Holy Tuesday

“In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.””
‭‭{Mark‬ ‭11:20-25‬ ‭NIV‬‬}
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Only a few days before Jesus’ final breath in His earthly body, He reiterated the importance and power of faith. After all He had done, the disciples were still amazed that this fig tree withered after He cursed it. Jesus wanted them (and us) to understand that not only was this a small task for God, but that even greater things are possible if only they (we) turn to Him in belief. He’s not saying that we can get whatever we want if we ask God, but that God can do big things and desires for us to be a part of the process. God wants an intimate relationship with us where we depend on Him and trust in His power and provision.
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This is faith: being confident that what God says is true and choosing His plans even when they don’t make sense. Faith changes the desires of our heart to align with His and clears the way for our actions to follow. Faith requires us to trust wholly in God despite circumstances and feelings. We all have faith in something or someone, but faith in God is the only faith that will not disappoint.
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“Many of us are faithful to our ideas about Jesus Christ, but how many of us are faithful to Jesus Himself? Faithfulness to Jesus means I must step out even when and where I can’t see anything. But faithfulness to my own ideas means that I must first clear the way mentally. Faith, however, is not intellectual understanding; faith is a deliberate commitment to the Person of Jesus Christ, even when I can’t see the way ahead.”
{Oswald Chambers}
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{HPZ 3.30.2021}