I have a mustard seed taped to the front of my fridge. Almost every day I can see that seed, and quite often I will examine it and touch it and revel in how small it is, and how perfect it is. I have this mustard seed taped to my fridge as a reminder to myself to have faith in God and his provision. This verse in Matthew 17:20 is also an excellent reminder:
He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, 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."
One of the things I find amazing about this verse is the "absolute-ness" of it. If I have this tiny measurement of faith, what I want will be so. How is that possible? I can hope that I am on the right track. More and more I find myself seeking God's will in the things I do. Even something as simple as shopping. Should I go buy groceries today? And there are plenty of days where God has said "No, stay home today." Now, he doesn't come right out and I hear his voice loud and clear or anything, but I will get an overwhelming desire to stay home and the idea for dinner will appear in what I have in the house at the time. And who knows what the reason behind the decision to stay home may be. Perhaps we are avoiding a horrific accident on the way, or maybe the beef I intended to purchase is contaminated that day, or maybe I'm just not supposed to spend money that day because an unforeseen expense is coming up. It doesn't matter to me the reason. I just know that when I've been praying about a decision, however simple it is, when I start to feel a string urging one way or another, I know I have my answer.
One thing is certain. There is ALWAYS an answer. Sometimes the answer may not be what I want it to be initially, but the desire I originally had does go away. As an example, this past fall, I was leaning towards beginning the process of home buying. Having our financials examined, doing some preliminary real-estate walk-throughs, that kind of thing. I prayed on this, and asked God for his will on this matter. I put complete faith in God that he knows what is best for us, and what our future holds, and whether it was time for this speculating or not. A short while after that, Andy's job was in danger, and I got a very clear and resounding "no, it is not time for you." And amazingly, the desire to look into buying a home went away. As a result, over the past several months, we have taken steps to help our finances along, we've gotten smarter with money, both our credit scores are going up, and we chose instead (with God's blessing) to buy Andy a reliable car. And I know that when we do get to the point of buying a home, it will be everything we want PLUS. God wants us to be happy, and he has promised me that if I am patient, and continue trusting in him, our faith will be well-rewarded.
With faith the size of a mustard seed I can move mountains. With faith, I can pray for my little girl who has a fever, and know that when she wakes in the morning she will be well. With faith, I know that I can pray over my checkbook, and know that our bills will be paid on time, and the money will be there when I need it most. With faith, I can do anything! My God is amazing and he gives me the desire to have faith in him. Faith is such a wonderful thing, it is a source of contentment and complete trust. As we roll into the new year, I am praying wholeheartedly that my faith will grow stronger and not waver.
2 comments:
Faith as small as a mustard seed...it seems so easy but it is SO hard! I have to have faith that I am where God wants me to be, but Satan constantly tries to put doubts in my head. For some (horrible) reason I checked my grades Christmas night. The last grade had come in (the one I was worried about) and even though I passed, that's about all I did. At first I wasn't upset, but then those doubting and degrading thoughts started creeping in and I was discouraged for the rest of the night. In my heart I knew that Satan was trying to make me doubt the ability God has given me and that my faith in Him will give me all I need to complete this task, but my head was telling me something different. I've just got to keep that faith as small as a mustard seed and God will lead me and carry me where I should go. Thanks for the reminder.
((Claire))
That's so very true. You can be going along, confident that you're doing what God wants you to do, and those doubts just come on all the sudden and are almost overwhelming sometimes.
You have been given an amazing gift to have the desire to help heal people. Satan will do anything to keep you from achieving that. God has a great plan for you, and the last thing Satan wants is to see you succeed.
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