PAY ATTENTION AND SPEAK OUT IN FAITH

Source: Google Images

²⁰ In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.²¹ Then Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” ²² Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. ²³ Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. ²⁴ So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. – Mark 11:20-24 NRSV   

The disciples heard Jesus curse the fig tree after not finding fruit on it (Mark 11:12-14). The next day as they were passing by, they all saw the fig tree had withered but no one said a thing, well no one except for Peter. He was amazed and obviously impressed as he excitedly recounted to Jesus what had happened to the fig tree. In his excitement he revealed that he actually didn't think Jesus' words would have the effect they did on the tree, he simply didn't believe it would happen, after all it wasn't even fig season yet, you know... It was more like an “AHA” moment for Peter, he was like “what you said actually happened”.

Now, notice it wasn't Jesus who drew His disciples’ attention to the withered fig tree; He wasn't like “check this out guys remember I cursed this fig tree yesterday, it’s now all dried up, see”. Jesus wasn't one bit surprised that His words had come true, He knew it had to happen because that is exactly what He said. He knew life and death is in the power of the tongue, He knew He could have whatever He said because He didn't entertain doubt and unbelief in His heart. His response was simply “have faith IN God” or as another version puts it “have the faith OF God”. He was simply saying have my faith and have faith in me, remember He is God and He now lives in you by His Spirit, so you have His faith, it is now your responsibility to release it.

If Peter hadn't remarked the way he did, they would've probably walked right along past the withered fig tree and we probably wouldn't have gotten the promises of vs. 23 and 24, at least not there and then. Today, we may go through life without recognizing, let alone acknowledging what God is doing in and around us. Many times we are oblivious to the manifestation of His power in our lives; we just take things for granted and move right on with our set agendas, missing out on opportunities for experiencing growth and intimacy with the Lord. We are not unlike the disciples of the Lord in that regard. 

We will do well to echo the psalmist's reminder to his soul:

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits: - Psalms 103:2 NKJV

I wonder how many times before and after this incident were the disciples oblivious to all the signs, wonders and miracles Jesus did and therefore missed some insights which would've been helpful to them and to us today? I believe there were many many such instances, no wonder John ends his gospel this way:

²⁵ And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen. – John 21:25 NKJV

The Lord took that fig tree incident discussion a step further. He showed us how to deal with setbacks. He went on to lay out simple, clear and very practical instructions on how to deal with mountains in our lives: We are to speak to the mountain - not to grovel and complain and beg God to do something about the mountain. In Christ, you have the authority, so you now get to tell the mountain exactly where to go. We are to speak in faith, that is, not doubting whether what we are saying will come to pass or not, we are to speak confidently believing that what we say must happen and it shall be done! 

Source: Google Images

Jesus promised it, we have His word, we have His Spirit, we have His faith, what else are we waiting for, beloved?! Don’t let that mountain that is in front of you block your view, deny you access or hinder your progress, it’s time you spoke to it in your God given faith-filled authoritative voice and watch it give way in obedience to your words. Blessings!