Faith for the Journey – Mountain-Moving Faith
As I mentioned earlier this week, I am going to be doing devotions on the weekends too this Lent, to give us a full 40-day journey together. And today I want to talk about going deeper in faith on this journey. Charles Wesley wrote this in a hymn in 1749:
"Give me the faith which can remove
And sink the mountain to a plain;
Give me the childlike praying love,
Which longs to build Thy house again;"
Crying Out for More Faith
I love how Wesley asks God here for more faith! He wants the faith that can flatten mountains into plains! He’s getting this imagery from Jesus Himself in Matthew 17:20, when He said this to his disciples: "You have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there," and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.'”
Are you, like Wesley, desiring a stronger faith? I suppose the fact that you are listening to these messages means there is probably a degree of faith in your life already. You wouldn’t have stuck around on this group or this channel if this was of zero interest to you. You believe, don’t you? And Wesley believed too, but here he asks God to give him this stronger faith. It’s as if he realised he couldn’t muster up more faith himself, it had to be God-given.
Perhaps that is where you are at in your life. You believe, your faith is in Christ. But you need to go deeper. You need a faith that can move mountains. You need the simple but bold faith of a child again.
Maybe it’s no accident, that these words of Wesley’s are showing up in your life today. Maybe God has led you to this very moment to pray with Wesley and ask for a greater and bolder faith.
Mustard Seed Faith
How’s your fast going? It’s not too late to start, by the way, if you haven’t already. And I pray in those moments that you crave the things you are fasting, you will cry out to God for faith that moves mountains.
And remember that it’s just faith the size of a mustard seed that you need! This is not about astronomical faith that is out of your reach. It’s actually about a simple but real faith that takes God at His Word and trusts Him as He guides.
Nobody has ever moved a physical mountain by applying this teaching of Jesus. But countless Christians have found victory over the mountains of difficult situations, sins, struggles, by praying as Wesley did for a stronger faith.
Go to God today and pray Wesley’s words. And then walk this journey with a new belief in His power.
I am convinced, that with simple faith in God’s power, we will see mountains move this Lent.
