Devon Dick
ACCORDING TO the gospel of St. Luke, Jesus told his disciples: "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea', and it will obey you."
The Apostles felt that they needed more faith in order to accomplish awesome things. However, Jesus said that the issue is not one of little faith or great faith but just to have faith. You either have faith in God or you don't have it.
Similarly, you are either pregnant or not. There is no little pregnant.
What is required is faith as small as the proverbial mustard seed to accomplish the impossible. When it comes to faith, size does not matter.
It is possible that the degree of success and satisfaction that we will experience in 2006 will be dependent on whether we exercise faith in God.
The Webster dictionary defines faith as "The act or state of wholeheartedly and steadfastly believing in the existence, power, and benevolence of a supreme being, of having confidence in his providential care, and of being loyal to his will as revealed or believed in." According to the Bible, faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
GOOD PERFORMANCE
On Sunday, at the Youth For Christ-sponsored concert, Genesis, which had a good performance by DJ Shepherd, who hails from Linstead, a well-intentioned MC said that if you speak it and believe it, it will happen. However, that is not my understanding of faith.
This faith demands that persons believe in God's purpose for their lives and work out this purpose. It ought to be supported by prayer, mediation on God's word.
Too often, persons exercise faith in creatures rather than in the Creator.
Persons eat in faith not reading labels; persons put cosmetics on their bodies without asking questions and persons put information in their minds trusting the source without realising that it is often propaganda.
Not exercising faith the size of a mustard seed means our relationship with God might be characterised by doubt, distress and or disobedience.
Lack of faith in God can lead to a life evidenced by instability, unsettledness and insecurity about what to do. Doubt and faith cannot mix. Doubt kills faith. To doubt is disbelief in God's goodness, power, promises, wisdom and mercy.
Perhaps the greatest hindrance in life is doubting the power of God in us.
WORRIERS
In addition, persons who lack faith in God are worriers. Worry is futile and foolish. There are two things we should never get distressed about: that which we can fix and that which we cannot fix. And since there is nothing else apart from those two scenarios then we need not worry. As the song asks, "Why worry when we can pray?"
A faith as small as a mustard seed can become an instrument of God's unlimited power. But how can this be if we cannot make two ends meet? How can it be when more natural phenomena could lead to disasters in our lives?
How can faith help when gunshots are being fired? Can faith make a difference in Iraq, Haiti, Sudan and Israel? Jesus states that if we have faith we can move a deep-rooted tree. God makes the impossible possible and even the doubly impossible of moving a tree and planting it in the sea becomes a reality.
It is faith in God which can help us endure and overcome the difficulties of 2006, whether man-made or natural phenomena such as hurricanes. This faith toughens people in order to outlast tough times. It is faith in God that will help us to maximise the opportunities that will come in 2006.
Keep the faith in God in 2K6.
Rev Devon Dick is pastor of Boulevard Baptist Church and author of 'Rebellion to Riot: the Church in Nation Building'.
