In St. Luke chapter 17, Jesus’ disciples asked that He increase their faith. Jesus’ response was:
“And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.”
It sounds like he was ignoring the question. But he really placed the ball back in their court. Faith is not something that can be transferred, it must be developed. There is nothing wrong with God’s faith. He always gets the job done. It is our flesh (Adam’s seed) that is at war with the Spirit and leads us,if we allow it, to doubt that the Word will come to pass. We tend to use this scripture relating to the size of the “mustard seed’. The Lord was not talking about size at all, but was referring to the integrity of the seed.
How does an apple seed know how to produce apples? What makes a pineapple seed different from an orange seed? Shouldn’t they grow no matter where they are planted? If you’ve ever purchased any type of seed, you know that there is a picture of the finished product on the packaging. All other things being equal, you should expect to get apples when you plant apple seed; pineapples when you plant pineapple seed, etc. There are several mitigating circumstances that determine whether or not the seed you plant produces the desired results. These include the ground, temperature, care, watering, etc. The most important thing to remember is that the seed is pre-engineered by God to produce the manufacturer’s intended results.
The ground doesn’t know the difference between the seed. It’s up to the sower to follow the prescribed process to get the intended results. So it is with whatever seed we sow as believers. Whether it be time, money, compassion, love, friendship, or labor, we must be assured that what we sow we are destined to reap. Seed plus time equals harvest. A farmer never plants a seed and expect a harvest the next day.
What’s your sycamine tree? Are you “sick of” poverty, lack, disease, family discord, etc? Speak the word over your situation. The pure undefiled Word of God must accomplish what it set out to do. Get a mental picture of what you want to see and keep “saying” the Word until your “sycamine” obeys you.
