I was making sandwiches a few weeks ago ( yes, this blog gets more exciting than this single event). As I was spreading whole grain mustard on bread, I was reminded of a familiar passage of scripture. I think it has become so familiar that we miss the magnitude of it. It’s found in Matthew 17:20, “He replied, “Because you have so little faith. 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.”

I want to tell you why I believe this passage is so significant and why we may have missed the meaning. How many of us feel like we have impossible situations in our lives, or the lives of people we love? How many of us struggle with discouragement? How many of us have given up hope and tried to somehow live with our impossible circumstances that just WON’T CHANGE!!  I have things in my life that I feel like I have thrown the towel in. In the recesses of my mind, I have made peace with my feelings of defeat. I have accepted the impossible as unchangeable.

Then comes God, the Creator of all created things; the Savior of the world and the lover of my soul. Matthew 19:26 reminds me, “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” See, that’s where the mountains in my life have to yield to the power of God. In some areas of my life, I have simply built a cabin on my mountain of discouragement and made peace with it. I have even hung lovely drapes and put up a few pictures to make it feel more comfortable. See, it is impossible for me to change circumstances and I am very much aware of that fact.

I think it is quite interesting that Jesus said a mustard seed of faith is enough to move a mountain. I have been praying differently about my mountains since I made that sandwich ( yes, God can work though ANYTHING). I have decided that no matter how big a problem I face is, I can muster up a mustard seed of faith. I mean, come on, it’s a mustard seed. I have that much faith in any situation that God can and will be God. I believe the contrast of the enormous nature of a mountain and the miniscule size of a mustard seed was the contrast that Jesus was trying to tell us about. He knows how discouraged we get at the impossible situations and people in our lives. He is calling us to get our eyes off the mountain and put the tiny flicker of hope that we have to work in Him.

Today, I want to challenge you to find your mustard seed of faith. Show that seed to your doubt. Show that seed to the enemy coming against your thought life. It may be tiny and seem inadequate, but it’s not. Remind the enemy that a mustard seed of faith in the hands of a limitless God can change any situation. Get your eyes back on God and allow Him to do what only He can.

Yes, a mustard seed is a powerful thing and I’m not afraid to use it…                                                                    Courtnay Aycock