Day 17
“I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” — MATTHEW 17:20-21
The first time I flew in an aircraft I was going to Zimbabwe where I got a job working on a farm. I loved watching planes, and was excited at the prospect of flying, but sometimes these planes come down when they’re not supposed to, so I was nervous. At London Heathrow Airport, I boarded the aircraft, still nervous, but also with adequate enough faith in the plane and crew to take my seat.
On my left, by the window, was an elderly Scottish woman who was also flying for the first time. She was going to Zimbabwe to visit her grandchildren and was holding onto the armrest so tightly her knuckles were white. She asked me if I was nervous, and I replied, “No, there’s nothing to be nervous about. You are perfectly safe.” She answered shakily, “If it wasn’t for my grandchildren, I wouldn’t be risking my life doing this.” To my right was a South African businessman, very calmly reading a book. The plane sped down the runway with the woman all huddled up, myself thinking what a waste of a window seat, and the gentleman on my right still calmly reading his book. It was a long flight but we arrived in Zimbabwe safely.
The point of my story is that the three of us had a different quantity of faith. The Scottish woman had the size of a mustard seed faith; me, a kind of potato-sized faith, and the businessman, a watermelon-sized faith. The watermelon-sized faith didn’t get there first. I didn’t trail behind him with the woman showing up six hours later. We all arrived at the same time, and it wasn’t our faith in God that enabled safe arrival. Faith is believing in something or someone who works on our behalf, and in this case, it was the plane and the pilots.
Faith doesn’t save us. It is the object we place our faith in that saves us. That’s why it’s not the quantity of faith that is all important, but the quality of the object we have placed our faith in. The plane wouldn’t have flown any better if I had more faith or any worse if I had less faith. The aircraft and pilots were the issues, and in our spiritual lives, God is the issue. Our faith grows, Romans 10:17 tells us, by hearing and hearing by the word of God. That means the more we come to know God, the more trust and confidence we have in Him. What we need to do is get the focus off ourselves with the “I just don’t have enough faith” bit, and put it on Jesus. How trustworthy is He?
PRAYER: Dear Lord, I would really like to have that watermelon-sized faith. I admit there are times my faith has wavered, but realize it has been misplaced in something or someone other than You. Help me to always make You the object of my faith. The quality of that doesn’t get any better! Thank You, Lord.
TO REFLECT UPON: When did I last put my faith in something or someone other than Jesus and what were the circumstances? How does putting my faith in Jesus make a difference?