Have you ever really thought about the size of a mustard seed? Jesus tells us that with faith the size of a mustard seed we can move mountains (Matthew 17:20). He goes on to promise that nothing will be impossible for the person with this mustard seed size faith. So how big is that faith…I mean…seed? I decided to look it up and it seems as if they are 1mm to 3mm in diameter. That’s small and I imagine their size would make them hard to hold onto. Just imagine what would happen if someone slapped your hand. That tiny seed would likely fall out of your hand and get lost on the ground. To be honest there have been times when life slapped my hand, times when I found it difficult to hold onto my mustard seed size faith.
I recently wrote about having the faith to face a bear or a lion or even Goliath: those tough times when life threatens to tear us apart or to crush us under its weight. Those are the times when I find it most difficult to live by faith. It’s easy to talk a big game, that is until real life calls me out and challenges me to back up my words with real actions. It doesn’t help that so often other Christians make it sound so easy. “Just have faith.” “This too shall pass.” “It’s just a season.” Yes, those sayings are true but that doesn’t make it any easier when life puts you in the fiery furnace. And that’s where you and I must choose. We must choose to hold onto our faith by focusing on the object of that faith: Our God.
I believe that God keeps every one of the promises He makes to His children. But quite often the events of life seem as if they are designed to ask if I really do believe. It’s during those trying times when I find that if I have not established trust in God before the storm, my focus will waiver. It’s then that I find myself focusing on the waves instead of on my Lord. So the best thing I can do is to meditate on the Bible, learning those promises before I actually need them. I need to challenge myself to believe even before my faith gets challenged. Does it make life easy? No, but doing so makes me more likely to remember those promises when I need them most. It also makes it easier to hear the voice of the Spirit of God when He reminds me of those promises, as I learn to look for His hand no matter how tall the waves.
When it comes right down to it, faith is not about my ability to hold onto anything. It’s about building a relationship with God where I learn to trust Him to hold onto me. A relationship where I know He is with me and my trust is greater than my doubts. It’s about a change of heart and mind that comes with surrender to God and is forged while I’m down on my knees before, during and after the trial. As I get better at focusing on God, that mustard seed grows into something I can really hold onto as the power of God is released into my life.
The life of faith in Jesus Christ becomes difficult at the moment we need faith the most. Get to know God while the waters are calm. Continue to learn of Him and to focus on Him even when the going gets tough. As you get to know Him, learning His true nature, you’ll find it easier to hold onto faith in Him even when life threatens to slap your mustard seed sized faith out of your hand.
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