Faith

There are times when we, as believers in God, can lose sight of His greatness. As we live out our faith every day, we can sometimes begin to take for granted what should continue to amaze us: the God we worship is the Creator of all things. He created life, the earth, and the universe, and nothing is beyond His power.

The issue is therefore not simply whether we believe in God, but whether we truly understand the place our faith holds in our lives. Do we genuinely trust God, or do we limit what we believe is possible to what our eyes can see and what our minds can understand?

When someone grows up in an environment where faith is absent or only superficial, it can be difficult for that person to pass on a genuine spiritual life to their children. Faith is not transmitted only through words or religious habits; it is lived out.

And when faith becomes merely a tradition, it can gradually turn into a form of religiosity without a deep relationship with God. It can even lead some people to reject the Bible or drift away from God.

That is why it is important not to treat unbelief as something insignificant. Not in order to condemn those who struggle with doubt, but because the Bible calls us to genuinely place our trust in God.

A silhouette standing with arms open before a column of golden light in the darkness

Recently, I understood something very simple, yet very profound, through these words of Jesus:

"Everything is possible for the person who believes."
Mark 9:23 — PDV 2017

Why is this statement in the Bible? Certainly not simply to fill the pages of Scripture. Jesus is showing us the importance of faith and trust in God.

But it is important to understand what these words actually mean. Jesus is not promising that we will automatically receive everything we desire simply because we believe strongly enough. Christian faith is not a formula that forces God to act according to our will.

"Everything is possible for the person who believes" ultimately means that we can place our trust in a God for whom nothing is impossible.

Faith therefore does not mean believing that God will necessarily do everything we want. It means believing that He is able to act, trusting Him, and surrendering ourselves to His will, even when we do not yet understand what He is doing.

That distinction is essential.

When I think about people who struggle to believe, I think of a page on which many things may have already been written: suffering, wounds, disappointments, sin, fears, lies, or difficult circumstances in life.

But a page marked by suffering is not a page that God needs to throw away.

On the contrary, God can still transform our story. He can bring healing, forgiveness, restoration, and a new direction. What has been written in our past does not necessarily determine what God can still accomplish in our lives.

This is also why faith is so important. The enemy seeks to discourage us, plant doubt in our hearts, and make us believe that God is limited or that there is no point in trusting Him. But God calls us to look beyond what we see and place our trust in Him.

A person who has faith is not an invulnerable or all-powerful person. It is someone who knows in whom they have placed their trust.

Faith does not make us powerful in ourselves. It teaches us to depend on God.

Jesus also says:

"If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
Matthew 17:20 — PDV 2017

The mustard seed was known as a very small seed. Jesus uses this image to show that genuine faith does not need to appear impressive in the eyes of others.

What matters is not possessing a faith that looks enormous, but genuinely placing our trust in God.

When I discovered what the mustard plant actually looked like, I was struck by the contrast between the smallness of the seed and what it can become. Personally, this image made me think about the way our faith can grow when it takes root in God.

A small seed, when planted, rooted, and cared for, can grow significantly. In the same way, a faith that begins very simply can become deeper over time.

A full-grown tree standing in a field of white flowers

Matthew 17:20 — the mustard seed

We therefore do not need to begin with perfect faith.

We can come to God with fragile faith, with questions, with doubts, and even with our unbelief.

The father of the child in Mark 9 is a perfect example. After hearing Jesus speak about faith, he responds:

"Immediately the child's father cried out, 'I believe, but help me because I do not have enough faith.'"
Mark 9:24 — PDV 2017

A father praying over his sleeping son by a moonlit window — Mark 9:24 — the father who cried out for his son

This statement is especially powerful because it shows that a person can believe while also recognizing that they still need God to help them in their faith.

Perhaps this is also part of what it means to have childlike faith: not to be naïve or to think that everything will automatically be given to us, but to learn to trust God with simplicity, humility, and dependence.

Jesus also calls us to receive the Kingdom with this attitude of humility and trust.

The "mountains" Jesus speaks about can represent things that seem impossible to human beings. But the purpose is not to teach us that our faith gives us unlimited power over reality.

True power belongs to God.

Our faith does not create God's power; it leads us to depend on the One who possesses that power.

God is the Creator of all things, visible and invisible. He is not limited by what we can understand or perceive. He can act in our lives, in our hearts, and, when He chooses, in the concrete circumstances of our existence.

But this does not mean that we will never experience limitations.

We are human beings. We have bodies, needs, weaknesses, and physical limitations. Recognizing these limitations is not necessarily a lack of faith.

Faith does not mean denying our limitations.

It means believing that God can act beyond what we are capable of doing on our own.

One day, while I was listening to a sermon, I suddenly felt extremely unwell physically, for no apparent reason. Since I was already used to feeling unwell, I had come to accept that state, telling myself that I had no power over the situation.

But inwardly, I felt a conviction that God was calling me not simply to resign myself to it, but to trust Him. So I prayed and commanded the pain to leave, placing my trust not in my own power, but in God's power.

During that moment, I saw a light spiritually, which I personally understood as the presence of an angel approaching me and placing its hand on me.

Then the pain disappeared.

I cannot claim to know exactly how God acted. I simply know that I experienced this as an intervention from Him, and it deeply impacted my faith.

Through this experience, I understood that God was calling me to trust Him rather than immediately consider a situation to be permanent.

Since that day, I have learned not to let my circumstances completely determine what I believe is possible for God.

I also experienced something particular concerning my sleep. I had significant difficulties sleeping. I could need a lot of sleep while still going through periods of insomnia.

One evening, while I was writing something related to God, I became worried again about how much sleep I was getting. I realized that some of my thoughts were being driven more by fear and worry than by trust in God.

So I surrendered my sleep, my thoughts, my mind, and my body to God.

The next day, despite having slept only a few hours, I felt completely fine.

I do not want to turn this personal experience into a general rule for everyone. A person can have great faith and still be tired, sick, or go through physical difficulties. Faith does not guarantee an absence of suffering.

But this experience taught me something: I do not want to allow my circumstances to decide for me how great God is.

External circumstances can influence our hearts. They can frighten us, discourage us, or make us doubt. But faith teaches us not to allow those circumstances to completely determine our trust in God.

When we believe that God is leading us in a certain direction, we can ask Him for discernment: should we persevere, wait, change direction, or simply trust Him in the midst of uncertainty?

God does not ask us to deny reality.

He asks us not to forget who He is in the midst of that reality.

This is where faith becomes truly important.

God has given us so much through His grace, and especially through Jesus Christ: forgiveness, hope, the opportunity to have a relationship with Him, and the promise of His presence.

But sometimes we may struggle to receive what He gives us because our fears, wounds, or unbelief prevent us from trusting Him.

Our thoughts can sometimes trap us within limitations that do not come from God. We may tell ourselves, "I can't," "this will never change," or "God cannot act in this situation."

But we must also learn to distinguish false limitations from real ones.

Faith does not mean believing that we can do everything.

It means believing that God can do what we cannot do, and that even when we cannot see a solution, we can continue to trust Him.

If someone wants to grow spiritually, they can ask God to renew their way of thinking, strengthen their faith, help them overcome their fears, and give them the discernment they need to recognize what truly comes from Him.

Faith is therefore not a magical force.

It is not a way of controlling God.

Nor is it the complete absence of doubt or fear.

Faith is choosing to trust God despite what we do not yet understand.

It is believing that He is able, while accepting that His will may be different from ours.

It is walking with Him when we have all the answers, but also when we do not.

Today, I thank God with all my heart for the knowledge He has given me throughout my life. Despite my young age, everything I have learned and all the experiences I have gone through have allowed me to grow spiritually.

I am deeply grateful for this journey, for the lessons God has allowed me to receive, and above all, for the opportunity to continue learning to trust Him.

I want to continue growing in a faith that does not simply seek to see miracles, but seeks above all to know God.

A faith that does not only say:

"God can do it."

But also knows how to say:

"God can do it, and even if I do not understand what He is doing, I will continue to trust Him."

Ogannesyants Ariella

My Testimony