Words from the Rock
What a generation! No sense of God! No focus to your lives! How many times do I have to go over these things? How much longer do I have to put up with this? . . . You’re not yet taking God seriously. . . . The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, “Move!” and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle.
Matthew 17:17, 20 Message
Can’t you just hear the frustration in Jesus’s words? It’s like he’s standing there with his arms outstretched and holding out all the answers for them, yet the people won’t take them. It’s like their minds are stuck and they can’t really believe him. They hesitate and balk and doubt and question him. They never quite get to that place where they really grasp what he’s trying to give them. It must have been a challenge for him to remain patient.
In this portion of Scripture, Jesus’s disciples have just asked him to help them heal an epileptic boy. He has made it clear that they already have what it takes to do these miraculous healings themselves because of their connection with him. But they hold up their hands helplessly and plead with him because it’s not working. So Jesus steps in once again and heals the boy. Then he uses this opportunity to remind them that it takes only a tiny bit of faith on their part—a tiny mustard seed is all that’s needed to do great things. If they took God seriously, they could do anything with his help.
The cool thing is that before long (after Jesus’s death and resurrection), these same disciples are doing all kinds of amazing miracles. Things turn out just as Jesus said. Their seed-sized faith grows into something huge and powerful, something even greater than moving a mountain—their faith and works change the history of the entire world.
My Prayer
Dear God,
Sometimes my faith seems smaller than a mustard seed. Please remind me that you can do anything, and that all I need to do is believe in you and my faith will grow.
Amen.
Final Word
Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need.
Matthew 6:8 Message
Stone for the Journey
I will plant my seed-sized faith in God.