Matthew covers a lot of ground in his chapters of the Bible. It seems sometimes like he is trying to hit all points or salient teaching moments in one sitting. On the first pass through, nothing clearly spoke to me. But then, on further perusal (and it takes me 3 or 4 times through (I’m a slow learner), I found my self being drawn to a particular section of the chapter.

Jesus seems to rebuke the disciples and call them out for their lack of faith. I think, wow these were men who left their livelihoods and families, dropped everything and followed Christ completely. Sure seemed like a pretty good leap of faith to me. If these guys don’t measure up, I don’t see how I have a chance.

Then Jesus goes on and talks about having faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains. I realized that He wasn’t trying to chastise or put the disciples down, He was just trying to re-direct them. He was saying if your faith is truly in Him, you can accomplish anything.

That’s the tough part for me. When things are going well, it’s easy to put everything in God’s hands. But when I hit a rough spot in the road, I often revert back to trying to work it out myself instead of going to the One who can truly make it work. I know that Jesus loves us and wants what is best for us and I am safe in His hands. I’ve just got to remember who is the pilot and who is the co-pilot during the rough times, or at least who should be.

That’s easy to say, but not always easy to do. More proof that I am a work in progress. Maybe I will get it right when I grow up.