Are you experiencing a push and pull in your heart, struggling to believe God at His Word?

In my latest book, Ripple Effect, we dive into the different barriers that are keeping us from experiencing that rich and satisfying life that Jesus paid for. Here’s a pull from Chapter 3 Responding As a Child. I pray it helps you connect with an inner wrestle that you may be experiencing in your faith journey! 🤍, J

“The idea of childlikeness and receiving the Kingdom of Heaven is a bigger challenge than we are recognizing. Mostly because we have become so accustomed to understanding these concepts through head knowledge and self-awareness, we have not developed the childlike ability to just receive what God says—who we are to Him, who He is to us, and all that’s available through Him as children of God and carriers of His presence.

When we were little, we simply believed what our parents told us.

A child believes what they are taught.

Our parents also provided all our needs, food, shelter, clothing, protection (although I am aware that some people have come from heartbreaking situations where they weren’t provided for). Typically, we didn’t have to beg or plead; what we needed was readily given to us. As we grew up, we came to a realization that not everything they told us was consistent or believable, and, simultaneously, it became our responsibility to take care of ourselves and provide for our own needs. So, we moved away from trusting everything they said and their provision. As we did this we became more aware of the world around us. The more we became aware of the world around us, the more we subconsciously developed a belief system based on our independent human understanding and decided what our truth would be, implementing the work it requires to become self-sufficient.

Now, after all these years of learning, thinking for ourselves, and providing, let’s go back and be that child who just believes and receives from our Heavenly Father without overthinking, justifying, or rationalizing.

Just hear like a child, believe, and form our world perspective around His.

Simple, right?

Not so much.

When we were young, we simply believed that our family life was the way it was supposed to be. As we got older, we learned there are many other beliefs in this world, and discovered that some of the ways we were raised had a negative effect on us. So we began to search for “truth.” Through our searching, we begin to break away from a childlike response to life, relying on our own understanding and newfound knowledge. This development is called maturing and becoming independent from our parents. This independent wiring is inside of each one of us, and while we are called to mature spiritually, the method to maturity through independence is through our human understanding and not our spirit coming into full maturity. Unless we understand the difference, these concepts will mess with our walks with God, blocking us from experiencing all that is ours through Jesus.

‘Learn this well: Unless you dramatically change your way of thinking and become teachable like a little child, you will never be able to enter in.’ —Matthew 18:3 (TPT)

There it is!

We have to dramatically change our thinking and become teachable.

We have to become like that pure, innocent child that just believes what God says without hesitation or our interjected arguments (verbal or non-verbal—ahem our thought-life) that conflicts with God’s heart.

We have to undo the thought patterns that have formed through life’s painful and hard experiences and learn about the Kingdom of Heaven, and it won’t be through our human reasoning.

Humanistic thought patterns will not allow us to become teachable.

Basically, we need to get our big smart brains out of the way so we can truly receive all that Jesus paid for.” —Ripple Effect