Patience: God's Wisdom for MomsIsampula

Grow Down

How honest and direct children are with their needs! If it feels good, they laugh. If it hurts, they cry. If they want it, they ask for it—or just take it.

In Luke 18:17 Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

These words about children actually preceded Jesus’ conversation with the rich young ruler who couldn’t admit his need for God and Jesus’ interaction with Zacchaeus, who scaled a tree — like a child — to catch a glimpse of Jesus. Jesus set the stage with a truth and then illustrated it both negatively and positively. By contrasting two men’s actions — one who couldn’t admit his needs and one who readily admitted his needs to the point of making himself look like a child — Jesus clearly teaches us how to approach God with our needs.

What do you need? Patience with a potty-training three-year-old? Wisdom with a truth-stretching six-year-old? Compassion with a troubled thirteen-year-old? Jesus reminds us that when we admit our needs with the honesty of a child, he’ll meet them.

Take a moment to pray today:

Dear God, I need _________. Today. Right now. Please provide for this need in a way that I can understand. Like a child, I’m asking, I’m reaching out, I’m standing on tiptoe to watch you work. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.