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This week we turn our attention to Luke chapter 17. Please read verses 1-19 every day this week and, if possible, use a different translation each day, asking God to open your eyes to fresh revelation from His Word
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Luke 17:5-6 (NLT)
‘The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.” The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it would obey you!’
Every week there are millions of people waiting for a certain set of numbers to be announced that would change their lives forever. They have purchased a lottery ticket and sit there with fingers crossed, hoping that the overwhelming odds against them winning will somehow be overturned this time. They sit with bated breath as the numbers, one by one are announced. More often than not, the ticket goes in the bin once again and their dream of being a millionaire is in tatters.
Of course we all know that there are some winners and so many of them find out that phenomenal wealth isn’t all that it’s made to be. Their families are stalked, the begging letters are almost constantly arriving and it isn’t safe to live a normal life just in case one of the children is kidnapped. Some people find that they spend astronomical amounts of money very rapidly and end up with nothing. They had all the riches they could want and yet were unable to use what they had properly. They end up penniless and in a worse position than they were before their new found wealth. On the other end of the scale there are people who have very modest salaries and yet are able to manage their finances incredibly well and live happy and contented lives. It isn’t really about what you have but how you use it.
Our verses today are very well known and yet so very often misunderstood. As a young Christian I always felt that I needed more faith in order to get through some of life’s problems and circumstances. I would look at other Christians and think that they had it all together because they had more faith. The Bible teaches that ‘Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God’. I foolishly thought that as long as I kept reading the scriptures that my faith would increase. I was waiting for something to happen in my life just because I had a daily reading plan! Very often I would read the scheduled verses as quickly as I could and then move on to the newspaper. Surely faith would come if I stuck to the plan? My attitude was similar to that of the disciples. When faced with a seemingly impossible problem, I would ask God to make my faith stronger so that I could believe that He would do something about it. What I didn’t know was that it isn’t really about what you have, it’s all about how you use it. Jesus said that you only need the smallest amount of faith to accomplish great things. So how does that work?
William Hendriksen in his commentary says that the true meaning of Jesus’ words is: ‘If you have faith as small a mustard seed and if you constantly put it into practice, you would say to this mulberry tree…’ In other words, nothing that God asks you to do, would be impossible for us to accomplish as long as we remain in a trust relationship with God. When I was younger, I was putting my trust in the practice of reading His Word. I needed to move to a personal relationship with Him that was entirely based on trust IN HIS WORD. That’s faith! You may be just starting a relationship with Jesus and think that you don’t have a lot of faith. Trust Him. Your ‘little faith’ in the Hands of A HUGE GOD will do amazing things.
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