*Post updated October 2022, Originally published January 2014
"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, nothing will be impossible for you."
The Harness of Faith
“Nothing will be impossible for you.”
This may be one of the few times in the Bible where WE are told directly that nothing will be impossible for US.
In my mind, I always default to Matthew 19:26, when Jesus tells the disciples, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
The “with God” is comforting to me. I prefer to sling the responsibility to do what I can not do back onto God’s shoulders.
The knowledge that nothing is impossible for God is more comforting to me than the thought of me having the power to do the impossible.
However, these two verses are one and the same. They both have a mandatory prerequisite of faith.
When I am living into my fullest identity as a child of God, I am living in faith. Living in faith means I am WITH my God. He is the one who bestows all power, authority, and peace upon me to do whatever it is he asks me to do and/or simply to believe in Him at all times.
Faith is my full body harness, in which I place all my trust as I leap from obstacle to obstacle over what seems like blazing pits of fire below me.
It’s not that the “What if I fail?” or “What if I fall?” doubts don’t come for me. Surely they do.
But, as a child of God, I remember that when the harness of my faith is on, it’s locked and secure. I can trust the One who my faith is in with my whole self.
As long as I keep doing my daily safety checks (i.e., time with God: letting Him check my equipment of faith, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control), nothing will be impossible for ME.
Heart Check
God has called me to represent His glory and His way in the world of fitness and wellness. This world can easily turn you from the love of God to love of self. Because just like God, the fitness industry wants it ALL; your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Some days my work feels like mission impossible.
But this doesn’t mean that we have nothing to learn from the science of health and wellness. It doesn’t mean we must retreat, forsaking every health recommendation and exercise principle.
God is Lord over fitness.
I believe that God is building up his Bride, the Church, to be more healthy and whole. Because the truth still stands true, sick people have a harder time making healthy choices. Jesus came to heal us of all sickness.
Our physical lives will affect our spiritual lives and vice versa. The choices we make each day either add to our vitality, wellness, and life, or they puncture holes in God’s beauty and design of our bodies.
Some will try to throw down the grace card and justify why God doesn’t care about what we eat, saying he only looks at the heart.
To which I say, “I agree, and you’re fooling yourself.” Indeed, it’s not what goes into our mouths that makes us unclean, it’s what comes out. The question is, “What’s in your heart?”
Our hearts are the wellspring of life.
Every choice we make in life is based on a motive. EVERY choice. Food, drink, play, work, and rest. All the choices I make are based on what body of water is turning the wheels of my heart.
I challenge these people to see they are misusing the grace card because grace is not the permission to live by the flesh but the power to live by the Spirit.
Increase My Faith
On the other hand, it would be equally as tragic for us, the Church, to swing in the opposite direction, salvation through works.
On this other side of the street, we find the ditch where the people of God “flex” their muscles for God. We see it happening all the time throughout God’s word.
– People are a wreck
– They cry out to God
– God saves
– They get strong by the power of His love and their belief in who He is
– They get big heads
– They blow it
If your muscles are big, but your faith is small, you might be able to move weights, but never mountains.
Lord, increase my faith over my muscles.
Please.
I know there are mountains headed my way.
To which I must say…In Jesus’ name…MOVE!
Alisa Keeton, Founder of Revelation Wellness is an author, speaker, and freedom bringer. Alisa’s life’s purpose is to make healthy disciples who make healthy disciples. She believes in the power of the Body Of Christ and its many unique parts making up one complete whole. Like any body, it grows best under tension. We are living in the best of times for tension. Let’s train!
