From the Home Place

December 22, 2025

And just like that, for the next six months our Lord will add a few minutes of daylight to each day. The “dark days of winter” are beginning to be replaced with the “the sunny days of summer!”

Recently, Miss Deb and I were visiting about Matthew 17:20 where Jesus is talking about the power of faith: “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.” At first glance, this verse looks like it promises everyone who has “faith” the ability to literally move mountains, yet I believe that is not quite what Jesus is talking about here.

In the time of Jesus, it was normal for a king from one land to wish to go visit the king of another land. Often such an excursion was planned well in advance. After all, there would need to be provisions, military support and an ample number of servants required to care for the king during his travels to a foreign land.

If the expected journey was to take place on land, it was normal for the traveling king to send trusted servants to map-out a roadway for the king’s expected journey. These trusted servants would use slave labor to cut-down mountains and to make the roadway as straight and as level as possible. As such, the king’s faithful servants would literally move mountains on behalf of their king.

Back to today’s verse, I believe that Jesus may well have been indicating that a person who possesses faith in God, could remove mountains (obstacles) for others, through prayer. Thus, it is a great responsibility to pray, asking our King to remove that which is impeding the journey of others.

During our study, I mentioned to Miss Deb that it always makes me smile on the inside when someone asks me to pray for them concerning their struggle in obeying a command of Scripture. For you see, if a person is struggling with obedience, it means that the Holy Spirit is at work within that life and that causes me smile on the inside.

One of the primary responsibilities of the Holy Spirt is to constantly remind a Christ-follower of anything that prevents us from fully obeying our Lord, a mountain if you will. Even though such a situation is seldom pleasurable for the Christian, it is imperative for that person’s spiritual growth. For spiritual growth increases faith, which according to Jesus Christ, is required to prayerfully remove obstacles. Thus, making the journey of the one struggling safer and easier as they travel toward their upward destination. Once again, the King has sent His trusted servant to prepare the way!

If today you should learn of someone who is finding their spiritual journey to be a difficult one, take a moment to pray with that person. Encourage such a person to allow the Holy Spirit (the trusted Servant of the King) to do that which He needs to do to prepare the way for the King to work within that person’s life.

Much like there being more daylight in the ensuing days before us, praying with and for others makes every day much brighter as well. So, pray, encourage those around you, while watching God do that which only He can do – move mountains!

Smiling on the inside with you, Neal