Tapping into your inner child strengthens your relationship with the Lord
By Empowering Everyday Women // Empowerment // Biblical Wisdom
Credit: Getty/Peathegee Inc/EEW Magazine
Children fantasize about becoming adults, while adults try to figure out how to become more like children—at least Jesus-following adults do.
Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3 NIV).
If you are on a quest to tap into your inner child, you are on the right path, as this will strengthen your relationship with the Lord. To help you along the way, start by asking yourself one simple question: what are the general characteristics of a child?
Here are 5 important ones:
#1 Children are trusting. When a promise is made to them, they believe it will be kept.
#2 Children are not judgmental. They don’t shun people for mistakes and will give anyone a chance.
#3 Children are forgiving. They don’t hold grudges for much longer than two minutes; they forgive repeatedly and easily.
#4 Children are teachable. They are naturally curious and without shame, they seek wisdom from older, wiser adults.
#5 Children wholeheartedly depend on their parents. With outstretched hands, young ones run to their parents and guardians for food, protection, and help in times of need.
Listed above are just some of the admirable qualities of children that provide a foundation for a secure relationship with our Heavenly Father. Interestingly, these characteristics were prominent in all of us at some point. However, as we grew up and became jaded by real-world—sometimes hurtful—experiences, the further we drifted from our former innocence.
We let the world shape our beliefs and then mistakenly applied our new, calloused opinions to both people and God. For instance, we learned not to trust God because people have proven not to be dependable. We learned to hide our mistakes because we have been shamed by others for missteps and shortcomings. We learned not to lean on Jesus because someone told us that being independent and self-made is better.
We build mental and emotional guardrails to protect ourselves, but ironically, what protects us hinders us from tapping into our inner child and cuts us off from the benefits of doing so.
It is okay to acknowledge the difficulty of childlikeness—which is essentially vulnerability— so long as you continue trying. Jesus teaches us to be “shrewd as snakes” while remaining “as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). It’s a balancing act.
Given the difficult nature of the task, one of the most defining and important childlike qualities to emulate is humility. Notice that children are not too high and mighty to admit failure, cry out for help, seek support, ask for what they need, and accept discipline and correction. This is how we must become if we hope to have a consistent relationship with God that is built on trust.
Consider how hard it is to stand firm on God’s promises without childlike faith that totally believes and waits expectantly for manifestation. Ponder how the Holy Spirit teach, guide, and correct us without childlike humility and openness to learning? Think about the near impossibility of consistently going before God’s throne of grace boldly and without shame?
Childlikeness makes it easier for us to obtain emotional, spiritual, and physical support, and be the kind of kingdom representatives God is calling for today.
Never again will we be children in the flesh; always and forever we will spiritually God’s children. So, let’s start acting like it.
Prayer: God, help me connect to my inner child, to approach you with complete humility, faith, and openness, and to live in such a way that pleases you. Amen.
