SCRIPTURE
"Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20-21)
OBSERVATION
How much faith does it take? The disciples could not drive out a demon from a boy. They asked Jesus why they were not able to, and he used this opportunity to remind them about the smallness of their faith.
Jesus used a great visual to get his point across. You have little faith (couldn't exorcise the demon) + If you had faith as small as a mustard seed (could move a mountain) = Your faith isn't even as big as a mustard seed. Slam.
Jesus used hyperbole, describing this extremely small faith and an extremely large obstacle...mustard seeds and mountains. The ridiculousness of it all. But that is the nature of faith. It is ridiculous. It doesn't make sense to our human way of thinking. The power of belief and trust coupled with the power of what God can do as we connect with him through faith is far greater than our minds can comprehend. Jesus said, "What is impossible with human beings is possible with God." We can't move the mountain but he can.
APPLICATION
I have to remember God is the mountain mover. I'm just the mustard seed believer. It's not about straining, trying harder, getting a migraine, getting in the zone, just hoping to move the mountain. It is trusting in God. Jesus words are both a challenge and a comfort. The challenge is to have the faith to move the mountain. That means trusting God and not myself. But his words are also a comfort. He did not say I need a faith that is proportional to the obstacle, ie. the size of a mountain. That would require a lot of work and I'm not sure, in my own strength, I can muster up that kind of faith. My faith isn't in the mustard seed or mountain, my faith is in my Maker for whom nothing is impossible.
PRAYER
Lord, sometimes my back hurts from trying to move the mountain. Thank you that you are the God who can toss that thing from one place to another. You are the mountain mover.
