When life gets busy, it’s easy to get distracted. Your focus is diverted, attempting to manage responsibilities and commitments. The tendency is to put all the attention towards what is most urgent, easily leaving previous obligations unattended to.

As I took a stroll through my backyard, I was taken aback by the surrounding shrubbery. Unfortunately, the greenery I stared at was not a lush garden but suspecting weeds of various kinds. Wait a minute… It didn’t seem too long ago that Valerie and I had spent time clearing up the weeds. What happened? We must have gotten so busy that we allowed other priorities to take place rather than properly maintaining our property. Now I’m thinking to myself, “weeds can actually grow that high?”

The much-needed upkeep of my yard gave me insight towards an important truth:

Faith, the size of a seed, can move mountains.

With all of the distractions that life brings, it’s easy to neglect this simple principle and focus on pressing issues. There are immediate tasks to fulfill and expectations to be made. With entertainment at our fingertips, Scripture becomes an afterthought, and a lifeless prayer life ensues. Even with all these demands and temptations, we can come to a place to see if the weeds have overgrown our spiritual life.

Going back to the basics reminds us of what faith can do. In Matthew 17:14-20, a man came to Jesus asking for his son to be healed. A demon was tormenting the boy with seizures in an attempt to kill him. The disciples could not drive out the demon, but Jesus immediately freed the boy from the demon’s clutches. Afterward, the disciples inquired of Jesus in why they could not drive the demon out. His answer?

“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.”

It’s tempting to think that Jesus could heal the boy and drive out the demon because He is the son of God. Of course, Jesus is full of faith! But Jesus gives us precious insight that we do not necessarily have to be at His level to do the miraculous. Rather, all we need is a small amount of faith to see lives changed, unbearable hardships are lifted, and solutions occur when there is no answer. It is a mustard seed faith.

The faith that I am describing is not saving faith, which is when you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior. This is the gift of faith – an extraordinary ability to believe what God has said and what He will do. Whether from the Scriptures or a personal promise from the Lord, it is a conviction found in Christ. It allows a person to be confident that God will come through, regardless of the trials, temptations, or tests.

The mustard seed faith needed is small. In fact, the mustard seed is one of the tiniest seeds in the middle east but grows into a giant shrub for all to see. There is hope in the circumstance that you face because a small seed is enough to start. That’s all you need! If you water that faith and believe each day for that promise, your faith will grow similar to that mustard seed – the fruition of what you have been longing for. As a result, your faith increases to sustain you when more difficult circumstances arise. You will then stand firm when the going gets tough because Christ was there for you before, and He will do it again.

I saw this mustard seed faith activated in a conversation I had with a mother. When she was raising her children, a burdensome situation took place – there was a long period of time when she didn’t know how or when money would come to pay the bills. What was she to do? It seemed like an impossible situation. But this mother had faith – the mustard seed kind of faith – that the Lord would provide and make a way. Each day she had to exercise this faith and trust in God’s provision. Her faith not only sustained her family but revealed to her children what faith in Christ could do. The mother’s faith increased, and it grew over time for her to trust in the Lord in other areas of her life. As a result, this extraordinary faith she carries has ministered to others during prayer for they need that mustard seed faith to overcome their obstacles.

Let me ask you a question: What do you need to have faith in right now? Think about that intolerable situation, hardship, or the unlikelihood of a typical human solution. Do you have enough faith – the mustard seed size – to see God come through for you? Are you willing to water it each day and believe that it will happen? All that’s needed is a small seed of faith, that’s it. Then you’ll see mountains move – your path made clear, the answer is given, the promise made known. In Christ, nothing will be impossible for you if you believe.

Have a blessed week!