Moving Mountains
Ashley Watts
I’m sitting here wrapped in a blanket of all my past T-shirts and sweatshirts. So, in essence, I’m wrapped in the past… as I’m sitting here praying about the future.
And that felt significant to me, so I asked God why is it significant?
I felt like the essence was he handled the past: I am here. I am well. I’m alive. I’m thriving. So that means: He’ll handle the future.
That’s a beautiful part about the faithfulness of God, looking back over your life and seeing how he works things out. The past faithfulness of God in your life gives you faith and trust for the unknowns of the future. If he did it once he will do it again. If you got it through -he’ll get you through again. God doesn’t do anything halfway and doesn’t do anything by chance. God is purposeful. God is intentional. God works for our good and his glory.
Sometimes, trusting God is hard. Yet in those moments where it’s hard to trust him, we have to trust his heart and his character. God does not try to trick us or manipulate us. He’s a God of love, he’s a God of choice. He’s a God of freedom. We must remember that God has our best in mind. So, if he’s asking us to do something that doesn’t makes sense to us (yet aligns with him), we have to trust who he is.
If he’s leading us a certain way, there’s a reason. We don’t have to understand the reason, and most likely won’t until we see it in reverse.
In those moments, when it’s hard to trust, when I want to figure it out myself, I have to remember this: I can trust God. I can trust his character even if my mind can’t comprehend his ways…God does nothing by chance. If he’s gotten me this far he won’t stop now.
We can’t talk about hearing the voice of God, without talking about the element of trust. In order to hear the voice of God and move toward what God’s calling you to do, there has to be a level of trust you have in God.
Often it feels hard to trust because we are human, naturally we want to control. We don’t want to trust, we want answers. Trust involves risk and most people don’t like risk, because risk present an opportunity for disappointment.
It’s hard to trust God in our own efforts. And if we are being honest, we think it’s up to us to “muster up” enough faith…but let’s get practical–God never asked us to do anything on our own. I think we need to debunk the lie, that we are responsible to muster up the faith – if I’m being honest, my faith at times has been feeble.
So just like salvation, we can’t save ourselves, we need Jesus. We need His grace, His mercy, His peace…why would faith be any different? God knows we’re human.
A great place to start is asking God to give you the trust of Jesus. Jesus trusted God wholeheartedly. He was fully God and fully human. Yet still, we see in the garden, he asked God if there was another way. But he then said, “not my will, but your will be done”. The level of trust Jesus has for his Father (God) is available to you and me. We just have to recognize that we can’t trust God in our own strength or our own trust. We need Jesus’ trust just like we need Jesus’ forgiveness, grace, and righteousness.
It’s said that all you need is “Faith as small as a mustard seed”. Recently in Israel, I was handed a mustard seed. I have never actually held a mustard seed before and it surprised me to see how small it was in proportion to my hand. It’s tiny.
It was very impactful to hold that mustard seed and stand on the ground where I could see Mt. Hermon in the background. To think that faith that small, that fragile—could move a mountain? That’s impactful. The shift came when I realized it’s not my faith or my trust…it’s God’s.
I like that Jesus used nature and parables to teach his disciples and people. It’s one thing to read that verse or to quote it to someone in relation to a circumstance in your life. It’s an entirely different experience to hold the small seed with a literal mountain in front of you.
I love how Matthew 17:20 in the Amplified Bible states it:
He answered, “Because of your little faith [your lack of trust and confidence in the power of God]; for I assure you and most solemnly say to you, if you have [living] faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and [if it is God’s will] it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
That’s an amazing verse but the interesting part about that verse is that mustard seed faith is not in my own faith, hopes, dreams, and understandings… it’s trust and confidence in the power of God. Did you read that in the verse? It’s faith in God’s power. It’s in God’s plans.
Yes, I get to hold space for it. Yes, I get to choose whether I have faith or not, and walk in trust. But I get to trade my trust and faith for HIS. Jesus trusted his Father so much that he even walked through death on the cross. That’s the kind of faith and trust I want to have in God. I want Jesus’ faith to walk out the details of my life.
When you’re walking, according to God’s will…
When you’re hearing the voice of God…
When you’re trusting the voice of God…
When you place your faith and confidence in the character and power of God…
When you move and act on what HE’S saying to you…
That’s the type of faith that moves mountains.
God’s will moves mountains.