Renewing Faith by Dr. Lynnette Simm
The year is coming to an end. So much life has happened in the last twelve months. We have moved, dealt with health issues, helped family while they were ill, welcomed children back, and sent a child off. We have gone through jobs coming to an end, new ones beginning, friend’s marriages on the edge and brought back into renewing love, celebrations have been had, and goodbyes said.
So much life. Through it all, my faith in the Lord’s hand on my life hasn’t wavered. The Bible says, in Matthew, “If you have the 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.” That was the size of my faith at times during the year, but nonetheless, I had faith.
The mustard seed is the smallest of seeds, yet it can grow between 6-20 feet tall with a 20-foot spread, and under ideal conditions can grow as tall as 30 feet! All that from the smallest of seeds.
That’s how God works! I have witnessed when all seemed lost and then forgiveness given, when the body seems to be giving up and then healing, and when the last dime was spent and then the check arrives. Beloved, these are NOT coincidences, they are NOT miracles, they ARE God’s plans for growth. Growing our faith in Him.
As the year comes to an end, let us hold on to that small seed of faith. Let us weed out the old—bitterness, anger and grudges—so that we can plant our hearts with the fertile knowledge that our God can make amazing things grow larger in us all, larger than we could have ever imagined from the smallest amount of faith.
From your seed, renew your faith in yourself, in your beloveds, in your friends, and in your community. Renew your faith this year in the awesomeness of life and our Lord.