Baby Strength

Do you have a baby in your home? There are many things we can learn while taking care of a baby. When babies are little, they are so weak and helpless. They need a lot of love and attention, don’t they? Like Anne found out, they cry a lot, too. Now here is a riddle for you: When is a baby stronger than her big brother? Answer: When Mother takes her side.

Baby Sue sits on the floor playing with blocks. She can’t even walk or talk yet. Along comes big brother, Joe, pushing his fire truck and yelling, “Get out of the way, there’s a fire!” Smash! The blocks go flying as the truck zooms by. Sue falls over, crying. Poor thing! Joe is too strong for her, isn’t he?

But wait. Someone is coming. Someone bigger and stronger than “Fire Chief Joe.” Mother picks up baby Sue and looks sternly about. “No more fire-runs through here, Joe,” she says. “This is Sue’s place to play.” She sets Sue down and hands her a block. Sue sits and plays happily. Joe can’t bother her now. How was baby Sue stronger than her big brother? Because Mother was bigger than Joe, and Sue knew how to call for her help.

Do you know that there is a time to cry? I’m not talking about crying about your blocks falling over. You aren’t a baby anymore. But we all need to be like babies in one way. We need to realize when we need help. Lots of times children like to say, “I can do it myself!” But there are times we need more strength than our own muscles or mind. Sue was strong enough to sit up again, but could she keep Joe from smashing through her blocks? No. She needed help and she knew how to ask for it: she cried.

Most people think, “I don’t need help. I’m not a baby!” They think they are strong enough to take care of all their own problems. David was a strong king. But many times he “cried unto the LORD” for help. Why did he cry? Because he knew the secret of the riddle—he was stronger when God took his side, than when he tried to be strong by himself. He knew that God was stronger than all his enemies. “The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”* (Psalm 27:1) he said. Is there anyone stronger than God? No.

Like King David, we all have enemies that are bigger than us. Do you ever struggle with evil imaginations, lies, and selfishness? You can’t get sin out of your own heart, because it is too strong for you. But if you cry to God for help, He is able to save you from sin. Jesus came to save us from all our enemies and give us power to live right.

If the chain comes off your bike, or you get a stain on your shirt, you ask your parents for help. And if you are hungry or scared, you tell them. You trust them to take care of you. Jesus said that God was our Father in Heaven, and that He loves us and cares for us. He is the Father of little babies, but also of children, and big people, too. He says that when we are weak (and the problems and troubles are too big), He will be our strength. God wants us to cry to Him for help. He wants us to trust Him to give us what is best (and not throw fits when we don’t get our own way). He says, “My strength is made perfect in weakness.”* (2 Corinthians 12:9) Do you want that kind of Strength?