Mustard Seed Faith

In Matthew 17:14-21, a father brought his son to the disciples for healing an epileptic demon. They could not heal the boy. When the disciples questioned Jesus about it saying, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" Jesus replied, "Because you have so little faith." Then Jesus proceeded to tell them their faith was even smaller than a mustard seed, one of the smallest seeds in the plant kingdom. He said,

"Truly I tell you, 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."

Thank the Lord, God works with a scalable, developing faith. However, I hear the Lord saying - it would help tremendously if you at least had faith, the size of a mustard seed.

Any level of faith seems to be able to adjust whatever issue the believer is facing. Zero faith level to a mark before mustard seed faith level will grant you differing results (i.e. able to move a bush-sized-problems faith), because as Christ says, "if you have faith as small as a mustard seed" the believer can move mountain-sized life-challenges with God.

The next step in the maturity of a believer in his/her faith walk with God would be to imagine what greater faith could accomplish and allow for God to develop it. The size of an athlete's muscles training in the gym start small but develop as they are tested and toned. The same is true of the believer's faith. The size of mustard-size-seed-faith will grow as it is watered, fed and tested.

Each growth opportunity carries with it another deeper understanding of God. However, as believers mature in age and wisdom - exercising their veteran faith by declaring God's promises in His Word - realize God always holds the trump card in every situation; God always has a disclaimer for every issue or problem we experience - God says in every situation, "I have the right, authority and power to alter The Plan."

Many believers have been in the situation where an awesome answer from God is needed and prayed for by not just you and family but friends and the whole church. In addition, Scripture is quoted over the situation and oil is physically placed on the person, place or thing. 

All of this is done with great faith, a faith greater than a mustard seed, only to see the person die or the situation fail. This is a prime example of the altered plan. At least it was altered in our eyes. The whole situation could have been for others and not the individual, only God knows. And of course that is where the rub comes in, we don't know the details, not even a small hint. So, we continue to live by faith and not by sight and trust God's disclaimer because of His track record, His faithfulness.

As believers live by faith, Christians are at different points on the faith-sizing scale and mountains come in a variety of sizes also. Therefore, comparing one's own faith level anybody else's is not advisable. Is it right to want to be as effective and influential as Dr. Billy Graham was? Of course. Just don't seek his faith-walk, that was his. God has each Christian on a personal faith-growth plan and is working with them intimately to develop that faith. 

Faith and its size demands a Personal Plan from God for our lives, not an immediate "Blanket Covering" of the same faith level for all Christians. However, all must start at the beginning with improvement encouraged by Jesus to His disciples and believers down through the ages to at least have Mustard Seed Faith.