Dear sisters in Christ,
I am thinking of you as I write this afternoon. Do you know what a treasure you are to our Heavenly Father? How are you doing in a world that is rampant with fear, upheaval, and discouragement? How is your journey of faith with Christ faring amid chaos and strife? I hope you are well. I pray the peace of Christ will guard your heart and the joy of the Lord will be your strength no matter what comes your way.
As we reflect on the subject of faith this month, I pray that we will all be challenged to grow deeper and stronger in our faith. Faith isn’t something you can make happen, but even as we plant our young seedlings this Spring, we know that a fruitful harvest will come if we nurture and water what we plant.
I’m sure you’ve heard a lot of messages about mustard seeds in relation to faith. But what does that parable even mean?
Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.” (Mark 4:30-32)
As a recovering perfectionist, passages like this used to drive me crazy! The expectation for me is that I need to have the kind of faith that moves mountains. How can that be? How could I ever have enough faith to move mountains? How do you get that kind of faith anyway? Does anyone have that kind of faith? If so, where did they get it and how do I get some?
The Bible tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God! (Hebrews 11:6) Where does that leave those of us to struggle with faith? We want to believe. We really do, but it just doesn’t seem to come.
There is good news in this parable, ladies. A mustard seed is one of the tiniest of seeds, and yet it can grow large enough to be a tree for the birds! Wow! There is hope for me and my tiny faith! You see, my faith is only as good as what I place my faith in. We are wrong when we think that the size of our faith matters to God. What really matters is the God of our faith. He is big enough. He is strong enough. He is smart enough. In fact, there is nothing He cannot do. Nothing is impossible for Him! (Luke 1:37)
Absolutely nothing is impossible for our God. Hallelujah! Yes, if I don’t believe His Word, I may not experience all that He has for me, but when I draw near to Him, He will draw near to me. (James 4:8)
As I grow closer to the Lord and get to know Him better every day, I learn to take Him at His word. I used to think faith was a feeling. It isn’t. It is a choice. When I learned this, it transformed my life! If I believe God’s Word is true, then I can stand on it. I may not feel it, but I can decide to live by it rather than let my feelings run over me.
My feelings are not dependable. God is. My emotions may lead me astray. Jesus never will. So, when I read in the Word that He is with me and He is for me, I can lay aside my worry and begin to trust Him. As I begin to see Him working in my life day by day, my faith grows like that little mustard seed.
How do you get faith to grow? Spend time with God in His Word. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to apply it to your daily situations. Speak the Word to yourself out loud. As you hear it, it will become more and more a part of you. Exercise your faith, no matter how small it is, and it will grow.
Trust God with small things, and soon you will be able to trust Him with bigger things. As you see the absolute faithfulness of God, your faith will grow. Focus on Him, not your faith.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
This simply means that we take God at His Word. If He said, I believe it. Period. I only need to learn to practice applying in my life, one step at a time.
Let’s pray for one another, friends, that the God of our faith will help us to have faith that is growing stronger every day. Let us put our faith in Him, the One who is absolutely faithful until we are absolutely full of faith!
Living Boldly for God,
Kathy Foor
Director of Women's Ministries