The Truth about Mustard-Seed Faith: What's so moving about that mountain, anyway?

by Steven Gledhill for FREEdom from MEdom Project

What does it mean to have faith?

I mean, faith is a big deal. Jesus fasted for more than a month with out food to shape his own faith for ministry. Simon Peter walked on water. I'd say that's a big deal.

Yet, even those closest to Jesus struggled with faith as a reality; something to trust in, and put their complete confidence in. They had seen the miracles of provision, healing and deliverance. But guess what... they still doubted from time to time.

35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4:35-41 (NIV)

People who struggle with truly spiritual faith tend to have a misdirected view of faith. Typically, it seems as though they feel faith connects them to something religious rather than spiritual. So, the idea of faith gets tagged as something to be judged by when the rules are broken ("You're going to hell for that"). Some will sound like faith in God is a threat when listen to some of the rhetoric out there. Accountability is typically viewed as unfavorable, to say the least. They allow themselves to be held accountable by governing laws and socials norms everyday, but that's different. So, folks seeing faith as some religious obstacle that's going to beat them down is rejected. 

Then there is the misdirected approach that folks cannot have faith in something they can't see, hear, touch, smell, or taste. Yet, they have no problem trusting in a wifi signal as though their lives depended on it. They trust that there are nutrients in their food, and vitamins in that tablet they swallowed. They trust in what they read about history, and theories that may or may not make the most sense.

People make sense about the evidence of their experience, whether or not the process that went into their experience is meets the criteria of their five senses. How the experience is realized, is not as important or essential as how the interpretation and impact of the experience shapes beliefs because of it.

Faith defined, is something that is believed with especially strong conviction and assured confidence, with complete trust and loyalty, without question. The Bible describes faith as substantiated by a profound sense of hope from within, authenticated by the evidence of your experience, especially when it's not clearly seen, and scientifically not likely, or even possible.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

To truly have faith is to experience faith. To experience faith is to embrace relationship with Jesus. Once relationship has been established, simply by acknowledging your self-centered behavioral flaws and imperfections, what the Bible refers to as sin, and then accepting God's mercy and grace, allowing the spirit of God's forgiveness to wash you clean, you can realize from deep within that you have established a truly spiritual connection with God in ways that can't help but change you for the better. You'll then find it rather easy to trust these truths from the Bible as though your life depends on it; because it does. It is then that the hope in you is your assurance of a new life, and a better way of living it.

Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all. Romans 4:16a (NIV)

A mustard seed, something smaller than a kernel of corn, can adapt and grow in the wild through highly disturbed, most unfavorable, conditions, to sprawling heights of 6-20 feet. When Jesus talked about faith, he said that something as tiny as a mustard seed, with faith, while pushing through obstacles along the way that would otherwise be impossible, can grow into something incredible. Jesus insisted that applying faith will drive through what feels impossible, moving the mountains in your life in a way that allows you to get unstuck and move forward, no longer immobilized by fear and doubt.

Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 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.” Matthew 17:19-21 (NIV)

How often has it been taught that faith as small as a mustard seed can move a mountain? Whenever it's suggested that just a little bit of faith can move a mountain, scripture is taken out of its proper context. Jesus had just said to his disciples (trying to drive out a demon from someone's life, "Because you have so little faith, you couldn't move it --- drive it out." What Jesus is saying is that something, or someone so, so small in the face of an insurmountable challenge, with faith in Jesus, can do something as ridiculous as moving a mountain from here to there, because in relationship with him it's entirely possible.

Jesus was likely speaking of the Temple and religious legalism as the mountain that needed to be moved out of the way. However, it's just as likely that Jesus was also referring to the mountain in your life that is keeping you from being where you needed to be, and doing what you need to do.

It is interesting to me that this parable of something as small as a mustard seed with big faith, or better said, with faith in someone big, can move the mountain, telling it to move from here to there. That's about how small those disciples felt attempting to drive out a bona fide demon from someone; the real deal. As a counselor dealing with people with their demon-like addiction or the mountain that is depression and mental illness, that's often how small I feel. I am, at times, working with people determined to die, no matter what. The reality of their circumstance is dire and the outlook forward is indeed grim. And, if addiction and/or mental illness is something you or a family member is up against, perhaps that's how small you feel; like unarmed David going up against massive Goliath.

Can you imagine David going unarmed into combat with a mammoth giant three or four times his size who's wearing armor and carrying a thirty-something pound sword, without the assurance that God has gone on before him in this fight? It's unthinkable! How is it for you dealing with the mountain in your life, the demon in your circumstances, without 'the real deal' kind of faith to take on such a relentless challenge? How might feeling helpless and hopeless begin to sink in and take root?

Notice that the New Testament passage (Matthew 17) does not indicate the removal of the mountain in your life, though that is entirely possible (i.e., miracle of healing). Jesus said that, no matter how small you feel in the face of your challenge, because you have faith, the mountain in your way will "move from here to there." Here is in your way, and there is out of your way. What was once daunting and insurmountable is now reasonable; challenges once impossible are far more favorable---even opportunistic---because of who you know is in front of you, leading the way with strength and power to move what left to tackle on your own is impossible.

23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

29 “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Matthew 14:22-33 (NIV)

The fundamental truth is that trusting God comes from being confident in your belief that relationship with Jesus is essential to your well-being. It's in relationship with him that the fear of what doesn't seem possible is replaced by confidence in the relationship you have with him.

Christ's disciple Peter sought authentic evidence that it was Jesus out there doing something no one had ever seen before, walking on water. So Peter, you might say, called out to Jesus to prove himself.

"I've seen Jesus heal the sick, lame and blind! I've seen Jesus feed thousands of people with some bread and a few fish.! If it's really you walking on water, empower me to do the extraordinary, and walk out to you on water!" 

There may be a time or two in your life when walking with Jesus allows you to walk on water; doing something extraordinary because he has called out to you to walk with him in the midst of the impossible in your life.

Here's a thought, how 'bout we just let Jesus speak about mountain-moving mustard-seed faith in the context he meant for faith all along, and just go with that.

Again Jesus said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” Mark 4:30-32 (NIV)

How 'bout we as believers of faith rest in the shadow of the branches of faith, having confidence in the possibilities in relationship with Jesus to move that mountainous challenge out of the way so we can go where we've been called by God to go, and do what we've been called to do?