A Tiny Seed of Faith

Mea e 'ai e tatau ma le aso
The father instantly replied, “I do have faith; oh, help me to have more!”
(Mark 9:24)

There are times when confronted with the realities of life, like seeing your child physically devastated from a dreadful disease with no known medical cure.  It can really test your faith and beliefs.  But weak faith can become strong faith with God’s help. The attitude of trust and confidence that the Bible calls belief or faith (Hebrews 11:1, 6) is not something we can obtain without help.

Faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9). No matter how much faith we have, we can never reach the point of being self-sufficient.  Faith is not a resource you can store away like money in the bank.  Growing in faith is a constant process of daily renewing your trust in Jesus.  Lifting your loved ones up to Him, praying without ceasing with the surety of His promises.


One day the apostles said to the Lord, “We need more faith; tell us how to get it.” (Luke 17:5)
Effective faith depends on God. The disciples’ request was genuinely real; they wanted the faith necessary for forgiveness and the power to forgive.  But Jesus didn’t directly answer their question because the amount of faith is not as important as its genuineness.  Is your faith genuine?

What is genuine faith? It is total dependence on God and a willingness to do his will, regardless of your circumstances.  Faith is not something we use to put on a show for others to see how spiritually faithful you are.  It is complete and humble obedience to God’s will, readiness to do whatever he calls us to do, despite your personal circumstances.

Jesus compared the minimum amount of faith required to move mountains to a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20).  A mustard seed is small, but it is alive and growing. Like a tiny seed, a small amount of genuine faith in God will take root and grow. 

Almost invisible at first, it will begin to grow, first under the ground and then visibly.  Although each change will be slow and gradual, soon this faith will have produced major results even miracles.

We don’t need more faith?,  Jesus says, a tiny seed of faith is enough.

Ia manuia,

failauga p. anoa'i