I stumbled across an analogy a few years ago that helped me in the area of faith. It all started with the question the disciples asked Jesus when they had been caught red handed at not being able to heal the boy who had seizures. Their question, “Why couldn’t we heal him”, struck me. It became my question.
It’s funny how if you just stay with something, instead of sweeping under the rug, as the disciples had tried to do, hoping Jesus wouldn’t find out; that Jesus must enjoy our searching. It really is like looking for jewels. They’re not just laying out in the open; you have to dig for them. And if you stay with it, every now and then you will find one.
So, this is the jewel I found. Jesus told them if they had faith even the size of a mustard seed, they could move mountains. And it hit me. Jesus’ faith is like a dozer. He can move a pile of dirt pretty quick. Mine on the other hand is like a shovel. I can move the same pile of dirt; it’s just that it will take me longer. Faith believes that if you stay with it, it will be moved. Not that it might be moved, but that it will be moved.
It was the perfect analogy for me. Being a builder, I have had plenty of opportunity to move dirt with both equipment and the old shovel and wheelbarrow method. Little by little, if you stay with it, the latter will get the job done.
It is important when we invest our time and energy in physical labor that we see progress—evidence that our labor is paying off. The same is true, it think, in the area of spiritual labor. We’re bad about praying for something a couple of times and then quitting if it doesn’t happen. But to see evidence of progress; that is enough to confirm you are on the right track.
A few years ago I took to task, praying for a girl who had seizures. After months of praying from time to time, and maybe even a couple of years now that I think about it, the only evidence I saw was when her mom said the seizures had become less frequent and less severe.
Two or three years have passed and the mom just mentioned in a comment, that the seizures were still, “less frequent and less severe”. Funny that pile of dirt is just where I left it. When I laid my shovel down, it quit getting smaller.
So this morning, I am picking it back up again. As with any pile of dirt, it is not a matter of trying to move it—hoping you can move it—hoping it will eventually be moved. It is a simple matter. Stay with it, shovel by shovel, wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow, and eventually it will be moved.
I believe it.
Hunger and Thirst 