Moving Mountains with Mustard Seeds

It seems that my life can be separated into periods of time where it is characterized by certain themes or ideas, especially in relation to God. For instance, at times the things I am learning in life may emphasize God as my Provider, as my Husband, as my Father. Right now I have been experiencing a recurring theme of having an increase in faith in God. I have always felt as though my faith was so small that there was nothing that could be done with it. This past year, though, God has provided for us and done more than I could have imagined. My faith has been strengthened and He has been challenging me to believe that my faith is honored by Him. That's hard to understand because I am in my own head, hearing my doubtful thoughts and my lack of belief that God can do more than I could ever hope. I have said this phrase more times than I could count: Lord, I believe; help my unbelief. That is the story of my life.

I do want to clarify that though I claim this faith as "my own," I fully acknowledge that it does not originate with me. Any and all faith that I have is a gift from God, as a result of his glorious grace and mercy towards me. I know my heart apart from Him and it's wickedly deceitful, not seeking after God, not desiring to know Him and believe in His name. Trust me, I lived as a slave to it for 15 years...not a pretty sight. So, "my faith" is actually the faith that God has bestowed upon me through His Spirit and it is not of me; it is heavenly, supernatural, and eternal. For that, I am grateful.

So lately I have had a few people in my life who are very dear to me undergo some very painful life experiences. So many times I have been in prayer for them just asking Jesus to give me something to say. I have been baffled as to what to do, say, or think. Nothing prepares you for dealing with those things for the first time, except of course dealing with them. And I have come to find that I am not prone to just sitting and watching from the sidelines in such situations. My heart and mind ache to take action, to fight for injustice, to stand up and speak the Truth, to swoop in and save the day. BUT, I have also learned that this is not always my role. I have been humbled to find that the greatest help I can provide is to say nothing to those hurting, to do nothing physically on their behalf, but rather go to Him in secret prayer. It hurts to feel helpless. I also know that this so-called helplessness is a lie from the enemy to keep me from praying. If he can convince me that praying is helpless, then I will be less likely to pray. It's a good thing God has been encouraging me otherwise.

He has challenged me lately to have faith on behalf of others. A few years ago I may not have been so open to this foreign idea. However, I read a book by Stormie Omartian called The Power of a Praying Wife, and in it she spoke of praying for her husband with a faith that he did not yet have in a situation. She had instances where God honored the faith she had as his wife and moved in that area of his life anyway.....:) I'm glad He does that. And if you press yourself to think about this concept in other contexts, it will begin to make sense. I know people were praying for me before Iknew the Lord. My best friend's family supported me, and no doubt prayed for me, to go on the Chrysalis weekend (a Christian retreat for teenagers) where I came to Jesus, and I finally saw that He had come to me long before that April of 2001. And I know of numerous people who prayed for my husband to come out of his addiction before he did. Now, he's been following the Lord faithfully and soberly for nearly 5 years. So, I know there are those, known and unknown, who have prayed for us when we didn't have faith, when we couldn't have faith because we were living apart from God.

So I am sharing this with you as a challenge.

Jesus said to His disciples after they could not cast out a demon and they inquired as to why, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." -Matthew 17:19-20

Do you know how small a mustard seed is? I do. I was given a necklace a few years back with a mustard seed inside of it. It looks like this:
(Here it is with respect to the size of my hand)

A mustard seed is quite tiny; however, Jesus said that if you have faith of even that size that you can move a mountain. Well, believe that the faith that you have is enough. Pray for it to be increased and for God to honor the faith you have. If you have someone in your life who is in what they believe to be a hopeless situation, pray and believe on their behalf. If you are a child of God, will He not listen to you as the loving Father that He is? Who do you know that has a mountain in their life that is preventing them from moving forward? If you have faith, even as a mustard seed, you can move mountains....they will obey and move.

So, I encourage you to continue to pray for those difficult situations, those prayers that seem impossible to you, but you know nothing is impossible for God. Lift them up in hope and in confidence of the One you serve, believe in, and live for. And if you aren't praying for those things, I exhort you to begin. You won't have to look far into your life, or the lives around you, to find deep hurt and hopelessness. Be the hope that Jesus is in your life to them. Show them where hope lies, which is not in circumstances, but in He who is sovereign over all circumstances. Grab your mustard seeds and start moving those mountains!