Musings on Faith #45
The Faith of a Child

I have a friend out in Idaho whose niece, Jen, wrote the following true story about her daughter.  The story bears a very valuable lesson, and I share it with you, dear readers, just as I received it.  You'll find this story (January 13, 2009) and other words of inspiration at Jen's web site:
http://2hisglory.wordpress.com/

"Our twelve year old daughter had a major breakthrough this weekend. It was so exciting for her! She was circling around singing 'I have no thoughts, I have no thoughts!'. OK, to the average person she might have sounded crazy. My husband looked at me as if to say 'Honey, is she OK?'.

To give you some background, our daughter has been struggling with worry and trust for as long as I can remember. She is afraid of the dark, of her ears being touched, of new foods, and of heights. And she is desperately afraid of the orthodontist, even though he is amazing. He is gentle, kind, and has never hurt her in any way. In fact, she has never felt anything he has done with her braces. Yet days, and sometimes weeks before an appointment with him she starts worrying. This is not ordinary worry either. It is completely distraught, physically sick, crying, losing sleep worry. Every time the appointment comes around, we pray and seek God’s strength. She knows to trust God, but has allowed the enemy to keep her in fear.
So, back to the breakthrough: Her next orthodontist appointment is approaching, and on this evening, as all evenings, she is taking a shower, which is where she normally 'thinks'. But this night she comes running down the stairs with an indescribable glow, singing her little song! When we ask what she is so excited about, she just says ‘I rebuked Satan today! He started making me feel scared about my dental appointment. And I just said ‘Satan, if God is for me who can be against me? I am a child of God and you cannot tempt me anymore!',and she finished with ‘I told him off, Mom!'.

She has not once thought about her appointment since that night. I cannot wait to see what God does with her new trust in Him. I cannot help but think of the verse "Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said 'Assuredly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like little children, you will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:2-3)." Her excitement, her smile - she didn’t care what anyone thought. She was just innocently trusting God. In a way, I envied her.            

Just wanted to share - Jen."

Is this not a beautiful, and valuable, lesson?

Yours in Christ, Tom Woodard
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