Luke 17:6
The scripture for today is Luke 17:6
Luke 17:6 So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots, and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
Faith, which comes by hearing the word of God, is a most powerful force. It is through the release of faith that the power of God is brought to bear on the circumstances of our lives. The greatest miracle of all, the miracle of a transformed life, is the result of grace through faith.
In our text today, Jesus instructs the disciples on just how powerful faith is. That which seems impossible is possible for a person with faith. It is not the amount of faith that is important, it is the quality of faith that matters. The quality of faith is determined by the presence of unbelief or doubt. One who has faith, without doubt, has great faith, and a small amount of such faith, as Jesus points out, can produce miraculous results. Faith, without doubt, is genuine faith; it is pure faith, not diluted with human reasoning. It is the God kind of faith; it comes from God.
In the example that Christ gave His disciples, the purpose of faith is not to send trees into the sea, but the example is designed to show that with even a small amount of genuine faith, that which seems impossible is possible. It also shows us that nothing can resist the genuine faith of God exercised by a child of God. Genuine faith always has God and His word as its source. The power behind the force of faith is the love of God. Or in other words, it is God Himself. So, it is not so much that we have faith, it is rather that God gives faith and we have the capacity to receive it. Receiving it means that we lay aside all that disagrees with God’s word and embrace what He declares, even in the presence of assertions to the contrary. When the force of faith encounters the force of nature, as in the example that Christ gave, the force of nature must give way. All must give way to the force of faith because behind it is the power of God.
May we be a people of faith, genuine faith; a people who will stand on the promises of God in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, for there is no such thing as an insurmountable obstacle with God. May we have the faith which works by love, and may the love of God move us to do great and mighty things as we yield to His Word and Spirit in these last and evil days.
God bless you as you continue in His service.
Tim