My husband and I are preparing to eventually build our forever home on wooded acres outside Nashville. Our land was affected by recent torrential rains that caused severe flash flooding due to seventeen inches of rainfall in less than twenty four hours. The devastation and loss of life in
the counties that were affected is heart-breaking. If by chance you are reading this and were affected, please know we are praying for you.
We suffered some damage to our long, steep driveway. After the storm, I was trying to pick up some of the stabilizing rocks that had floated out of place and put them back where they belong. Some were embedded deep in thick mud and I was having trouble prying them loose. They would give a little, but I couldn’t budge them any further. Then I remembered the science behind leverage.
I found a little flat rock, not even as big as a phone. I wedged that into the space I created when trying to lift the rock out so it couldn’t go back down. It took some repeated maneuvering—a small move followed by a big move—but soon the rock would pop right up out of the mud. It was inspiring to see a little rock do what I couldn’t do in my own strength.
This made me think about faith. When a small amount of faith is applied at just the right place, a much bigger response often follows.
This tiny rock, used as a lever, was able to move rocks ten to twenty times its size. I remembered the saying that a little faith can move a mountain. I suddenly realized it’s not just a nice thought, it’s truth. Why? Because of leverage.
I have no idea how a tiny lever or wedge can facilitate the movement of something significantly greater than its own size, weight or volume. But guess what? I don’t have to understand how it works, I just know it works.
We don’t have to understand a thing for it to still be true.
The same is true for faith. Even if we don't really understand how faith works, we can watch it work on our behalves, if we're willing to give it a try.
When we exercise our faith by taking the small actions that are within our limits, we will see exponential fruit appear in our lives. And we'll remember that we couldn't do it by ourselves, because we already tried and failed! This grows our faith and trust, allowing us to bring more of each into the next circumstance.
Big things that we can’t seem to move on our own can shift almost effortlessly, with just a little faith and action.
Even if you don’t have much belief in the power of faith, it doesn’t matter. The principle works. Offer up whatever you have, take a small step in the direction of that faith, and see if you are not met with much more. You are your own small, but mighty lever.
Are you willing to exercise your faith muscle today? What is one thing you’d really like to see move in your life? Have you done all you can do? Good. Sometimes we need to admit we’re at the end of our resources, get out of the way and accept a little help. A little help can go a long way.
For today, if you’ve done all you can do, maybe it’s time to leverage a little more faith. Speak it. Write it. Pray it. Tell a friend. Be expectant of miracles. Watch that small effort begin to move your mountains.
