I realized something yesterday, I realized that I have let my faith shrink. I have been neglecting my spiritual health, and the consequences have been that my faith has shrunk. It all started with the Sunday School lesson yesterday morning. It was on Matthew 17:14-20. Jesus, Peter, James, and John have come down off of the mountain, where the transfiguration occurred, to chaos. A man was with the disciples asking them to heal his son. The disciples tried, but couldn’t do it. Jesus heals the man’s son, and when asked by his disciples why they couldn’t do it, Jesus responds with, “because of your little faith.” Jesus goes on to say that if you have faith “the size of a mustard seed”, then you could move mountains. A mustard seed is very tiny, but the plant that grows is very big, and strong, and tenacious. It’s invasive, and a nightmare to farmers. It kind of reminds me of kudzu. It’s grows where it wants to, it digs its roots in deep, and it refuses to die. I believe that is what Jesus was talking about when he told His disciples to have faith as a mustard seed.
Faith should be like a spark, starting off small, but growing strong, and wild, and unrelenting, into a roaring fire. The thing is, though, is we have to take care of our faith. We have to feed it, and nurture it, or we run the risk of it shrinking, or even dying. How do we nurture our faith? Well Romans 10:17 says, “so then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” One way we nurture our faith is by reading, studying, and memorizing the Bible. Another way to nurture our faith is through our past experiences. I have been through a lot in my life, but God has always been there. He has never let me down. If He has always taken care of me, then I should have the faith that He will continue to take care of me.
I also realized, yesterday, where my peace has gone. We are in the second week of Advent, which focuses on peace. I found myself thinking that I don’t have peace, and wondering where it was. Kind of like the song “Where are you Christmas?” by Faith Hill, I was singing, Where are you peace. This time God spoke to me in a sermon. Do you know what He told me? He told me that I have a control issue. I already knew this, but I was in denial that I had let it get so out of hand again. The truth is, God is in control, and I am not. That, really, should be comforting. I have messed up so many times in my life, but God never has. His way is perfect, and good will always come from everything. So, when I trust Him to be in control, I can have peace knowing that I am being taken care of.
This past week was rough, and this current week will be even more rough. Honestly, I had worked myself up into a tizzy about this week. I have 6 appointments this week. It’s going to be exhausting, but after yesterday’s Sunday School lesson, and last night’s sermon, and after repenting, and surrendering to God, I now have much more peace about this week. I don’t have all the other junk clouding my thinking about this week. Will I have to repent, and surrender again? Probably so, because I’m human, I’m a creature of habit, and I’m stubborn, but I’m also a child of the Most High God, and everything that happens will not only bring good, but it will also bring me closer to looking more like Jesus.
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