How Can I Understand And Overcome My Problems? Series

The disciples had the faith, but Jesus was informing them that they had not used it. Even if their faith was as small as a mustard seed they could have solved this problem. The problem wasn’t that they didn’t have faith. The problem was that they weren’t utilizing the faith they did have!

There’s another Scripture that illustrates this point even more clearly.

Luke 17:5 (NLT) One day the apostles said to the Lord, "We need more faith; tell us how to get it."

6 "Even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed," the Lord answered, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May God uproot you and throw you into the sea,’ and it would obey you!"

Jesus didn’t tell them how to get more faith. Because that wasn’t the problem. Jesus’ answer once again indicates that the problem was that they weren’t using the faith they had.

This is very good news! You don’t have to be a giant in the faith to see your problems solved. You don’t have to be a Billy Graham or Mother Teresa. You can have mustard seed faith – small faith - and still see God do the impossible in your life!

The father in our Scripture text proves this very same point. Mark’s Good News account of this incident relates this exchange between Jesus and the father of the demon-possessed son:

Mark 9:23 (NKJV) Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"

What honesty! What transparency! Here is a man who had honest doubts and still saw Jesus do the impossible! The point is – he wasn’t acting on his doubts when he brought his son to Jesus – he was acting on his faith – even if it was pocket-sized faith! He said "no" to his doubts and "yes" to his faith in Jesus! And that’s why the problem was solved.

James 2:26 (CEV) Anyone who doesn’t breathe is dead, and faith that doesn’t do anything is just as dead!

Don’t let your faith go unused! Do something with your faith – even if you have doubts – even if your faith is small. You’ll understand and overcome your problems if you’ll exercise faith in God.

The second way Jesus taught that you can understand and overcome your problems is to…

2. Increase your prayer.

That’s what this father did. He used the faith he had, even though it was modest, and brought his problem to Christ. That’s definitely one thing you can do to put your faith to work - you can pray! You can bring your problem to Christ. You need to pray about your problems. You don’t need to gripe about them. You don’t need to worry about them. Pray about them.

Tony Campolo, a Christian author from Philadelphia, was invited to speak at a college in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. He arrived before he was to speak and some of the men invited him in a back room to pray for him before his talk.

While these men were praying, one of them, just off the cuff, began praying, "And Lord, about Burt Harris. Lord, Burt Harris needs you. He lives in that trailer right down the street from here and he is considering leaving his wife and family. And Lord, if you could just get through to Burt Harris…that would be great." And then he went on with his prayer for the meeting.