The Mustard Seed and The Mulberry Tree

I prayed with apostles, "Lord, increase my faith." When I did I realized that what Jesus said to His apostles was meant for me as well. "If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea'; and it would obey you.'"( Luke 17:6) And now I am officially confused!

The reason I wanted to ask for more faith in the first place is because I recognize something isn't working. When I read the Bible I see that when I put my faith in Jesus there was salvation from the penalty for my sins but there also should be a salvation from the presence of sin or sanctification daily taking place. This is why I'm asking for more faith I obviously don't have enough or I'd be experiencing more victories over my sin nature...right?

As I thought about the power of faith the size of a mustard seed I began to ask myself some questions. The first thing I asked myself was what exactly am I putting my faith in? That was when I realized that often I was not putting my faith in Jesus but in something I thought might comfort me when I messed up(sinned.) Sometimes I put my faith in programs to help me manage my sin. Both of these would bring a little relief but it never lasted very long and in the end I was worse off than before. I just kept finding myself more and more entangled.

When I looked for a picture of someone who had experienced a little bit of faith that had showed great profit I remembered the woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years. She had put her faith in the physicians. She suffered much at their hands, spent all that she had and not only did she not get help she'd grown worse.

What did her faith look like? Because she believed that Jesus could help her she was willing to seek Him out even though she was considered unclean because of her condition. This stubborn sickness of hers that had plagued her for twelve long years reminded me of the sin that caused me to ask for more faith. She didn't have enough faith to call attention to herself but the faith she had was so strong that she believed that if she could only touch His garment she would get well. She reached out her hand touched His garment and, "Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction."(Mark 5:29)

Lord Jesus, today I ask You not for more faith but instead help me see what I'm putting my faith in. In every area of my life show me what it looks like to fully trust You. I want the kind of faith this woman had and I want to hear you say to me what You said to her. "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over." (Mark 5:34)