Day Eighteen
DAY EIGHTEEN
I was going to move-on today and talk about Faith healers, those things that replenish, ignite and strengthen our faith but as I was walking and praying I felt the Holy Spirit whisper to me that I had forgotten a faith stealer; a lack of forgiveness.
Just being transparent, I didn’t actually want to listen because someone had literally just hurt me! I was trying to do the right thing and bring it to Jesus. I came to Him carrying the weight and the pain of my hurt; it was all about how I didn’t deserve it, and how could that person could be so unfeeling and cruel in what they had said. What astonished me was the fact that once I handed it over, and shared how I felt, it was handed back to me looking very different! I literally was able to see their heart, their pain, and what they were trying to navigate. In an instant I felt a compassion and perspective that I hadn’t felt before.
It’s funny because before I gave it to God the world felt hopeless, my faith was depleted and I felt discouraged. It was like a filter was placed over my life and everything I looked at had the smear of the ugliness of un–forgiveness and pain.
Jesus clearly links forgiveness with mountain moving faith inMark 11:22-25
Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgiveanyone you are holding a grudge against, so that yourFather in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”
He says this directly after cursing a fig tree that had leaves but no fruit, and then cleaning out the temple that had become a market to sell animals to sacrifice. Both the fig tree and the temple represent religion without power. Jesus doesn’t want us to go through the motions of Christianity, do all the right things, follow the rules, but not experience the POWER of true relationship. That is only found through faith in Him and His ability to move things in our lives that seem insurmountable.
Usually our mountains have a name…an illness, a divorce, a rebellious child, a financial struggle, grief or injury from another.
The mountain of hurt and injury is a huge crushing mountain of a burden that we can’t move on our own, which Jesus knows, and so He is declaring that the only thing that will move that mountain is faith. Faith in His ability to shift it for you, a surrender to Him and a trust that He can
Faith is about believing that God is bigger than the things we can’t lift on our own. He is strong enough to lift them and toss them into the sea.
I will continue this thought tomorrow but want to leave you with a question, do you have the faith that God can help you forgive those who have caused you pain?
Ask Him today to help you move that mountain and cast it into the sea.
Scripture to meditate on: Mark 11:22-25