Luke 13:19
“It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.”
We often hear about God being the God of the miraculous, but we sometimes fail to hear where the miraculous starts. When Jesus describes the kingdom of God, He says, “It is like a grain of mustard seed…” In other words, before the miraculous ever starts, there is a person who takes a small amount of faith and uses what they have, and He then takes that faith and blesses it. There are several things that God is teaching us about mustard seed faith.
First, mustard seed faith is worthless without God. The man may have taken his seed and cast it into his garden, but it was God Who grew that seed. It was the faith of that man to take his seed and cast it into his garden that got God’s attention to make it grow. Your faith will never grow without God. God is not impressed with what you know and what you can do, but He is interested in your reliance upon what He can do through you if you will have the faith to let Him grow your faith. Your faith will not grow without God. The size of your faith is not what matters, it’s the greatness of your God in Whom you put your faith that matters.
Second, mustard seed faith must be patient. Growing is never a quick process. God never said how quickly the mustard seed grew, all He said was that “it grew.” You must be patient with what God is doing through your faith because He never works off man’s timetable. God has a schedule for your faith to grow, and you must be patient with Him as He matures your faith into greatness.
Third, mustard seed faith grows from where it is. The mustard seed is a small seed, but it grew from a small seed into a great tree. You must take your faith from where you are and grow it. Stop worrying about your faith not being as big as another’s faith; instead, take the faith you have and work it. Your faith may be small, but take whatever faith you have and let God use it. You may not have the faith to get big answers to prayer, but exercise whatever faith you have and pray. All faith starts small, and you must grow it from where it is.
Fourth, mustard seed faith uses its strength to help others. The purpose of the mustard seed becoming a tree was so that the birds of the air had a place to nest. The purpose of your faith is not for your personal use, but it is to help others. God doesn’t grow your faith for your benefit, though it will benefit you, but He grows your faith to benefit others. Your faith will never grow into a great faith until you start using it to be a blessing and help to others.
Everyone has some amount of faith, but the key is taking whatever faith you have and using it. When God sees that you are using the faith that you do have, then He will increase it. Faith doesn’t grow when it is stagnant, but faith grows when it is being used. Whatever amount of faith you have, use it and watch God grow it into a great faith that helps others.