“…if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.” Matthew 17:20

Several months ago, my daughter was having some big questions about God. She was having a hard time praying and believing He was actually there. I wanted to do something, gently, to encourage her in her faith and Matthew 17:20 came to mind. I bought a small jar of mustard seeds at the store and couldn’t wait to pick her up from school, but in the meantime, I wanted to examine my own faith and learn more about this mustard seed.

Have you ever seen or held a mustard seed? They are tiny. TINY. They are easily dropped, never to be seen again…but they are packed full of so many essential nutrients that they are considered an excellent food source (I didn’t know that, did you?).

If you think about it, Jesus could have compared our faith to a small pebble, or even a grain of sand, but he chose the mustard seed and I think this is why: even though it is tiny, it is full of important stuff; good, nutritious stuff. So even if our faith might be small, weak or wavering, even that is considered enough because it is there and it is Him. And in Him are good things.

It is interesting to remember that mustard stains. The seed itself doesn’t, but once ground, the mustard spreads and stains; so our faith, even as small as a mustard seed has the capability to leave a mark and not only on us, but on those around us. It’s hard not to drop and lose a mustard seed, so we must hold it tightly, grounding it in and establishing it to leave a mark.

The definition of faith is reliance, loyalty, or complete trust in God. It’s surrendering, letting go of our own efforts and depending on God.   We need this mustard seed-surrendering-faith to believe, to trust and to see in any and all situations. In a tiny amount of this faith we have hope, joy, peace and Jesus. In a tiny amount of this faith, we keep holding on to the One who never lets go. In a tiny amount of this faith, we gain more faith.

I am quickly reminded of areas where I need more faith, more denying myself and allowing God to take control; funny how a little seed can do that, isn’t it? So I ask of the Lord, as the disciples did in Luke 17:5, to increase my faith. Give me more, Lord, more of you; many more mustard seeds of faith.

When I picked my daughter up from school that day, I had taped a mustard seed to a piece of paper with Matthew 17:20 written on it and secured it to the back of headrest so it would be the first thing she saw when she hopped in the car. She was immediately curious and what fun we have had with these mustard seeds! Most importantly, it’s been special to grow in our faith together.

Click here for the link to the video blog about the mustard seed.