Move Mountains?
So in this next blog I want to share with you readers my favorite bible verse and tell you how it blows my mind every time I read it.
Matthew 21: 21-22
21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
Jesus references the fig tree and how He had just let the tree completely wither down and die because it did not produce any fruit. His disciples were amazed at this simingly impossible act. How could someone declare something to wither and no longer produce fruit? Jesus responds by telling His disciples that they also have the power to do this as well. WE have the power…not in ourselves, but through the HIM living IN us.
Jesus says that if we have faith we can literally say to a HUGE, GINORMOUS MOUNTAIN to throw itself into the sea. Right now I am sitting in the Philippines looking out past the city line to a mountain range and I think how can I, a simple human, move one of these mountains. Think about it….how much would a mountain even weigh?? Now think if YOU could tell it to move and it would.
CRAZYY!
It is so crazy I almost do not want to believe it…like I said before this mountain is HUGE,GINORMOUS…. IMPOSSIBLE to move, yet it is written in the Bible that it can be done. It is also written in the Bible that God sent His own son to die for my sins, that Moses parted the Red Sea, that God took prostitutes and showed them His love. If I believe these things I also have to believe that faith in Jesus Christ, in the Trinity, gives me, humans the power to do the impossible….TO MOVE MOUNTAINS!
As I look past the smog over the city and see the mountain ranges I know that do not yet have enough faith to trust God enough to move these mountains, but each day through prayer my faith is growing. In verse 22 Jesus says that if we have faith we will receive WHATEVER we ask for. Now….my prayer for no lice was answered in a different way than I hoped and I got stung by a scorpion but Jesus will ALWAYS answer our prayers. He will give us what we truly need and if that is lice or a scorpion sting, I trust that somehow He is teaching me through the experience. I may not be able to move the mountain right now, but maybe God is giving me the power to bring hope to the poor woman on the street begging for money.
Maybe He is using me to teach a young girl that she is not defined by her past, that through Jesus Christ she is given a new future. Maybe He is using me to be a light to a community that is starving physically, but much more spiritually in ways they do not even know.…I don't know what God's plan for me is or how He wants to use me to bring Him glory. My prayer is that somehow He can use me and you to show one another the love and joy that comes from a personal relationship with Him. That God could give us the faith to know that all we need is Him and that through Him we will have all our needs met. I also pray that God would give us the faith to know that we can also perform miracles to bring Him glory….like showing His amazing power by MOVING A MOUNTAIN, healing a blind man and a woman with cancer…whatever it may be.
I'd love to know what you think about these two verses!
This just makes me smile 🙂 Wait until you get to Africa…I truly believe you guys are going to see some crazy stuff! Oh Africa…
What great insights you express in your Move Mountains homily. As you respond to God’s leading, mountains of despair, hopelessness and fear are leaving these young people as the light of Christ is brought by His servants. It gives me hope in seemingly hopeless places that these children are not forgotten by God, as you ministering angels reach out to them.
Ellen Husdon, I am so proud of you. You are incredibly bold and full of wisdom. I am excited to see what God does through you in Malawi.
EHB, you are moving mountains, pieces at a time. You have answered a call that required complete surrender. The lice and scorpion may just be little (gross) reminders of that. 🙂 Being in the extreme circumstances where you are, have been and will be in the next months require the faith described by Jesus in this verse. Think about life around Him at that time. It’s tough and you have/will struggle but it’s in there in your open and strong heart. That’s just my two cents. We Love You!
The Mountain is symbolic of all the things in our lives that we can’t handle all by our selves. Our answers from God when we ask for his help, may not be what we expect or want. We have to trust Him and look carefully for His answer.
I enjoy your messages. Look forward to hearing your comments on your next destination. Uncle Mike
You know how much we all love you and how very proud we are of you. I have learned so much through your postings and experiences that you have shared. Thank you. You are moving mountains and your are bringing light and love into people’s lives. Thank you for sharing your love of God with the world.
I am so proud of you.
I love you – Aunt “Lucille”