Faith In The Midst Of Trial

To see someone display faith in God in the midst of enormous struggle is a tremendous testimony . Most of us believe that faith in our times of challenge is without doubt of any kind. I can assure you it is not. In fact faith is believing in spite of the fear, in spite of the doubt, in spite of the nay sayers.  I am happy to say that I find Jesus very supportive of our humanity. He supports us in our weakness, even when we fail to realize we have no strength. I find it comforting that Jesus does not require faith to be 100% in order for us to be used by Him, or for us to be accepted by Him.  We are the ones who seek perfection in our faith when in fact we are flawed from the very beginning.  One example after another I find  Jesus is telling us to be all that we can be regardless of the situation. No more no less and He will do the rest.

It is brilliant on the part of the Master to tell us if we have the faith the size of a mustard seed that we can move a mountain. Faith in moments of crisis can be a time of self discovery, although most of us would not agree with this at all.  It is a time of  struggle that requires what ever kind of  faith you have if you are to it through. I believe without faith we would not have the ability to endure the trials of life.

It is in these moments turmoil that Jesus confronts us with a bold opportunity to move beyond our circumstances. It is in the midst of our adversity that Jesus places the believer on the edge of life and living and challenges the believer to live.  It is at this place of crisis that we are challenged to rise above these moments of doubt and fear and believe that we are more than the circumstances in front of us. Jesus challenges us to rise above the uncertainty that often paralyzes us and discover that you are larger than the trial you are facing. Jesus challenges us and tells us that your condition is not your conclusion. We are challenged at this very moment to believe there is more within us than we even thought was in us. First John tells that ” greater is He that is you than he that is the world.”

Faith can give us the strength to view our crisis moment in a new light.  Adversity is the one of the times we are exposed and the stuff that we are made of comes to the surface. Yet much like the investment banker who fails to  invest properly, no deposit no return.  However, for those who have spent time in the closet of prayer, for those who spent time building their faith with  the Word of God.  For you the challenge will be one testing for certain, however, it will also be a time, because of your faith you will understand you are in a storm but the storm is not in you.  It is your trust and faith in God that will give you the strength to see your way through it.  These are moments we learn and come to realize that God does provide a way out.

Jesus tells us, if you have the faith the size of a mustard seed you can do great things, even in moments of difficulty.  In the text Matt17:20 Jesus challenges the disciples to look beyond the circumstances that challenged their authority to prevail over the trials of life. If you have the faith the size of a mustard seed, you can tell mountains to move and they will move. The challenge to each of us is to believe we can achieve the things of God with the faith we possess until it grows. We must transcend the doubts that bombard our minds each and everyday. Those thoughts and ideas that are planted even embedded in the hearts and minds of many of us.  That tell us what we cannot do.  These doubts and fears are embedded to the extent that they have moved many into depression.

Jesus tells us  that we can take a faith the size of a mustard seed faith and move the mountains that confront us everyday.  This kind of  faith does not come out of nowhere, this hope that we can overcome, that we can endure and persevere, it is a connection, a collaboration that we have with Jesus, it is a promise that Jesus holds in front of us, it is a trust that we develop, that Jesus can use our mustard seed faith and empower us to do more than we thought we could do. What is it?  It is a super natural power that comes from God, It is when God’s super is placed on top of your natural, It is then that God is able to use that small amount of faith to situations around for  us each and everyday.  It is often the faith no larger than a  mustard seed that does in fact move our mountains, pick us up when we are down, talks to us when we are lonely and desperate. It is this Jesus who we learn to trust, who says YES, when everything else around us says no, that I hope you learn to trust and believe in.

Sometimes I am reminded to thank God for the mountains, because if they were not there I would not know He could move them, or give me the strength to climb or go around them.