The Challenge Of Faith

The Challenge of Faith

“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

MAYBE I JUST DIDN’T HAVE ENOUGH FAITH. That guilty thought has plagued virtually every believer who has sincerely invested his or her heart in one of God’s promises and somehow missed its fulfillment. Scripture is clear that faith is the currency of God’s Kingdom, and we feel instinctively impoverished when we pray and nothing happens. A lack of response usually doesn’t prompt us to step up our prayers, either. Instead, a downward cycle of unbelief can begin, weakening our expectations and undermining our faith until our prayers are little more than faint hopes.

Jesus’ statement about not having enough faith has been abused by many who have placed blame for unanswered prayers on the shoulders of the one who prays. If all we need is a mustard-seed measure of faith, most of us have qualified on numerous occasions. Still, Jesus did speak these words, but not to condemn his disciples. He was contrasting the size of our faith with the size of the mountains that faith can move. Jesus was urging his followers to understand the power both of their faith and the words that flow from it. When a rock-solid confidence in the goodness of God is paired with bold statements of his will, big things happen. God rides in on the expectant declarations of those who have committed themselves to his Kingdom purposes.

Beware of limiting your prayers to whatever seems realistic. The size of the mountain is never an issue. Focus instead on the quality of your faith, what you really believe about God, and his goodness and willingness to fill your life with his favor. If a mustard-seed measure of faith can move an entire mountain that stands in the way of God’s purposes, then you never need to look at the size of a problem again. Build yourself up in faith. Let your praises of God’s goodness increase your expectations. Let the “yes and amen” of his promises sink into your heart. Relax and know he fights for those who love him.

Faith is blind—except upward. It is blind to impossibilities and deaf to doubt.