All of us have doubts. None of us knows for certain that God exists. We have doubts about Jesus, who he was and what he did. When we do believe in God, we are not certain that he loves us and knows what is best for our lives.
All of us have tragedies that make us believe that either God doesn’t really care about our sufferings or that he is distant and far away. We have doubts not just about God, but about ourselves.
We fear that we are inadequate or ill-equipped to handle some aspects of our lives. Our fears crush us and debilitate us.
Even though our doubts and fears are huge, Jesus said to us, “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” (Luke 17:6, NIV).
My son in Florida has a mulberry tree in his backyard. It was a nice, medium-sized tree when I visited him a year and a half ago. When I returned last summer, I could not believe how much it had grown. It is now taking up half his backyard, and he has a big yard. I foresee it becoming a problem for him in a year or two.
If we let them, our doubts and fears can take over our lives. But Jesus tells us not to let those mulberry trees take over, instead he tells us to exercise our faith.
While we all have doubts and fears, each of us also has faith, even if it is the size of a mustard seed. Mustard seeds are very small. Depending on the type, an ounce of mustard seed will contain about 15,000 seeds and a pound about 250,000. One mustard seed is minuscule. Do you have even a minute amount of faith? Even faith the size of a mustard seed? We all have at least a little faith.
We have a choice. We can choose to live in our doubts and fears, some of which are as large as a monster mulberry tree, or we can choose to live in our faith, even if we only have a little faith.
Living in doubt and fear is easy, you only have to give in to them. If you do, they will destroy you. You will be unhappy, negative, pessimistic, and depressed. Choose instead to live according to your mustard seed of faith, which will produce hope, joy, peace, patience, self-control, love, and all the wonderful fruit of the Spirit. People will want to be around you. You will be happy, attractive, and positive. You will have a vision for life.
If you choose to live in faith, you can say to your mulberry trees of doubt and fear, “Go jump in the lake.” and the negatives of life will obey you.
What prompted Jesus comments about mustard seed faith was his disciples’ reaction to his commanding them to forgive people who sin against them as many as seven times (Luke 17:3-4). Their doubts in their abilities to forgive others prompted them to cry, “Lord, increase in their faith.” Jesus replied that it only required faith the size of a mustard seed.
Each of us has the power to forgive those who have hurt us and get unstuck from our resentments. Jesus told us to forgive our enemies even if they have wronged us repetitively. Unleash your faith, believe that God is big enough to handle your pain. Trust in him and forgive those who have hurt you.
We must put our faith into action. St. Paul put it this way: “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).
The gift that God has given you is faith, even if it is only a spark. Fan that spark into flame and you will not live by the negatives of life, but by the positives. You will no longer be intimidated, but the Spirit of God will give you power to triumph.
You will find that you can love like Jesus loved. You will be able to forgive the way Jesus forgave. You have the faith to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Dr. Dan Darby is a retired United Methodist pastor.
