What is Child Like Trust?
WHAT IS CHILD-LIKE TRUST?
“Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all. Taking a child, he placed it in their midst and putting his arms around it he said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me and whoever receives me receives not me but the one who sent me.”
Every time I read a book about a saint, I saw the words child-like trust. I often contemplated on exactly what child-like trust means. Every private revelation from messages of Fatima and others begin with “My Children”, whether it is the Blessed Mother saying it or Jesus. To God, we are His children. He is the creator. Can you just imagine how God looks down on us from Heaven? He is a loving Father just reaching down to all of His children, even those that don’t have their arms up reaching for Him. Those that are with Him always are easy to pick up but the ones that cross their arms and walk away, refusing His help are the ones that He goes after, just like the lost sheep. He keeps pursuing them and showing His love, only to continue to be rejected over and over. These children reach out to other people or worldly things for comfort and ignore the Creator. Yet, in God’s love, He still allows those that turn from Him to feel the warmth of the sun, to drive their cars to work unharmed, to continue down their path of rejection in the hopes that any minute, this prodigal son or daughter will accept the love that He has for him or her. He is waiting for them patiently, like a loving father whose daughter asks him to read a bedtime story over and over again. When these children of God try every which way to do the hard tasks required of them without His assistance, vices of anger, sloth, idleness, pride and many others occur. Soon, they start to curse the Creator for not fulfilling their every desire. Like a spoiled child who expects their father to give them another bowl of ice cream after they have had two others, they don’t know what is good for them. The father knows that the child will get sick having another bowl of ice cream so he says no. The child cries and complains but the father stands his ground because he knows what’s best for the child.
Expecting God to answer our prayers just as we wish not only hinders God’s will for us but does not allow us to learn trust. Since we are little children, we don’t know what the day brings to us, but God does. Telling Him, with child-like trust, “Your will be done” gives God the freedom to work in our lives. Yes, sometimes we do have to feel pain and make changes, but that is how we grow. Nobody on this Earth has ever felt more pain than Jesus and He did so willingly for love of us. The least we can do is pick up our small crosses and follow Him.
“Then he said, “In truth I tell you unless you change and become like little children you will not enter the Kingdom of God.” Matthew 18:3
Child-like trust is very simple. The best example I can give is with my grandson, Joshua. I was on the bottom of a three-step landing and Joshua, being two years old, saw me with my arms opened to catch him. Without any hesitation, he just let go and fell forward in complete trust from the top of the steps knowing that I was going to catch him.
We have to have this same trust in God. We need to let go of whatever it is we are holding on tightly to and just trust God’s love and hold on to Him, just like Joshua knew that I love him and would hold on to him tightly.
In these times of uncertainty where there is unrest and evil all around us, raise your little arms up to God and say, “I love you, please help me.” He will scoop you up and give you more love than you could ever imagine. Trust in Him who can do all things. Look at the clouds, ever changing from minute to minute. Every day, God paints a new landscape of love for us. All we have to do is look up!!
The ultimate goal of child-like trust is to give everything to God. Whatever the day brings, it’s God’s plan and to trust in Him. Little children don’t get up in the morning and plan their day. They just live it as orchestrated by their parents. They are quite content and happy because they are spending time with their parents.
It is so freeing not to plan your day out and be disappointed when your plans fall apart. Now, I am not saying do nothing, waiting on God. I am saying have plans for your day but just accept what comes. Start your day giving it all to Him and He knows the tasks that need to be completed. He also knows that a friend might need special attention today or the grocery clerk needs a smile to brighten her day or the neighbor needs help with a flat tire. The key is to accept all the unplanned events from God with joy. Sometimes its not as joyful as you would want but to praise God even amongst the storm, that He allowed in the first place, is true trust in Him.
This action of trust fulfills God’s will for each of us because we no longer think of ourselves as separate from God but we rely upon Him for every move that we make. Just like children that mimic their parents, we will become Christ-like. Our souls will be connected to Our Creator. As a result, God will show His love and His plan for you. He will use you in ways that you would have never imagined.
Jesus however, called the children to himself and said, “Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it. Luke 18:16-17.
