My little buddy Jackson and I have a special bond. He just turned 3 and we both often act the same age. He’s a blessing to the world and I am so honored to be in his life.
The other day we decided to go for a walk while his parents finished eating. He’s 3, so sitting for long periods of time isn’t something he’s great at. Me neither.
We were jumping off some “car stoppers” as I like to call them, because my little buddy is one brave guy. He would climb on the top, stretch his legs out and prepare to jump. When he would step up he didn’t need to hold my hand. He was strong enough to do it himself. I would stand on the stopper next to him and wait for his next move.
Something would happen, though, each time he was ready to jump. He would reach for my hand before he jumped. He wasn’t quite ready to make that leap by himself. He needed my help to stabilize him and make sure he kept his balance. As we did this over and over again, it reminded me of what relationship with God is like.
Living with Child-Like Faith
Jesus tells us to live our lives with child-like faith. I’m still finding the balance of adulting and living that Scripture out literally. Excuse me while I go get my wrinkled Donald Duck t-shirt out of the clothes basket that’s been sitting there for weeks. But for real, Jesus tells us to live with the kind of faith children have. And that faith looks like Jackson jumping on the car stopper.
As Jackson stepped up on the bright yellow car stopper he had no fear. He didn’t need my help. He had two arms and two legs that gave him the balance he needed. He wanted me by his side to enjoy the adventure with him, but he had everything he needed to step up.
But when it came time to do something he wasn’t quite sure about yet, he reached for my hand. He didn’t have to ask me for help. He didn’t have to ask me if I would help him jump or hold his hand while he crossed through the air. He just reached out and grabbed my hand. He trusted me enough to know I would hold his hand and not let anything happen to him as he jumped. He knew I was safe because for the last 3 years of his life, I’ve held my hand out to him over and over again.
That’s the way it should be with our relationship with God.
God gives us the ability to do things without a second thought. As we grow and mature in our faith, we’re able to take steps we couldn’t take in the beginning of our faith journeys. That doesn’t mean we’re doing it without God. He’s still there. It just means He’s given us the ability to do things we couldn’t do when we first began our relationship with Him.
But as we grow in our relationship with Christ, He holds his hands out to us over and over again. He offers to help us jump when the “car stoppers” in our own lives are just too big to handle ourselves. And one day we may not need His hand for the same place we jumped a year ago because He’s strengthened us to jump with our own two feet. But there will ALWAYS be another car stopper around the corner that we CANNOT handle on our own, and it’s in that moment we’ll need to reach for His hand again.
There’s nothing more powerful than seeing God’s promises in Scripture fulfilled. And because God never retracts on His promises, we can hold onto the truth that what He says He will do, He will do. In Isaiah 41:10 He says, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”
Yes! In the Sundi Jo version, He says, “Don’t be afraid when you reach a car stopper that you can’t get over on your own. Don’t be discouraged, I’m God. I will give you the strength you need to jump over that hurdle. I’ll hold you while you jump. Grab my hand and we’ll do this together!
Don’t. Be. Afraid. That’s what He said, right? Jackson knew I would hold him up with my hand because I’d shown him over and over again he could trust me; that I wouldn’t let him fall. He didn’t have a second thought about reaching out to me for help.
Have you allowed God to show up for you and prove that you can trust Him or are you too afraid to break those walls down around your heart and allow Him to hold you and strengthen you?
If you answered yes to the second part of that question, I want to give you some encouragement, my friend. Do it afraid. Reach out to Him afraid. He will be there, because He promises He will and God is the ONLY one capable of not failing on a promise.
Whatever your “car stopper” is.. mounting bills, broken friendship, relationships you know you don’t belong in, a job that’s wearing you out, kids that keep you up worried all night long, an addiction you can’t seem to break. Whatever it is, reach your hand out for Jesus and ask Him to help you get over the hump. He will. He will show up. Step out in faith and He will meet you right where you are.
[ctt template=”3″ link=”Taoc2″ via=”yes” ]God is the ONLY one capable of not failing on a promise.[/ctt]
The next time I see Jackson, he probably won’t need to hold my hand when he stands on the “car stopper” because he refuses to stop growing. But I bet we’ll find another adventure along the way where without another thought, he’ll reach his hand out for me because he knows I am there.
Whatever your next adventure, God is waiting to walk with you through it, too. His hand is waiting for you to reach out. Go for it, my friend.