“And Jesus answered them, Truly, I say to you if you have faith and do not doubt you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree but even say to this mountain, ‘be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen” Matthew 21:21 (ESV)
Has it ever occurred to you that as the eagle soars with exceptional strength and vision, it does so without motivation; rather it soars naturally as it has been empowered to do. This is the same for us as believers as we are armed with the innate ability through the Holy Spirit to have faith and move mountains.
In the anchor scripture, Jesus was teaching his disciples what faith can do. Just moments before, the disciples marvelled at the potency of the words Jesus spoke to the fig tree. He replied that they could move mountains too if only they had faith.
It is true that to move mountains, you need to have faith in God. However, this faith in God comes through understanding the word of God. Faith is more than mere wishes to fulfil all needs and wants. In James 4:3, the writer explains that faith is not a tool to fulfil lustful desires neither is faith like making wishes to a genie in a bottle.
Faith can be defined as the selfless desire for the will of God, believing that he has your best interest at heart. This means that the focus of your faith is God and His will for your life, not your desires.
Let’s take a look at the father of faith – Abraham; he believed God after God spoke to him (Romans 4:20-21). It was not a mere wish pursued with stubbornness, rather, he trusted the word of God spoken to him above his feelings to the extent that he didn’t hesitate to sacrifice his son. He was resolute in his trust in God that he was not afraid to lose his son (Hebrews 11:17).
In addition, since the object of your faith is the unfailing God; the faith that moves mountains will not come with a fear of loss or shame. Like Abraham, if God demands the promised child, you simply obey because you are confident that God has your best interest at heart and His will and ways will always be better than yours.
As you have received God’s promises to you this new year, fix your gaze on God because surely unfavourable situations will show up and try to push you to lose faith and have doubts. However, moving mountains will demand unwavering faith in God despite unfavourable occurrences.
To move mountains this year, incline yourself to the heartbeat of God and let Him lead the way.
Bible Reading Plan: John 1:1-28