Luke 17:6 - If you have faith as small as as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.
Sometimes we need to be reminded that even small faith can make big things happen. In our minds faith needs to be large to do marginal things. But Jesus tells us that this is not the case. This could mean a couple different things:
1) We do not really understand what faith is.
2) We do not understand how to apply faith in our lives.
In my life, both have probably been the case. There have been times where what I thought was large faith on my part was really just works driven effort. Not a bad thing, but also not faith. There have also been times in my life where I think I did have faith, but I did not attempt to apply that faith in my life.
Faith, according to Hebrews 11:1 is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Faith is not supported by your circumstance or reality that you currently face. Faith is conceived in heaven and it's born here on earth. When a couple discovers they are pregnant, they immediate change their plans to accommodate a person who has not yet arrived.
Faith is both an assurance and a conviction. An assurance is a guarantee that brings peace; it brings peace because the guarantee is for something that was hoped for. It settles the uncertainty.
A conviction is meant to bring us to action or conclusion. It leads us to a decision that requires a response on our part. This response is based on things not seen.
The application of this verse may be different in every circumstance. Sometimes faith may be as simple as no longer worry about a situation. Sometimes faith may be to move into a ministry God is calling you. Sometimes it may require you to speak to the mountain to move. In Luke, the disciples asked for increased faith in response to Jesus teaching them to forgive over and over again. Faith is required for forgiveness.
But Jesus shows us that faith only needs to be the size of a mustard seed to accomplish great things. Faith itself is a seed. Faith does not need to begin as a mountain to move the mountain. Faith is so powerful that if you can find the seed, you can overcome anything.
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