Faith Like a Child

I've heard the term "faith like a child" for as long as I can remember and to be totally honest, I always equated it with an ability to easily believe anything (even things that aren't true). Yesterday I got a new picture of this concept that Jesus spoke about that has really captured my attention.

My youngest daughter Lila is 7 months old. When she wakes up from her nap, she is hungry. Yesterday when I got her up from her nap, I put her in her high chair and noticed something that I'd never paid attention to before. She was looking at me and holding her mouth open. Did you catch that? She was focused on the person who she believed (with faith) would provide what she needed. Not only was she focused on her provider, but she sat there with her mouth open in expectation, ready to receive provision.

She couldn't see the food. She wasn't even looking for it. She seemed to not be concerned at all about the location of the food. She knew with certainty that her mom would feed her, and she waited expectantly. I know this seems repetitive, but this small act on her part showed me in a huge way how I fail so often when it comes to faith. I know what I need, and I start looking for the food (you could replace food with money, relationships, feelings, etc). I become so concerned with where to find the "food" that I don't even think to look at the Provider. Even when I do think to look to the Lord, I still fail in waiting with expectation, or at least to the extent that my sweet 7 month old does. If only I could open myself in expectation, waiting with a certainty that God will fulfill all my needs, focused completely on Him.

That would be faith like a child. Whew. Lila makes it look so easy.