Theology, from a seven year old point of view

When Hannah got off the bus recently, she said she had been daydreaming about God putting her back before she was born.  She described the evil angel (Satan) and gave vivid details about her musings.  At school, she reports playing and drawing pictures where Satan (the evil one) controls things (usually horses) while whoever else she wants in the story watches.  Trust me when I say that while I can't always remember all the elements of her imaginings, I know that she's got the basic theology down.  Satan is bad and God is good.


Recently, our family seems to be in a season of trial.  One thing after another happens to cause us to either trust in God or abandon all hope.  We are choosing trust.  While God is gracious and gives us brief periods of rest, life is very unpredictable right now and I truly feel that we are in a period of testing. 


I told my girls the story of Job.  In the Bible, it tells us that Satan (a fallen angel) visits God in heaven and questions the loyalty of a man named Job.  By the way, the name Job has a "long o".  Anyway, Satan tells God that of course Job is faithful and loyal to Him;  he has been blessed again and again.  God agrees to allow Satan to test Job.  The only condition is that he cannot take his life. 


As the story proceeds, Job loses his livestock (financial), servants, and children, is covered in painful sores, and still praises God.  The remainder of the story is a conversation between Job and his friends lamenting and debating the "whys" of the situation.  Finally, God intervenes and calls Job from a whirlwind, asking him rhetorical questions.  Job is overwhelmed by the encounter, and God restores his health, wealth, and family. 

We've also been talking about the spiritual warfare that is happening all around us every day.  Hannah and I sometimes name the demons we think are bothering us as Frank Peretti does in his book This Present Darkness.  We claim the power of Jesus' name by saying (even very quietly) "In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to leave", and we believe that those demons are leaving.  I feel physical relief when I claim that power, so I can testify to this invisible battle.  We pray for the Holy Spirit and the angels to surround us and everywhere we go, and we feel protected. 


You see, I want my children to know where true power and protection come from.  I want them to know the difference between the truth of God and the lies of Satan.  I want them to know that even when we don't understand the "whys" and "whats", we have a God who does and who is working out HIS plan and HIS plan is always good in the end.