Devotion #5: A Bug’s Life
My youngest son was, and still is, intrigued by the things that most people overlook. I am always amazed at the things that grab his attention. One afternoon, when he was a toddler, I watched him playing on the rug. Wondering what he was doing, I looked closer and found a tiny, tiny, tiny black bug crawling on the edge of the rug. He watched the bug for the longest time, and I watched him watch the bug. He would put the bug on his finger, then watch it go on the carpet again. Then he would watch it crawl around on his finger and back to the carpet, over and over again. All of a sudden, he squished the bug with his finger! I was mortified for the moment and was not sure what his reaction would be. He looked at his finger, confused, then brought it to me very confidently and said, “Fix it.” At that moment, I realized I was looking at childlike faith. Children instinctively trust their parents to meet their every need, but bringing a bug back to life is not something I am equipped to do.
Adult-like faith is a bit different. We tend to look at the possibilities of failure instead of the perfect God. Our eyes are often fixed on the impossible and not the One who gives us hope. Romans 4:18 (NIV) says, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed.” Paul continues in the next verse, “He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead.” When we talk about examples of faith in the Bible, Abraham stands out. Can you imagine being promised that you would be the father of all nations, with nothing physically to support the promise but your faith? Can you imagine hearing from God (the One whom you put your faith in), directing you to take your son up the mountain, build an altar, and sacrifice him? I can honestly say that everything in my flesh would be rebuking the thought and denying that what I heard was from God. Yet, Abraham did not waiver.
The only way for sinners (like you and me) to be righteous before God is through faith in Christ Jesus. When we believe the Word of God, which tells us that Christ fulfilled all righteousness for us and then was sacrificed for us to make full atonement for all our sins, God credits it to us for righteousness. We can go directly to God with all of our brokenness and confidently ask Him, “Fix it.” We can approach Him with childlike faith because He is continually working in us. Hebrews 12:2 (MEV) reminds us, “Look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” That is our encouragement to keep seeking Him. God is not finished with us yet!