There’s a sound – have you heard it? A sound that stirs something childlike in your soul. It’s not the sound of pressure or performance, not the clang of condemnation or the screech of self-reliance. No, it’s a melody of grace. Like the distant jingle of an ice cream truck beckoning children to the street corner, it’s the rhythm of a heavenly kingdom calling us back to wonder, hunger, and delight.
Jesus said in Mark 10:15, “Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” In a world that glorifies growing up, He romanticizes childlikeness. And not just as a way in, but as a way on. The call isn’t just to begin with faith like a child – it’s to continue with that same posture of trust, joy, and surrender. This is the rhythm of the surrendered life.
The Posture of a Child
Remember the days when you didn’t overthink everything? When joy wasn’t something to achieve, but receive? When trust came easily because there was someone bigger holding your hand? That’s the posture of childlike faith – not ignorant, but innocent; not weak, but wonder-filled.
Over time, life has muddied our wonder. Pain has unhooked our joy. Disappointment has made cynics of the hungry. Many now sit quietly behind fences they were once quick to run through. But hear this: the sound of heaven has not stopped It still rides through quiet streets and aching hearts. It still sings, “Come to Me, all you who are weary.”
Childlike faith doesn’t mean shallow thinking – it means deep, visceral trust. It chooses faith in over the frantic urge to figure out. It surrenders control for intimacy. It stops climbing ladders of religious effort and simply says: “I believe You are who You say You are, and I trust that You’ve done what You said You’ve done.”
The Wonder of What’s Already Done
We often live like heaven is waiting on us to perform before it delivers. But the stunning good news of the gospel is that “It is finished” (John 19:30) wasn’t a future promise – it was a past accomplishment. Jesus has already made the way. The victory is not in the next breakthrough – it’s in the empty tomb behind us.
Friends, the only contribution we make to our salvation is our sin. And yet, from that sin, God welcomes us – not begrudgingly, but with delight. Wonder lives not in our earning, but in our recognizing. That’s why Paul called our best efforts “filthy rags” (Philippians 3:8–9): not to shame us, but to set us free.
A surrendered life rests in what has been done, not what still needs to be done. You don’t need to control the outcome when the One in control loves you with an everlasting love. Your Father doesn’t delight in demanding more from you – but in showing more of Himself to you.
Led, Not Driven
In a world obsessed with “next,” the surrendered life chooses to be led rather than driven. Opportunities are important, but obedience is better. Driven people chase shadows, led people follow light. And the Holy Spirit wants to lead you – not just on Sundays, but every place your feet walk this week.
God doesn’t just want you better – He wants you free. Free to say “Amen” in the middle of your mess. Free to leap like a child bursting through a gate for soft serve. Free to trust the Father no matter the season. Free to run toward Him, not from Him.
The Father’s Delight
At the end of Proverbs 3, after all the wisdom and warnings, there’s this beautiful reminder: “A father’s delight is behind all of this.” (Proverbs 3:12) Your Father is not managing you for better behavior. He’s delighting in you as beloved family. In your surrender, He doesn’t see weakness – He sees invitation. And through the eyes of a child, the house of wonder is always open.
If you find yourself disconnected, disenchanted, or just plain tired – maybe it’s not more effort you need. Maybe it’s time to breathe deep, lay down the tongs of control, and walk barefoot again on holy ground. The ground where surrender becomes strength. The place where trust gives birth to joy. The space where the child within you says, “Abba, let’s go.”
Wonder is not lost. It’s just waiting for you to see differently.
Let the church say Amen.
Scriptures:
- Mark 10:13–16 (The Message)
- Proverbs 3:1–12 (The Message)
- Matthew 18:3 (NIV)
- 1 John 4:18 (NIV)
- John 19:30 (NIV)
- Ephesians 2:8–9 (NIV)
- Philippians 3:8–9 (NIV)
- Matthew 6:33 (NIV)
- Romans 5:8 (NIV)
Discussion Questions:
- What does childlike faith mean to you personally? How has life either nurtured or challenged this posture?
- What areas of your life are you currently trying to “figure out” rather than surrender in faith?
- The message says, “Faith in or figure out.” Which one are you living out most of the time, and why?
- Are you more driven by opportunity or led by obedience? Can you recall a time God’s voice led you over a seemingly better option?
- What “sound from heaven” are you hearing in this season? How are you responding?
- The message spoke about, “Breakthrough not being in the future; but in the past.” What does that statement mean to you in light of the Gospel?
- How do you personally navigate the tension between control and trust in your walk with God?
- Have you ever experienced the Father’s delight in a tangible way? What impact did that make on your trust?
- What area of your life needs a dose of remembered wonder?
- If wonder lives where we least expect it, where could it be hiding in your current situation?
Activation:
- Faith: To live surrendered is to stop striving and start trusting. True faith begins not when we feel strong, but when we admit dependence. Like a child who doesn’t worry about the cost of the ice cream, we trust that the Father’s already paid.
- This Week: : Each day, begin by saying aloud: “Father, I trust You today. I surrender control of what I cannot carry – and I receive Your joy afresh.” Journal one area daily where you notice yourself “figuring out,” and replace it with a prayer of surrender.
- This Week: : Each day, begin by saying aloud: “Father, I trust You today. I surrender control of what I cannot carry – and I receive Your joy afresh.” Journal one area daily where you notice yourself “figuring out,” and replace it with a prayer of surrender.
- Family: Childlikeness in the kingdom invites multi-generational grace. In families, we’re called to model faith that runs toward the Father, not from Him. Children imitate adults. Adults must imitate Christ.
- This Week: Share a story at the dinner table or group time about a moment you saw God’s delight in your life. Invite others – especially younger voices – to do the same. Laugh together. Pray together. Run to the Father together.
- This Week: Share a story at the dinner table or group time about a moment you saw God’s delight in your life. Invite others – especially younger voices – to do the same. Laugh together. Pray together. Run to the Father together.
- Future: The surrendered life births bold beginnings. When we lean into wonder over worry, God turns ordinary decisions into eternal destinies. Just like Mondiswe running onto a field he never earned, we walk into callings prepared by grace.
- This Week: Write down one dream you’ve long shelved, saying, “Maybe I missed it.” Ask God again. Then take one small, obedient step – like a child holding the hand of their Captain – toward that dream. Trust the One who already ran ahead.
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