Baby Steps of Trust

From the time we come wailing into the world, our brains are ready and eager to learn new things. Stop and think about it for a moment - we are constantly learning, anything and everything, from how to cook a new dish to how to manage a new health concern.

God created us with a thirst for knowledge. He also designed the learning process so that we build our knowledge brick by brick, laying a foundation, then building on top of it. We do that by collecting information, creating theories and testing them, then cataloging the results. Even our failures teach us important lessons about how life works.

Picture a child playing with blocks. A baby will hold them, taste them and bang them
together to understand what they are. As he grows, he applies what he learned about their size and shape stacking one on top of another. First, he stacks two, then three precariously upwards. When they fall, he stacks them again and again, eventually learning to put them on more straight so they don't topple. Eventually he learns to build them pyramid style so they  create a wall. And so on.

Learning to trust God employs that same process of gathering knowledge and applying it. After years of slavery, the Israelites were much like infants, needing to learn trust from ground zero.

God helped them to "discover" him with their senses -

•  To see his power through the plagues and watching the Lord form walls of water on either side of a path at the Red Sea;
• To hear the water come crashing down on their enemies
• To feel the dry land beneath their feet as they crossed the sea, to feel the cooling effects of the cloud by day and the warmth of the fire by night,
• To taste his power as they drank the once-bitter waters at Marah and the fresh water at Elim.

Now they come to the wilderness where they need food. The lesson becomes  a little more complex this time because they have to trust God to provide something to eat and  there is nothing available.
There's no possible way to gather enough for all of them to eat. With all they've seen, felt, heard and tasted so far, can they build on that knowledge and trust God to provide for their needs?

Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’”

While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud.

 The Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”

That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Exodus 16:9-13 NIV.

Notice how the Lord built their trust?  He showed them his glory so they would recognize that he was the one providing for them. Then He sent something they knew. Flocks of quail inundated the camp that evening. The people wanted meat for their pots and they already had recipes for preparing it. God just made it easy for them to  get ahold of as much as they needed.

But the next morning he sent the unknown manna - the new heavenly bread which would give them strength to travel all day if necessary.  God was building their trust in baby steps.

Think back over your relationship with the Lord. Are there any experiences that stand out to you where God led you in baby steps to teach you something or to build your faith or trust?

If you'd like to share, I'd love to hear about your experiences! Feel free to leave a comment below.

Blessings!
Bonnie

Knowing Christmas

"Let my whole being bless the LORD! Let everything inside me bless his holy name! Let my whole being bless the LORD and never forget all his good deeds:” Psalm 103:1-2 CEB

Did you ever watch a baby receive their first gift? They're not quite sure what to do with it, but they like the bright paper. They'll feel the present, maybe even try to chew it. After someone shows them how, they start tearing the paper off because they like the sound of the paper ripping. Then they play with the box for a few minutes until someone helps them open it to see what's inside. After a few minutes of excitement over the contents of the box, they put down the toy and go back to playing with the box with an equal amount of excitement. They enjoy it with their whole being!
 

So what would it look like if we celebrated Jesus - God's gift to us - with our whole being, with all five senses like a child?

Hearing - The Shepherds heard the angels' message of a Savior that was born and they were afraid at first, then filled with awe as they listened. The words filled their hearts so full of hope and praise, they simply had to worship right where they were on the hillside.

Pretend you are hearing the angels' message for the first time. What emotions would you feel?

Seeing - They saw the angels and fell on their faces. But then I imagine they looked up in wonder as the message continued. Then they decided to act on the message of the angels and go see the baby who was born in a manger. Leaving their sheep on the hillside in God's care, they went to Bethlehem to see what had come to pass. When they saw Jesus, they wept and worshipped again.

I don't know about you, but all I have to do is look at the face of a new grand baby and my heart swells with love for that child. It's not so difficult to imagine how the shepherds felt.

Tasting - Each season has it's flavors. Christmas brings to mind peppermint, chocolate, cookies, ham dinners - with all the flavors enhanced by the love of family and friends as they gather together. When rejoicing with our loved ones, it's not hard to remember to bless the Lord - to taste him and know he is good.

Touching - Nothing thrills my heart as much as the words in Mark Lowry's song, "Mary Did You Know," where he reminds her that "when your kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God." As a mom and now a Grandmom, I've known the thrill of holding a wonderful, touchable, huggable, kissable infant. But to imagine what Mary must have experienced as she held God in human form? Incomprehensible! Yet the thought of him becoming touchable thrills my heart.

Smelling - The scent of pine boughs, hay in the manger, the crispness and cleanness in the air after a newly fallen snow, Christmas cookies... So many seasonal smells conjure up images of the Christmas season.

Lord, help us to celebrate you with the excitement of a little child, with every fiber of our being as we see, hear, taste, touch and smell Christmas - the time of your coming in human form to redeem us! Amen.