on this, I’ll help you fold clothes EVERY TIME…EVERY TIME, Mom, and I won’t even fuss.” My bargaining attempts were met with chuckles and reassurance that a ride filled with death-defying drops and hills was going to be fun.

At that point, my faith that my mother had my best interests at heart waned. How could she do this to me? Why did I have to ride this stupid roller coaster? Didn’t she know? Couldn’t she see how petrified I was?

Finally, the dreaded time came; I was up next. As I watched the coaster holding loads of smiling faces draw to a stop in front of me, my heart thudded. There I stood, face to face with the thing I feared most.

“Folks,” the attendant’s voice boomed over the loud speaker. “We apologize for the inconvenience, but we’re closing the Judge Roy Scream down for some unforeseen technical issues.”

My mom looked at me in disbelief. “Jace, did you pray?” she asked, a slight smile in her voice. Giddy with the unexpected turn of events, I answered. “No, I didn’t have to. God saw my problem, and He just took care of it.”

Child-like faith. How many times in my life have I forgotten what God so concretely taught me as a five-year-old? That day at Six Flags, I wasn’t on my knees begging for intervention. I wasn’t in a church or in front of the altar. I hadn’t so much as whispered His name. But He saw me, and He took care of my problem. 

God desires desperately to meet our needs…every need…right where we are. He doesn’t need fancy prayers or spiritual formulas. All He requires is for us to cast our cares (1 Peter 5:7). To involve Him. To exercise a child-like faith. To say, “Here God. Here’s my problem. Please take care of it.” And then watch giddily as He does.