Like a Child: From Self-Reliance to Childlike Faith

Learning to Depend on God

I used to rely on my own plans, my own strength, my own thinking. Then life showed me that my approach just wasn’t enough—and led me backward in time, to being childlike before God.

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LIKE A CHILD

When I grew to be a man

I made great strides by my own plan

With ego, skills, and history

I walked my path, secure in me.

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But then my life got hard and rough

And all my skills proved not enough

No longer did they serve me well

And soon enough, I almost fell

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Slowly did I realize

I needed life beyond my eyes

I finally saw the lack in me

And cried to God with hearty plea

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“Help me be a child instead!

Dependent on Your daily bread

With no strength to make my way

Near to You, I want to stay!”

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“My pride’s now gone in what I’ve done

New childlike faith is how I come!”

Now my life resides in Him

Like living sap through branch and stem

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So now I live just like a child

My soul’s rough edges no more wild

Dependent on the One who gives

So childlike faith forever lives

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WGS 4.26.26

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Questions about childlike faith:

What does it mean to have childlike faith?
Trusting God more than yourself.

How do I stop relying on myself and trust God?
Start by admitting you can’t do it alone. Then, ask Him to power your life.

Why does God want us to be like children?
Because children who depend fully on their Father are in the safest place they can be.

What does the Bible say about dependence on God?
Life works best when we rely on Him, not us.