“Faith can move mountains, but don’t be surprised when
God puts a shovel in your hands!”
We all will face mountains in our lives, some small, some big, and some astronomical. Whatever the case, we are never ill-equipped for those mountains, even though, at times, it may feel as if we are. The mountains in our lives are no surprise to the Lord. He knew they were coming. He has the tools we need to conquer those mountains. The Lord equips us with everything we need to face our mountains.
As you know, my family has been called to the mission field of Liberia, West Africa. We have spent the last year traveling the United States raising funds and I am excited to announce that in one short month from now we will depart for this sweet country. As we have been diligently packing bags and applying for visas, satan has been setting siege to our family. My extended family has undergone a flood of attacks some of which include heart attacks, car accidents, dog bites and our most recent news a diagnosis of muscular sclerosis (MS). Part of me is outraged, the other part of me just has to chuckle because the attacks only mean one thing, we have satan so upset and in such a state of panic that he has no other choice but to throw a temper tantrum. Please don’t get me wrong, I am in no way happy that my family is under heavy attacks from the enemy. But I am reminded of the words of Paul:
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. And perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4
I can either choose to ignore this passage and get angry and bitter, or I can stand on the word of God and know that coming out the other side of these things, my family and I will not be lacking anything. I much prefer standing on the fact that we will be made mature and complete and not be lacking a single solitary thing.
As I have been praying about all these situations, I asked the Lord “why?” (Yes, I know, faith is the crucifixion of the question why, but I believe that sometimes a heart can ask this question in a truly honoring way.) The response I got back was “in order for your faith to grow.” If the Lord simply takes away the attacks before we have to walk through the trial, what have we gained, how has our faith grown? I am a firm believer that the Lord will put a shovel in our hands in order to not only move the mountain but to build our faith in the process.
Quite a while ago I read a devotional from “Our Daily Bread” that talked about a man who was in desperate need to have access to hospital care for his wife. (Please note that this story was coming from a time before there was access to planes and cars.) The only way to get to the hospital was to go over a mountain that lay between his village and the hospital. As the man frantically attempted to get his wife safely to the other side she passed away before he could get her the help she needed. Upon returning home he had determined that he would make a way to have faster access to the hospital for others. After much deliberation, he began to dig. The townspeople assumed that the death of his wife had caused him to lose his mind. However, despite their best efforts, they could not convince him to stop digging. As the weeks and months went on, people in the town began to understand the need to have access to medical care. Little by little, they began to join in the digging. And after several years of digging day in and day out, a tunnel had been dug through that mountain!
Our faith starts out as a mustard seed, but this does not mean that God wants it to stay that size. He will ask us at times to put in some blood, sweat, and tears in order for our faith to grow. Our faith must be made “mature and complete” in order for us not to lack anything. As my family remains under attack I take comfort in knowing that despite satan’s best efforts to shipwreck our faith, we persevere. Our faith may start out as a mustard seed, but with stubborn perseverance, it will grow!
Related posts: The School of Trial, Falling Into Place, Touching The Hem Of His Garment, My By Faith Shoes
Heavenly Father, you know the needs of our hearts. You know the trials and mountains that we face. Thank you that your plans are to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11) in the midst of our mountains. Things might not go according to our plans, but our trials and struggles never surprise you. You saw them coming long before we did. Give us this day the things we need to accomplish today’s mountains or even today’s section of the mountain. Help us to remember that just because our mountains get bigger, does not mean you love us less. Your love is not a yo-yo, up one day and down the next. Please solidify in our spirits that our mountains are not an instrument to measure your love for us. Lord, seal all these things upon our hearts in Jesus precious name.