When considering faith and mustard seeds and how many mountains I have seen moved, I have often wondered what Jesus meant by his statement in Matthew 17:20. “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.[a]”

          When we look at Matthew 17:1-20, we see that Jesus had just come down off a mountain with Peter, James, and John, where they had an amazing experience. There is a large crowd gathered at the base of the mountain waiting for Him. There was a man asking for healing for his son, who suffered from seizures. The man had brought the boy to the disciples, but they could not heal him. Jesus then heals the boy. Later, the disciples ask why they were not able to heal him, and Jesus responded with what we see in verse 20.

          Faith is defined as complete trust or confidence in someone or something. I started to think about that idea. Whether we realize it or not faith is what dictates our lives. An example I use quite often is fire. I have complete confidence that fire will burn me. This faith dictates my actions toward fire. Because I have faith that it will burn me, I choose to not let it touch any part me. I avoid it.

          Faith in God is the same concept. We often think that just saying we believe in God is the same as having faith, but if that were true I think our actions would be a lot different. Faith in God is complete trust and confidence in Him: His character, His declarations, His will. If we have faith in Him, our lives will reflect His character, His declarations, and His will. They will dictate our actions. They will be present in our decision making… in how we act and react… in how we live.

          Which brings me back to the mustard seed. If our lives are being lived in a way that reflects complete trust in God, we are walking with Him. His ways become our ways. The things He desires become our purposes. I don’t think this passage is meant for us to go around moving Mountains willy nilly, physical or metaphorical. In fact, I think this verse means that if God wants us to step out and do something that seems impossible, if we have even a little faith, it will be enough to strengthen us to do it. But, I think the question has to be asked, does God want this mountain moved?

          When considering this question I was reminded of Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:5-10  

“5 That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. 6 If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, 7 even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So, to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.

8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

          Paul is basically saying, “I could boast, oh, I could boast. I could boast about the things that God has allowed me to see and experience, but it might draw attention to the wrong thing, so to keep me in check, I have this thorn.” He prayed three times for it to be removed, but God said His grace was all that Paul needed. What stuck out to me is that the thorn served a purpose. So, maybe the mountain also serves a purpose.

          Often we pray for a mountain to be moved, or for a thorn to be removed, but God might be saying “no”, or “not yet” because they are serving a purpose. We are in such a rush to get calamity out of our lives that we miss the reason it is there. We tend to read verses like “I can do all things through Christ…,” and think that it means we will accomplish all we set out to do. There may be some truth to that, but, I think we forget to look at the surrounding verses where it also says, “I have learned to be content in all things.” We need to learn to be in step with His will, with His purposes. If we do that then the things we are trying to accomplish are ordained by Him, and therefore we can do all things. It’s only then that the mountains, that the thorns, are reconciled. It’s only then that those things in our lives make sense. That they can then be truly used for our good, instead of the chaos that Satan intends. We’ll know if a mountain or a thorn needs to be removed because we are instep with Him.

          Consider this passage from James 1:2-4

2 Dear brothers and sisters,[a] when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

          I’m not saying that you just need to suck it up when bad things happen, when there seems to be a mountain in front of you, or when there is a nagging, sometimes painful thing in your life that won’t seem to go away. No, what I am saying is that we have to ask, “what purpose will this serve? How will I grow from this? Is there a reason for it to remain in my life?” And, pray that God will give the strength to climb the mountain, or endure the pain. Sure, pray for relief, pray for the removal of that thing, but pray for endurance also. It’s not just about having enough faith to move the mountain, but also having enough faith to climb it.