Matthew 17:20….And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”

The mustard seed.  It’s small, but doesn’t stay that way.  In the early stages, there is no aroma, until it gets wet.  So, it doesn’t look or smell like anything important.  Once planted and cultivated, it grows into a larger plant or tree.  There are several references to this special seed throughout the Bible, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence.  Knowing that faith can be a hard attitude and mindset to maintain, especially for ourselves, the Lord compares it to this.  He does not expect perfection, nor does He require us to have mountain-moving faith over night.  God understands that it must first be planted, watered, and cared for.  Faith is a process, just like we are.

But being the loving Father He is, He doesn’t leave us in the “small” state, if we allow Him to get us wet and stick us in the dirt.  As dark and cold as that sounds, the end product is beautiful and has so much to offer.  While researching the mustard plant, I found that certain seeds can be used for diesel fuel and they also make good pesticides.  Funny right?  They can be used to produce power and they can repel.  Spiritually, this sounds very similar to our journey with Christ.  Our faith is fuel that can take us farther, faster than we can go on our own.  And our faith is also a great weapon to fight the enemy. But, plain and simple, it’s up to us to get to that state.  It’s up to us to use the tools the Lord has equipped us with.

One of my prayers lately, is for increased faith.  It’s easy to assume on good days that I have enough.  But what about when a storm comes?  What about during the dry season, when I haven’t been watered and the forecast doesn’t look good?  I want the kind of faith that says, “the King of all gardeners has me under control and I rest in Him.” “And though I may not look like much, in due season, I’m going to take off.”  I desire faith that scares the devil and sends him packing.  The kind of faith, that even if the mountain doesn’t move, it’s prepared to take the journey around it.  I want the mustard kind of faith.