Luke 14:25-16:17, 19-17:19

What is faith and why does Jesus keep comparing it to a mustard seed? Is he telling us if we have the right kind or the right amount of faith we would be able to move Mt. Everest to Ohio and point to a mulberry tree and watch it fly into the Atlantic? If that were the case I’d hesitate to walk out of my front door in the morning. I mean all those mountains and trees flying through the air sounds dangerous.

The writer of Hebrews tells us faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (11:1) He goes on to say without faith it is impossible to please God. (11:6)

James tells us faith without action is useless. (2:20)

We know much of Jesus’ ministry was spoken in parables. I believe what he is saying as recorded in Luke is that the amount of faith isn’t important. Maybe it suggests faith can’t be measured. Either you have it or you don’t.

The point Jesus wants us to see is that faith IN HIM can accomplish the unimaginable. Faith in God has allowed my sister to get out of bed every day after the death of her son, and to minister to some needy people from her church. Faith in God is enabling a teenage girl go through chemo with a smile on her face and praise on her lips. Faith in God has made it possible for a couple living with the paralysis of the husband to still host Bible studies and reach out to their neighbors for Jesus’ sake. Faith in God produces a spirit of peace in a man suffering from ALS.

You see, faith itself is not the issue. God is.

If God wanted Mr Everest in Ohio it would be here. And if God wants to move that mountain you are facing in your life, it will move when you put your faith in him. If he doesn’t want it removed, he will give you what you need to live with it! He wants us to put our faith in him who we cannot see, and our hope in the Creator.

So don’t waste time trying to manufacture the right kind of faith or trying to build up enough faith to get God’s attention. Relax. Relax in him, trust him. Give him that mountain and let him move it… or move you. Trust him to bring about a solution that is best for you and that glorifies him.

Dear Father in Heaven, I pray that we your children will trust you because you can be trusted. I pray that we will put our faith in you alone and allow you to accomplish your will in our lives. And may our faith be evident in what we do and say. As we trust you with those mountains of physical diseases, financial struggles, relationship challenges, or whatever we are facing today, may the world recognize our great God. May we demonstrate our faith in you by the lives we live in spite of, or maybe because of, the mountains we are climbing.