Mustard-Seed Faith

“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” —Matthew 17:20, NLT

Do you, like me, take little things for granted, things that we seldom think about? Recently, a friend sent me a birthday card, and along with it came a paper clip. It is not a regular metal paper clip but a prettily decorated lightweight cardboard paper clip. And guess what? It holds items together every bit as well as a metal paper clip.

I have found it to be a helpful gift. I got to thinking about so many other little things that help me stay orderly. A slim piece of ribbon, for instance, to keep stray wisps of hair out of my face. A safety pin to keep a hem from falling down until I can sew it.

An eraser to help me correct written errors.

A toothpick to dislodge a piece of spinach that might embarrass me if I am eating lunch with a friend. Thinking on these small things caused me to consider a certain small thing, only one or two millimeters in size. Scripture tells us about the mustard seed.

Jesus Himself spoke these words of Matthew 17:20, which is our verse for today. He certainly commended the ability of what a small amount of faith can do.

He made it clear that even with mustard-seed faith, we can do wonders. If we are not doing so, it means that we do not even have a mustard-seed-size faith, for He prefaced His commendation of mustard-seed faith with, “You don’t have enough faith” (verse 20, NLT). Why did He include that comment in His conversation in the first place? The disciples had inquired, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?” (verse 19, NLT). Jesus knew they had not yet acquired even mustard-seed faith. He wanted to encourage them to grow their faith like a plant, with tender loving care and daily nourishment. We are modern disciples, and even with our morning and evening devotions, we have the opportunity to grow our faith. It is important to remember that if we tend our mustard-seed faith, it will grow into a strong, healthy, and vibrant faith.

And what once seemed impossible will no longer be evident, for we will have found God’s way to make the impossible possible.

Betty Kossick (deceased)