Luke 17:5-6 (CEV)
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Make our faith stronger!”
6 Jesus replied:
If you had faith no bigger than a tiny mustard seed, you could tell this mulberry tree to pull itself up, roots and all, and to plant itself in the ocean. And it would!
We Definitely Don’t Have This
Do you remember when your kids were little and all they wanted to do was to get bigger?
“When I’m big I won’t have to listen to you!”
“I’m going to grow up and be a big person and then I won’t have to eat any vegetables!”
“I can’t wait until I grow up and never have to go to school again!”
“When I grow up I’m never going to take another nap!”
“I’m going to grow up and then nobody can tell me what to do!”
“I can’t wait until I’m old enough to …”
We have this idea in life that if only we can get big enough that we will be good enough to be able to make it.
If we have a big enough bank account, and a big enough job, and a big enough house, and a big enough car, and a big enough faith, then we’ll have this.
But remember what Paul says? That “God chose the foolish things of this world to put the wise to shame. He chose the weak things of this world to put the powerful to shame.” (1 Corinthians 1:27)
The thing about this verse in Corinthians – like the verse above – is that it’s not about us having this.
This faith that we need to do the hard stuff? It’s not something we conjure up or screw up our eyes and try harder to get or pray enough or earn enough of.
This faith that we need to do the hard stuff comes from God – and is given to imperfect, underprepared, under-resourced people like you and me who definitely don’t have this so that everyone around us will go, “wow! How’d that happen???” so that we can answer and tell them that it happened because God showed up.Journal Questions:
- Do you feel like you have enough faith?
- Enough faith to take the risks that God is calling you to?
- Enough faith to actually face the hard parts of your life?
- Enough faith to interrupt the ripples of sin that are flowing around you?
- What would happen if you accepted that there was no such thing as enough? Would you lean on God any more deeply?
- Would you be any more likely to take the time to pray about what you needed to do?
- Would you be any more likely to give God credit when things worked out?
