Mountain Moving Faith

by Rhonda Barnes

​Have you ever faced a mountain so big you felt as if you were trying to move it with a plastic spoon? I have described challenging times that way. Sometimes life is full of difficulties and in our own strength, it is much like the description of trying to move a huge amount of earth with a flimsy little plastic utensil.
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If you feel that way today, I want to encourage you to take a step back and realize that no amount of striving in your own strength will get it done, even if you have a bulldozer! There are times when only our faith can move the mountain standing in front of us. Jesus said it this way:

Photo by Mark Basarab on Unsplash

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​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.” Mark 11:22-24 NLT.

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When you feel as if the mountain is crushing you, it can be difficult to pray and believe that it will be lifted up and thrown into the sea. This is the moment we choose faith over doubt or faith over fear. I am not suggesting to ignore or deny the circumstance exists, but rather that we use our faith to stand on the promises provided for us in the Bible. Faith recognizes the mountain truly exists, and presents it to God. When we do this, we trust Him and turn our striving into believing His promises are true.

Abraham is a great example of this behavior in Genesis 17:1-8. He didn’t pretend Sarah wasn’t facing a mountain of barrenness. Instead, he chose to believe the promise of God. He was ninety-nine years old when the Lord appeared to him and told him that He would be the father to countless descendants. If you are still childless at ninety-nine years old, it takes great faith to believe this promise.
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What an amazing example for us to follow. The Bible tells us Abraham never wavered in his belief that this promise would be fulfilled; in fact, we read that his faith became stronger as time passed. 

Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations") in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be." And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. Romans 4:16-21 NKJV

One of the keys to staying in faith instead of fear is referenced in the emphasized portion of the Scripture above: “God calls things which do not exist as though they did.” Abraham began to call himself a father long before he became a father.

This is what faith looks like. We call things the way the promises of God describes them even before we see them that way in the natural. We hope for the promises of God even before we see them with our eyes (Hebrews 11:1).
This principle also works the opposite way. When we start calling things from a negative perspective that are not as though they are, we create worry and fear. When we use our voice to declare doom and gloom or continue rehearsing the problem we are facing, the result is not faith; it is fear and worry.
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Stop and consider what you are declaring! If you feel as if a mountain is crushing you today, don’t lose hope; instead, tell your mountain about your God! 

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Rhonda Barnes is an author, speaker, Christian blogger, and gifted teacher of God’s Word. Rhonda was credentialed as an Assemblies of God minister in 2002, and currently serves in a variety of ministries at Grace Community Church in Salem, Missouri. Rhonda’s first book, Road to Transformation, Journey to God’s Glory, was released in 2014. Since then, she launched the Christian teaching blog Secret Place Revelation, inspired by Psalm 91:1. In 2017, she released two additional books, Keys to the Kingdom, and It is Written. Rhonda is passionate about sharing the truths of God’s Word and enjoys writing, speaking in many settings, and teaching small groups.

​To contact Rhonda, please visit www.secretplacerevelation.com or email rhondabarnes@embarqmail.com

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