Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you. Matthew 17: 19-20
Life has its challenges and moments of difficulty.
I know that if I were to ask you, "So, have you ever been through a challenging time in your life?," your answer would be a very fast and intensified "Yes!"
I suppose that it would be true to say that ALL of us can answer yes to that question.
It's been my observation that when someone is going through a challenging or difficult cirsumstance he or she tends to repond in the way most everyone else does. Typically one will start sharing the situation with family members, friends, business associates, and in some cases, their therapist.
I assume this approach is, for lack or a better word, normal.
Often someone will even say, "I'm not sure what to do but I have been in prayer about it." But those prayers typically are nothing more than, "Lord, please fix this" or "Lord, take this away."
In the first chapter of the Epistle of James we are told to "consider it joy" when we face trials. I have reminded Christians of this verse countless times even though I have failed to carry it out in my own life far too many times.
The idea James is conveying is that we should take joy in knowing that God will work within the difficulty to produce within us better understandings of how to face future difficulties. God will allow the difficulty to produce "endurance" within us. So, rather than asking God to remove the burden, it's better to trust God through the burden and see what He will reveal to you.
In one instance Peale shares a story of a man who expected to become president of the company he had been employed by for over 20 years. He was the number 2 man and the sitting president had just announced his retirement.
The man was confident that he would be installed as the new president but, instead, the company hired someone from outside the company to assume the role.
Needless to say the man, and his wife, were devastated and as they were sharing a meal with Peale one evening they told him of their disappointment and anger.
Peale understood their feelings but told them that they needed a different approach to the challenge than anger.
He gave them the following three suggestions that you and I would do well to take.
Turn It Over to God
The advice was to not run around sharing their anger with family, friends, and work associates, but rather turn the whole matter over to the Lord. Peale advised the couple to totally stop talking about it and simply tell the Lord that they were turning the matter over to Him. Peale prayed with the couple right there at the restaurant table.
The couple took the advise and started to immediately change their attitude from anger and disappointment to hope and expectancy.
View God as Your Partner in Life
Peale also reminded the couple that the Bible repeatedly tells us that God is with us. This gives us the opportunity to view God as a partner. So, we should talk to the Lord as if He were also involved in the situation we face (because He is). Then, we simply ask Him for direction. Remember, "Ask and it will be given to you."
The couple also took that advice and started talking to the Lord about the situation. They sensed the Lord was telling them to be at peace, wait, and work with the new president. The couple soon discovered that the new president was easy to work with and they actually liked him.
Have Trusting Faith
Peale quoted Matthew 17:20 to the couple and explained that just a little bit of true faith can rectify a problem that seems, on the surface, to be insurmountable.
The couple decided to allow God to be Lord of the situation. Their faith in God started to grow beyond "mustard seed" faith and they knew that God would be God in the situation. They had no expectations that God would get rid of the new president and open to presidency to them. They merely exercised faith.
So, the rest of the story ...
After two years of working alongside the new president and being totally at peace with the relationship, the day came when the president announced that he had been offered another presidency with another company and he was going to accept it.
The board of directors immediately offered the position to the man who (along with his wife) had decided to demonstrate faith and trust God in the situation.
In Matthew 17: 19-20 Jesus lovingly teaches his disciples that faith, true faith, is enough to accomplish great things. Believing and trusting faith can move the mountains we tend to face so regularly and will teach us to see what God will do as we go through the trial (James 1).
I trust this has been a blessing to you.
Tony Guthrie, PhD.
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