Faith Can Move Mountains

I once used a wordless picture book called Zoom to teach young writers the importance of imagery. The book begins zoomed in on an object. With the turning of each page, a slightly broader picture of the surroundings appears. The lens zooms out. At the end of the book, when the entire scene is revealed, I would never have guessed the starting image just by looking at it in isolation.

As I sit here this morning, the first day of December, I can’t help but feel that way. I look forward to the first day of December each year because it marks the beginning of one of my favorite family traditions. Before my daughter was born, I found a beautiful, wooden Advent box. Each day has a small door just big enough for a note or a small something. My husband and I wrote notes to one another each day of December. When our daughter came along, we carried on the tradition adding in a book each day.

I sat down last night to write the first note of the season. I just couldn’t believe it. I allowed my lens to zoom completely out. Phrases like, “Don’t forget your mask!” and “Do you need anything while you’re in quarantine?” swirled in my mind. How vastly different the landscape of our present situation is from last December.

Let’s be honest. Truth be told, we’ve been wearing masks long before it became a component of the pandemic. The facade. The smile when everything inside of you is wrecked. The ‘we don’t need a thing’ answer when you absolutely need someone to bring you a meal and tell you everything is going to be okay. Those masks keep us from being our authentic selves. And in a way they thwart the gospel message of allowing others who have been in our shoes to come alongside us in our suffering just as we ourselves receive comfort from God (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

My focus for this year’s first note was simply faith. Faith can move mountains. I found a sticker book with that exact phrase on the cover. And if there has ever been a time in my generation that I’ve felt a continual testing of my faith, it is now.

Father God, You are so gracious and good to us. Thank You for holding our hands during times of uncertainty. Help us to faithfully cling to You alone. Walk beside us and help us to zoom out of our present circumstances to see that You are in control of everything. Help us to increase our faith in You. Thank You for Your forgiveness and unending grace. Amen

Matthew 21:21, Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. (NIV)

Matthew 17:20, He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, 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.” (NIV)