The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”
(verses 5-6)
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Lord, this too is my prayer: “Increase my faith.”
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I look back in my journal and see that I came upon this scripture afresh several summers ago, right in the midst of struggling with the non-sale of our house. There were other prayers, too, I’d been praying passionately (at least by my own standards) for our church over the previous half year. But I hadn’t seen movement on either front. Certainly not like a mulberry tree uprooted and replanted.
All of this left me struggling. Clearly, the Lord spoke these words to urge us on, to strengthen faith. Clearly, he meant for this scripture to be active and alive, not shelved and by-passed. “So, Lord,” I wrote, “please unpack it for me. Please launch me into a practicum of faith on these verses.”
Let me track, now, what I’ve seen since. I still feel incredibly challenged and stretched, indeed out of my depth. But let me track the sightings.
We prayed and prayed about our house-sale. Nothing happened. By the end of that summer, we became the ‘proud’ owners (I say, tongue firmly planted in cheek) of two homes, as the new house on which we’d made an offer, completed. We had interim financing in place, but we were stretched to the limit, the financing poised to eat into our savings, month by month. We prayed, more desperately, for a sale. Nothing.
My sister suggested we register to do short-term rental of our new house. We don’t live in a “destination” location, but we thought we’d try. The result was beyond expectation. The interim financing was underwritten by rental revenue. Still, we prayed. We got an offer, painfully below our now reduced asking-price. We declined.
And we watched, seeking to learn the Lord’s plan in the midst of the prayers. By Christmas we took our house off the market. Still the rental income sustained us.
Just over a month later we re-listed. The market had shifted. The supply of houses for sale was low. There were eager buyers, many of them. Our house sold in less than a week with multiple offers and a good price. We were rejoicing!
Almost immediately we started getting cancellations on our short-term rentals. COVID-19 had set in, with travellers drastically changing plans. Economic outlook became uncertain.
We marvel at the timing. This mulberry tree took its time but is now firmly replanted. Prayers were answered, completely unlike what we had anticipated. Our expected scenario didn’t play out. But a more marvelous one did.
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Lord, I need much more stretching when it comes to faith and prayer. You have bigger issues yet in which to stretch me, bigger than mere housing-sales. But, I will remember this journey. I won’t forget this replanting.
You have blessed us. Thank you.
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Reflect:
What unanswered prayer could you reinvigorate with the story of the mulberry tree? Ask the Lord to launch you in a practicum of faith. Watch for his handiwork.
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Photo by Gilly Stewart on Unsplash
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