Do you ever feel ashamed or disappointed that you have lacked faith or confidence in God…or even doubted Him?

Our doubts, lack of trust, or weak faith may tempt us to think our faith isn’t strong enough.

Let’s look at some scripture passages that might encourage us – even if our faith feels small today.

“And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:14-20)

And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him. The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ And the Lord said, ‘If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.'” (Luke 17:1-6)

Let’s look deeply at these scriptures together.

What do we see about the disciples?

They had little faith. Their little faith may not have even been in Jesus. Jesus said if they had a little faith, they would’ve been able to accomplish great things. The problem with their faith was, perhaps, that it was in something small. The object of their faith may have been themselves or their actions and resources.

If we are Christ-followers, we’re given the gift of faith, but sometimes forget to trust in God and live by faith. We put our trust in ourselves or other things.

That’s why I’m asking myself this week, “Am I looking to the strength of my faith or looking to Jesus, the object of my faith?

What do we see about Jesus in these passages?

He is compassionate and merciful enough to care, yet powerful to heal. He speaks the truth…even when it hurts. He calls us to believe and trust. He’s generous to even a tiny amount of faith (the size of a mustard seed). He calls us to hard things, including repeatedly forgiving when we’ve been sinned against. He uses memorable visuals to make a point. Doing impossible things like moving trees and mountains is essentially like humanly impossible forgiveness and miraculous healing. These are things that are impossible without God’s empowerment and work in us.

After reading these scripture passages, some Christ followers, including myself, have questioned their faith.

If I haven’t been able to move mountains or see God move mountains in my life, could it be that my faith is not even the size of a little mustard seed?

Before we jump to that conclusion, it’s important to consider a couple of things when we read these scriptures.

Mustard seed faith is faith that, by God’s powerful work in us, puts to death fleshly works and produces Holy Spirit fruit. Mustard seed faith is faith in Him for all the imperatives in scripture and all that the Lord calls us to, trusting that HE can produce what we alone cannot.

It’s helpful to see that Jesus’ concern isn’t so much whether we have enough faith or strong enough faith, but whether we have ANY faith in HIM.

He’s saying that the tiniest amount of faith in HIM is enough!

It’s not the faith itself, or the strength of it, but the OBJECT OF OUR FAITH—HIM. Because He alone has the power to do anything He calls us to.

Charles Spurgeon once said, “Our life is found in “looking unto Jesus”, not in looking to our own faith. By faith all things become possible to us, yet the power is not in the faith but in the God in whom faith relies.“

So what do we do when we feel low about our faith? When we are failing to love well?

We can stop looking at ourselves and look to Him in whom our faith rests – Jesus. He is our powerful, Good Shepherd who died, rose, and lives again to intercede for us and works powerfully in us by His Spirit.

Can you think of another time in scripture when Jesus questions the disciples’ faith?

Consider when He calms the wind and waves at sea in Mark chapter four. His disciples asked, “Do you care if we drown?” After he calmed the wind they were still terrified by His power. He asked, “Do you STILL have NO faith? Why are you so afraid?”

Take heart as you read this because He doesn’t leave them for having no faith. He helps them be aware that they are not actively trusting Him. He calls them up to faith in Him, He still disciples them and sends them out to be His ambassadors.

He does the same for you and me!

We have a God who is kind enough to gently call us to faith when we accuse and doubt him. He loves us even though we often look to ourselves instead of Him. He’s powerful and compassionate and always acts on our behalf.

He desires us to have a little faith IN HIM— even if our faith is the size of a mustard seed.

If you feel weak in your faith, the answer is to look away from yourself, look to Jesus, and remember what is true about Him and yourself as one found in Him.

He is worthy to be remembered and to be looked to.

“…since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

How do you remember to look to Jesus?

One way I remember to turn to look to Jesus is through the grace of the biblical process of lament. If you’d like an easy acronym to remember along with all the steps of lament, sign up for my Encouragements To Turn Toward Grace monthly e-mail and receive a free printable along with other helpful freebies.

Encouragements To Turn Toward Grace