While faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains, (Matthew 17:20) it would seem that most of us don’t even have that amount of faith because moving a mountain is a pretty big deal.
Faith is the currency of heaven. Not knowledge. Not understanding, or wisdom, charisma, personality, talents, pedigree, ministry, or social status. Just faith.
Then why aren’t we moving mountains? Let’s reframe this question: Perhaps it isn’t so much about the mountain after all, but about the growing of our faith in the process of taking that mountain. Sometimes we look at the biggest mountain in our lives and say “I don’t believe that God would move that mountain for me. My faith isn’t big enough.”
Fair point. Jesus states multiple times in the New Testament that ‘Be it according to your faith’; or, ‘your faith has made you well’ and, ‘all things are possible for those who believe’. Keep in mind the context of this passage – when Jesus states ‘mustard seed-sized faith moves mountains’, he used a common colloquialism of that day; to a Jew of Jesus’ day, a mountain is a metaphor signifying a seemingly impossible task. This statement follows on the heels of the incident when the disciples were unable to cast out the demon in a man’s son.
However, faith grows. It can start small – as tiny as a mustard seed, and yet the mustard seed can grow to become the largest tree in the garden! Same with our faith. You exercise faith, and just like any muscle, it begins to strengthen and grow. This faith is a gift from God; He intends for it to take root and grow.
A couple facts about faith: Faith is the currency of heaven.
For without faith, it is impossible to please God. Hebrews 11:6a
Faith is tested.
…So that the tested genuineness of your faith – more precious than gold – may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:7
Faith can be misplaced.
So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:5
Faith is action.
For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. James 2:26
Faith grows or withers.
But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those how have faith and preserve their souls. Hebrews 10:38-39
How do we grow our faith? Feed it. Just as we need food to live, faith needs food to grow.
Faith comes from hearing…the Word of God. Romans 10:17
Faith is action.
Don’t just listen to the Word of God and deceive yourself that all is well; but do what it says! James 1:22
This is growing faith. While you may not have the faith to move a mountain right now, start asking God for things that you have faith for. An example of this for me is: I do not have the faith to ask God to completely heal my 13-year-old son who was born with Cerebral Palsy. But I do have the faith to ask that he could learn to ride a bicycle. And learn how to read. This is what I am asking for right now. And trust me, I am diligently teaching him his letters, and assisting him in learning how to ride a bike. This is my faith right now. Will I ever ask God to completely heal my son? I don’t know. But I do know that I have faith for what I am asking right now.
Faith that can move mountains is not meant to imply a faith that can literally move literal mountains. The point Jesus was making is that even a little bit of faith – faith the size of a tiny mustard seed – can overcome mountainous obstacles in our lives.
Picture it this way: instead of my tiny faith moving a huge mountain, my faith grows to be bigger than that mountain until the mountain no longer matters. Suddenly I realize that what I had viewed as a mountain to be removed, is no longer an insurmountable obstacle. Thus, the ‘removal of a mountain.’ When perspective shifts, the outcome changes.
Feed your faith. Exercise it. It will strengthen and grow. This is what pleases God.
Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.