Day 3: Childlikeness
At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
Luke 10:21
The phrase “full of joy” in this passage is the Greek word ?γαλλι?ω. Which comes from the root words for “much” and “leap, spring up, gushing water”. The literal translation of this word means “To exceedingly rejoice and leap for joy”.
In this passage, to set the scene, the seventy two had just returned from Jesus sending them out and giving them authority to heal the sick, cast out demons, and bring the Kingdom. (None of the seventy two were saved nor had the Holy Spirit living inside them by the way, just a side note to mess with your head.)
Then the seventy two came back with joy and told Jesus about all the things that happened! “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your Name.”
Then Jesus exceedingly rejoices (?γαλλι?ω), He exclaims while leaping for joy “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.”
Jesus lept around full of joy like a child and praised the Father for revealing
Himself to those who positioned themselves not as wise and learned, but as children.
So today, on day #3, I felt led to write about how God used the Race to cultivate Childlikeness in my life.
The first way the Lord challenged me in Childlikeness was in Childlike Faith.
I remember in my first month seeing miracles and God moving in ways that I was not used to. In each circumstance, I found that I could reason my way out of believing that God actually did something. The mind is a very powerful thing.
At this time the Holy Spirit brought me to a passage in Matthew 28:16-17
“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.”
“But some doubted?!?” Some of the eleven disciples doubted?! This was after they had seen Jesus do everything! They’ve walked with Him for three years, seen Him after He was raised from the dead, Thomas placed his hand in His side, and they’ve even received salvation(John 20)! But they still doubted?!
I realized that if people who walked and talked with Jesus still doubted, that there’s always room for doubt, no matter what we experience.
It was at that point that I knew I had a decision to make. I could keep living the way that I always had. Just a little skeptical and questioning, or I could accept an invitation to Trust like I never had before.
I decided to Trust. And I haven’t ever looked back. I wrote *this blog* as a letter to doubt, telling it that it no longer had authority over my thoughts or my life.
Something happens when we just choose to Trust Jesus completely. There’s no longer that little voice trying to steal away glory from God by saying “that didn’t actually happen” or “that was just a coincidence”. There’s only praise in my heart for how Good He is.
When I was finally rid of that doubt, I found a new Joy. When God would do something, my initial response wasn’t to question anymore, it was to praise! Not only was I able to fully rejoice (?γαλλι?ω), but I began to see more and more of Him in everything. And as I saw more and more of Him in everything, my faith grew, and then in turn, He showed up in greater ways.
The very next month, right after I broke my agreement with doubt, we arrived in India. During that month we saw literally hundreds of healings and countless bondages broken off of people’s lives. At one point, we were in a village and had such a constant stream of people coming in for prayer that our host hid us upstairs so his family could have a few hours of peace and rest.
There are many other places in my life that the Father has challenged me to be more childlike. Being able to receive from Him like a child, walking in innocence like a child, having the boldness of a child, and even having the joy of a child. I wrestle with some more than others. I found myself this morning dancing down the hallway and rejoicing because I had my first solid bowel movement over the past few weeks. Maybe that one was a little too much information, but it was a sweet victory none-the-less. I also find myself at times wanting independence from God and resisting childlikeness.
The truth is, I’m still finding new places where I get to be childlike before the Lord. And every time I choose to be like a child, He shows up. He’s not looking for wise, well learned, put together people. He’s looking for fishermen, tax collectors, and ordinary people who are willing to risk it all with a Childlike Faith that doesn’t make sense to the world.
How can you be childlike before the Lord today?
Tomorrow’s topic will be…
Day 4: Communion!
