I have a necklace that features a tiny little glass globe with a mustard seed inside of it. It’s a simple reminder to continue working towards greater faith in my walk with Jesus.
I’d venture to guess most Christians know the adage that if you have the faith of a mustard seed you can move mountains (Matthew 17:20-21). It’s the verse I’ve clung when I wear this necklace.
During my morning devotion a few weeks ago, I re-read Luke 17:5-6 (NASB), which gave me a slight surprise. The verses state, “The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ But the Lord said, ‘If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
There have been several times in my Bible Study times that I’ve been surprised by scriptures and clarifications on what I know…and what I don’t know. I was surprised when I discovered that Ruth was King David’s Great-Grandmother. I’ve been surprised by prophesy connections in the Old Testament to the New Testament. And most recently, I was surprised that I missed the mulberry bush analogy with the mustard seed.
It stuck with me for several days and I’ve been chatting with God about this verse a lot. I have always associated the mustard seed with moving mountains…not with uprooting and replanting the mulberry bush.
There are a couple areas of my life that I should have more faith. As I’ve prayed about those areas the last few days, I’ve realized that if I had enough faith I could literally pick those issues up and re-plant them somewhere else. No more worry or concern over bushes growing in my path.
In all honesty, I like the surprises of scripture when I start to put the connections together. It gives me assurance that I’m studying the Word…and increases my faith that our all-knowing God has a very intricate plan in place. That faith increases with each encounter I have with the Word. And thus, could potentially move a mulberry bush to another location.
I pray that you’re finding surprises in the Word. And that you have the faith of a mustard seed to move mountains…or mulberry bushes!
~Emily
Iron Porch 