"You don't have enough faith," Jesus told them. "I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible."
—Matthew 17:20 NLT
The disciples had just asked Jesus why they couldn’t deliver a boy of a demon that had possessed him, and this was his answer. They didn't have enough faith. All they needed was faith as small as a mustard seed for nothing to be impossible. They could speak to the mountain in that boy’s life, and tell it to move.
What is that mountain you want to move in your life? You can tell it to move. Just as Jesus told the disciples, all you need is a mustard seed of faith.
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field,” Jesus said in a parable. “It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches” (Matthew 13:31-32, NLT).
The Kingdom of Heaven resides within you. You received it when you were born again in your spirit. Your soul (mind) doesn't understand right away what Jesus has given you. Your mind doesn't understand the power of what you have received until you exercise it—again and again. It only took a mustard seed of faith for you to believe in Jesus, and that mustard seed faith grows as it transforms your mind and the way you perceive it.
Your knowledge of the faith you received at salvation may begin small, but it doesn't have to stay that way. With proper nourishment from the Word and prayer time in the Holy Spirit, your understanding of the power you received at salvation grows. Spiritual growth changes your perspective from what your natural mind sees to what God sees. When greater faith anchors your life, you believe in what Jesus has given you.
Seeds germinate in moist earth and push through the soil to find the light. Your faith germinates and sprouts, reaching for the light of His truth. That small seed develops and stands against the elements until it becomes a large tree. Circumstances of life bring greater growth instead of defeat, and your faith is nurtured when tested. The Word strengthens your mustard seed of faith as it transforms your perception. Your faith grows through prayer and praise. When you choose repeatedly to tell your mountain to move, your mustard seed of faith is answered by a Savior who loves you more than His own life. You begin to see what you have spoken. You believe it.
Can you choose to believe in God's truth no matter how you feel? It takes the Word to be renewed by the Holy Spirit in your mind. Faith comes by hearing the Word again and again. You have the faith to hope in what your eyes can’t see. Jesus delivered the boy that day of his demon. He removed that mountain. He tells you that you can speak to your mountain, and tell it to move. It begins with a mustard seed of faith and what you choose.
© 2019 Lynn Lacher