Thinking Like A Child

Do you remember what it's like to think like a child? I don't mean when I was a child I liked sugary cereal and teddy bears, couldn't read, and was afraid of the dark. No, I mean, do you remember what it was like to see the world...have an entire world concept... as you did when you were a child?

I suppose that's impossible--and not altogether desirable. After all, maturity has its perks. Especially for those of us who walk in the Kingdom of Yahweh. Every day we become closer to Him as He changes our mindsets and allows us to see the world as it really is: His way.

But how much of His way of seeing the world is like that of a child? Obviously He doesn't want us eating sugary cereal and being afraid of the dark, but perhaps the simplicity of a child's view of the world is better than the complex way adults view reality. Especially those of us who were taught in school that "there is no one right reality or way to see the world." (I can't tell you how arrogant this concept is and how much I utterly detest it.)

But back to the original question. I can remember specific instances in my life when my child's mindset was irrevocably altered. When I made some startling discovery that all adults had known for years, but to me, was this life-changing epiphany. One such event was when I was in the sixth grade in social studies class. We were making timelines and I read about the atomic bomb and it's first use in World War II. The textbook said, "...the world would never be truly safe again." I remember being shocked and horrified to learn that there was a device out there that could destroy everything in seconds. I'd heard of nuclear bombs before. I'd even watched "Atomic Cafe" in elementary school, I think. But before I read that line in the textbook, the sheer scope of what nuclear bombs were capable of had never occurred to me. The idea that there was a weapon out there that could make the whole ENTIRE world "unsafe" scared me to no end. Because until then, I hadn't thought the world was anything but safe.

But I grew up, assimilated that information, and learned to live with the knowledge that at any moment some random government person I don't know could press a button and end the world. But what else was I to do? It's not like I could change the existence of nuclear bombs. *Bam!* There goes one wall in my previous framework of existence. My whole view of the world changed.

Another time, I realized that at any given moment, somewhere, there were people starving or dying in a war. How sad! I thought, and how dare I feel contented and carefree while these people are dying. (Incidentally, this "white guilt" or "rich guilt" or whatever issue is plaguing modern America is frequently seen in academia and also politics) and in taking on the burdens of these sad people somewhere, I again changed my whole view of the world.

Once my mother told me that no moment happens twice. I must've been very young at the time, because I thought about our dog Zoe (back when she still had black hair) sleeping there on the floor of the living room. I realized, even if I could get her to lay in the exact same spot the next day for her nap, everything else that had been happening while she slept would not be happening. I couldn't get flies far away to buzz the exact same way or cars in other states to drive past the exact same tree that they were driving by while my dog was sleeping. And in knowing that each moment is the only one of its kind, BAM! Mindset change.

I suppose this process of mindset changing is called learning, which to me (a teacher) is a word that conjures up warm fuzzy feelings. It has a good connotation, in other words. For in learning we become able to do more, be more, know more. But learning isn't positive. It is neutral. What makes it positive or negative is what we learn and what we do with that information.

Because when I learned about the atomic bomb, I let it make me feel unsafe. That wasn't good. It was good that I knew about it (because, duh, everybody should know history and wouldn't I look silly if I didn't know about nuclear weapons) but feeling unsafe doesn't make sense, for the God of the Universe loves me, is in control, and is on my side. And when I learned about starvation and world wars, I let it make me feel sad. As if it were my responsibility to carry the pains of the nations. And when I learned that each moment could only happen once, I let it make me want to suck each moment for all it was worth, and became so anxious about enjoying the moment that I managed to miss it altogether.

But none of these were Yahweh's plans. And so I had to undergo a process of relearning, or learning again the correct way what you originally learned incorrectly. So I still know about nuclear bombs and wars and the strange and wonderful concept of time, but now I know them as Yahweh meant me to know them.

Yes, bad things happen, but I'm meant to be joyful anyway, for Yahweh is in charge and He keeps me safe just as He holds all people in His hands. Yes, time is irreplaceable, but I can enjoy each moment as a gift from Yahweh and a blessing, and knowing that He has given me an eternity's worth of moments with Him, even if all of them are not on this planet.

And so, in relearning, I learned again what I once knew before I "grew up." That Yahweh is sovereign. And BAM! Mindset change. Only now, instead of being unaware of what the world might call "the facts," I've put them in their proper perspective. And I suppose this is one way to see maturity. The combination of the framework worldview of a child with the factual materials out of which that framework was constructed of learned adults.

We cannot ignore all the negative things that are going on in the world, but we do not have to let them get us down. For these things are doomed to failure, and bad things will always come to an end. And one day the God of the Universe will reclaim His lost treasure and reign in totality without opposition and then we shall dance on the grave of Babylon.

It's all about perspective. Faith: the ability to see reality in the midst of the illusion, to put what we see in it's proper place in our view of the world. Or, as Hebrews 11:1 says "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

And so we have the faith of a child.

Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it. ~Mark 10:15

Yahweh is Faithful

Well, last week was a really hard week involving someone I love being in the hospital and someone else I know--a really good person--dying unexpectedly. As you might expect, my soul was sorrowful. On top of all that, I had to finish out the school year and prepare for our first ever Shake the Earth event, which is where my ecclesia is branching out and releasing Yahweh's sound in new places in our region.

But Yahweh was totally faithful and I never lost faith. At first, I felt guilty for being sad and angry. I've spent years learning that my emotions have been wrong and that they need to be controlled. But being sad and angry when people do stupid things or really bad things happen isn't wrong. That's the reflection of truth! Because the things that happened were not righteous.

It's ok to be sad and it's ok to be angry so long as that is the righteous reflection of truth. And so long as you never lose faith. Because faith allows you to receive grace, and grace is Yahweh's power to change a thing in the Earth. So without faith and grace, nothing good can happen.

And it can be hard to maintain faith in the face of such adversity...of any adversity, really. Because things come against your faith. Yahweh told me that life didn't have to hurt all the time and since then I have had relatives go into the hospital, someone has died, I temporarily lost my ability to move my body, I had to deal with bad things happening to good people that I love, and I had to fight emotionally with old mindsets and curses. But you know what? Life doesn't have to hurt all the time! Because that is the Word and nothing is going to change that. And because I stand firm on this Word, I know it is what is going to manifest in this world.

But things come against the Word. It's pretty much automatic. The enemy doesn't want the Word to manifest in this world and the way he tries to keep that from happening is to make you believe that it isn't true...that it can't come to be. How devious! By making you believe that it isn't real, he ensures that it never becomes so.

But he is a failure and a liar. Because Yahweh is faithful! And every Word that He has spoken is, and was, and will always be. And I shall see it in this land, in this world! Because Yahweh is faithful to make me faithful. He has spoken a Word, and then He ensured that I could stand upon it. And since I do so, I know that His Word is real in this world.

So I am not hurting today. Because Yahweh is faithful. Every Word He speaks is true and He keeps His promises. He gave me a good day today. The person who was in the hospital is home and improving. I went to ecclesia, hung out with good friends, and had a hot fudge sundae (for the first time in 2 years!). And I know Yahweh will be faithful to comfort the family of the person who was lost--and indeed, all who knew him. And I know more joy is coming because I've seen those things too. And I stand on the Word that they shall come to pass and manifest. Because I know Yahweh is faithful. I've seen it already.