Does the problem you’re dealing with look like a mountain in front of you? Maybe, you’re having trouble in your marriage. And the problem is bigger than what you think you can handle. Or, maybe you’re facing some other mountain size problem that is putting a strain on your marriage.

Whatever the problem may be, I want you to know I understand how you feel. I have felt that way many times, in my marriage and with other battles that affected my marriage. Many times I have felt like the problem was like a huge mountain in front of me.

But whenever I think a problem looks as big as a mountain I’m reminded of what Jesus said about moving a mountain.

And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.”  Matthew 21:21

Wow! What a tremendous statement.

Now, Jesus was not careless with His words. And as believers we should be following every word He said. In this verse, He used moving a mountain as an extreme example of what our faith in God can do. He said we could speak to a mountain, and if we do not doubt in our heart, the mountain has to move. That is so amazing!

He was teaching about faith, but He used moving a mountain as an example for a reason.

• Mountains look permanent.  
• Mountains look impossible to move.

A mountain-size problem appears permanent. Like it is here to stay no matter what you do. The problem seems impossible to overcome because it is bigger than anything you have ever faced before.

But Jesus said the key to mountain moving faith is keeping doubt out of your heart. And I believe there is one single mistake we all make when we are facing a mountain size problem.

The one thing that always makes it difficult to have mountain moving faith is we measure the size of the mountain. Because when we think the problem we’re dealing with is big enough to qualify as a mountain, we automatically move away from faith and into doubt.

How do we measure the size of the mountain?

It’s a matter of perception.

Try this exercise.

• Take a coin, preferably a dime because it is the smallest in size. Hold the coin away from you as far as you can and look at it with one eye shut. The dime will appear small and barely noticeable. And you will still see everything else in front of you.
• Now, bring the dime all the way to your eye until your hand is against your face. Notice how the coin appears much bigger than it was. Notice how you see almost nothing else but the dime.

That is how perception works. The closer we are to the problem, the bigger it is in our eyes. And sometimes we are so close to it we are unable to see anything else but the problem. 

Now, I’m not trying to minimize anyone’s marriage troubles. All I’m saying is we have to be aware of what happens to our faith when we measure the size of the problem. The bigger we perceive the problem, the more challenging it will be to have faith.

Jesus made it clear, if we want our faith to work we cannot doubt in our heart. So, we have to understand how doubt gets into our heart. And we need to know what it takes to remove it.

Remove the doubt and shrink the problem.

• Don’t allow your thinking to dwell on the negative details surrounding the problem. It may take a lot of work at first. But you have to get control over the way you think.

• Stop worrying and letting anxious thoughts dominant you. Worry and anxiousness are nothing more than meditating on fear.

• Avoid sharing your problems with anyone who does not have faith. Someone else’s negative perception can have more of an influence on you than you may realize.

• When you share your troubles with someone else that does have faith, don’t feel like you have to give them a complete rundown of how bad the situation looks. Remember, stacking up the negative details that are against you only invites more doubt. Faith comes through the word of God, not through the knowledge of how severe the situation looks.

• Don’t let your length of time in this battle become one of the details of how bad the situation is. It’s okay to set a deadline if that’s what you need to do. But other than that you have to beware of how a long battle can affect your perception of the problem.

For some additional reading and encouragement.

Read the following passages of scripture.

Numbers chapter 13:

Read how 12 spies went into enemy territory to bring back a report of what the nation of Israel could expect when they went in to take their promise land. They all seen the same thing. But only two seen the enemy through the eyes of faith. The other 10 seen them through the eyes of fear. Then if you read on into chapter 14, you will see how the fear of those ten spies influenced the whole nation, causing them to wander in the wilderness 40 years.

1 Samuel 17: 

Read the story of a teenager named David killing a giant, who was a seasoned warrior. The secret for David was he didn’t see himself as a young man that had no chance against the warrior Goliath. Instead, he saw where Goliath stood no chance against the living God who had made a covenant with David’s people. God had promised to go with them in battle. And on many occasions, He had already proved He went with them. So, all David did was trust on his covenant with God.

In closing, remember this. Instead of letting the size of the mountain move your faith. Use the size of your faith to move the mountain.

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