He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, 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." —Matthew 17:20
Have you ever noticed that Jesus commended those who came to Him with a lot of faith? I sure have! If there’s one thing that I long to do, it is to please Him, which is why I strive after great faith. I’m sure you feel the same way. Additionally, if almost everything in the kingdom of God is accessed by faith, we need to get our faith in line so we can live the kind of life Jesus paid for us to have.
Unfortunately, there are many in the body of Christ who have never given their faith a second thought. These are the ones who have weak and feeble faith because they’ve never spent any time developing it. When I was younger, I spent a lot of time in the gym. Weightlifting and body building was more than my hobby—it was my way of life. It didn’t take long to spot the guys who came into the gym and were just beginning. They were easily recognizable by their confidence, the way they handled the weights and the size of their muscles. I’m sure to Satan and his cohorts Christians who have never spent time building their faith look the same in the spirit. They must appear to be easy prey—awkward, uneasy and weak.
I don’t want to have weak faith, do you? I don’t want to have little faith either. I want to have great big, recognizable faith. That’s the way I was in the gym and that’s the way I am about my faith. Back then, there were several things my buddies and I would avoid because they would hinder our muscular growth. Although we would stuff ourselves full of good protein, we would stay away from sugar, processed flour and excessive salt. Why? Because we didn’t want little muscles. If you don’t want to have little faith, there are some things you’ll have to stay away from as well. While you’ll have to stuff your mind and your spirit full of God’s Word, you’ll have to avoid three major things.
First, stay away from worry. Not only will worry drain the power of God right out of your faith, but Jesus commanded us not to worry. Worry is to our faith like a hole is to a tire. You can keep putting all the air you want into the tire, but as soon as you stop injecting the air, the tire will go flat. You can go to endless conferences and spend hours in the Word, but if you are a worrier, then after a short period of time your faith will go as flat as a pancake.
Second, avoid doubt. Doubt displaces your faith. You can be in faith, but if you allow doubt to come into your life, your faith will be dislodged. Whatever amount of time you spend doubting, you will effectively kick that much faith out of your life. The Word of God makes it very clear by declaring that a man who doubts shouldn’t think he will receive anything from God. Why? Because doubt displaces your faith.
Third, keep away from fear. By the time you’ve gotten into fear, the power of your faith has probably already been drained by worry and displaced by doubt, but fear is the worst of all. Fear doesn’t just affect your faith; it replaces your faith. Faith and fear will never be found in the same place. It’s either one or the other. Keep your mind, soul and spirit free from this number one enemy of your faith.
Always remember, worry will drain your faith of its power. Doubt will displace your faith. Fear will replace your faith. Fill yourself to the brim every day with the Word of God as you steer clear of these three faith killers. Don’t be a person of little faith. Be a giant of faith. If you do these things, you’ll develop faith that will cause demons to flee when you come on the scene. Scriptural Context Matthew 17:14-20
Concept Reinforcement He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. —Matthew 8:26
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” —Matthew 14:31
He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" —Mark 4:40
Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear...If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.” —Luke 12:22,28-29
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