Faith Like Potatoes

To live with the kind of faith that can move mountains; what a beautiful way to live that would be. My faith is as small as the mustard seed. It is as dry as the plains of the Sahara desert. And it is as weak as the man who struggles yet does not call out for help. I am convicted today of that which God has lain on my heart.  Oh Lord, you know the depths of my heart. I pray that you will plant a faith in me that will bear a harvest that is larger than the sea, wider than the valleys, and higher than the heavenly skies. I pray that you will use me in every way possible. I am of the least of them, and I am not worthy of your love. And still you love me in a way that I will never be able to reciprocate or even begin to understand.

                A few days ago, I was hiking on a 4 mile trail up the beautiful Carolina mountains of Asheville with my mother and my younger sister. As we walked, I began to wonder why is it that even though I had given to my life to Christ, I was still stuck in a dry spell. I had little faith that was not strong enough to see past the little struggles in life. And I wanted so desperately for God to use me for a bigger purpose, yet I did not know how. I was stuck. There are two things you should know about me. One, I am the most stubborn and prideful and arrogant person you will ever know, and I tend to let my pride keep me from truly understanding lessons that God sends my way, even when they are for my own good. And two, I know this about myself, and so I often try to find signs from God that reassure me that despite my foolish ways,  there is still hope for me, and everything is going to be just fine. Whether it be in a song, a voice in my head, or an act of nature, if I allow my heart to be open to His word, I am renewed by it every single time. That day, I found two signs of His love, both of which I allowed into my heart for the simple fact that I was dry. But oh, God had a bigger meaning and a bigger message to be struck into my heart than I had even realized.

                The first sign came in the form of a gracious and beautiful act of nature. In my life, I have had very few encounters with the red-chested Robin. And each time I do see one, it means something good is on its way. I can’t exactly explain to you in detail what has happened each time. But to me, a Robin is a symbol of peace and good fortune. One very special time in my life, was when I decided to spend an entire weekend with the Lord, Jesus Christ. I locked myself in my room, plugged the headphones in my ear to fill my heart and soul with songs of worship, and read through the entire book, Captivating, written by Stasi Eldredge about the heart of a woman in Christ. The most intimate and passionate moment in my entire life happened in that room that Saturday night, as I let the tears fall forth, almost as if the Lord had opened up the floodgates of Heaven. I was mesmerized. The next morning, I awoke to the beautiful and sweet melody of nearly, I kid you not, a hundred red-chested robins singing in the trees right outside my bedroom window. You may be wondering why this is relevant to the story. But you see, I had forgotten that moment in my life when I was at peace within me. That moment when I had truly surrendered myself to God because I believed that He was in control. So as the graceful Robin flew before me on the path as we walked, I was given hope that I would return to my God so much sooner than I had anticipated.

                The second sign proceeding the first was none other than the voice of Christ, himself. I walked along the path silently asking God to reveal something to me. I wanted Him to speak to me and to show me what He wanted of me. I was so selfish and demanded of Him to show me, show ME! As if I had any right to ask any more of Him than to thank Him for everything He had done for me and for this world. But God is so gracious and so kind and so loving, that He so loves to hear the desires of our heart. Ask, and it shall be given to you, He says. (Matthew 7:7) In my short conversation with God that day on the path, I asked Him this one simple question, “Why have you not used me yet, in the way I’ve always dreamed of?” I had dreamed of leading thousands of people to Christ, and being a voice of faith that He could use me to raise the dead, to bring about rain in a drought, and to feed a nation of people who hunger for food and for love. My dream was to become an evangelist that was half the woman that Mother Theresa was, who was one of the truest examples of a follower of Christ that this world has ever seen.
                Can you imagine my surprise when I heard His voice in my mind with the answer? I mean, it was so unexpected that I literally stopped and paused in my tracks. My mother turned around to urge me to keep going, and so I did. But I was mind blown by His answer. He simply answered with this,

“My child, I desire to use you to turn this world upside down. But it is not enough to be capable of that kind of faith. You have to open your heart, and accept that kind of faith.”

                Dear Lord, hadn’t I already opened up my heart? I wondered. He smiled down on me and said one last thing, “Once before, you had.” I left the path at the end of the hike back down the mountain that day, not really letting His words sink into my heart. That was the end of that.

                Tonight, I returned to that conversation on the path. Yesterday, I started an online bible college and completed my first lesson. And one of the scriptures I read as a part of the lesson titled, You and the Bible, read this, “Seek the Lord, and his strength. Seek his face continually.” (1 Chronicles 16:11) Tonight and yesterday night, I have sat here on the floor reading the Word and crying like a baby as I have continually cried out to God, I am so deeply sorry Lord that it took me this long to come back to you. I am being sweetly broken, once more. And to be broken of my ways and who this world has molded me to be is one of the sweetest and most gracious gifts the Lord has ever bestowed upon me.

 My brothers and sisters, I so desire to be used for the Lord in a way that heals broken lands and tends to orphans and widows around the world. I long to reach out to the lost of this world and preach the good news of our Savior, the one who rescues us and gives us new life, if we let Him! The Lord created each of us, fearfully and wonderfully made, with a purpose. And no matter how small or how big it may seem to the world, to Him, your purpose is far greater than our humanly minds can fathom. We are capable of moving mountains and changing nations. We are capable of turning the heart of the world towards His love and mercy. But it is only when we allow our hearts to be completely open to that kind of faith that He will use us for miracles such as these. I urge you, to be renewed in your faith on a daily basis, and to pray to Him that He will speak to you and speak through you. I challenge you to open your heart, and let His will be done in your life. My dreams are still there, and I am still that girl with the light in my eyes and a hunger for a revolution of love and peace like never before. I am still crawling on this path, but when He looks at me, I have the strength and the willpower to stand. So let your faith grow, and let it grow far, because He is just waiting to make it blossom.

Matthew 17: 20~"He told them, "Because of your lack of faith. I tell you with certainty, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."

“Peter Marshall, the great evangelical preacher, once said that we need "faith like potatoes" - plain, simple, real faith that will sustain us in our everyday lives. Whenever I pick up a potato I remember those words. That's the kind of faith I want. When we have faith and act on it, God will come through for us, no matter what our circumstances. God is King!” 
― Angus Buchan, Faith Like Potatoes: The Story of a Farmer Who Risked Everything for God