"'You don't have enough faith,' Jesus told them. 'I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, "Move from here to there," and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.'" Matthew 17:20 (NLT).

With wings in place and fairy tutu around her waist, my daughter skipped over to her daddy. For days she'd been begginghim, "Fly me like a fairy!" And today was her day.

Luke wrapped one strong hand around her wrist and the other around an ankle and with a slight bend of his knees he turned his toddler from an ordinary girl who walked on two legs into a fairy who knew how to fly.

She flew around the kitchen with a grin and a giggle. With her arms extended as far as they could reach, she relished this moment.

Right up until Daddy took it up a notch.

Apparently, the first few swings were merely a warm-up. As the swings became longer and higher, our fairy's smile disappeared.

"Too high! Too high!" she yelled.

Maybe you know the feeling?

You pray and you hope for something woven deep in your soul. You dream of the day God lifts you off the ground and gives you wings. Then, God's strong arm takes you higher than you expected and, instead of smiling, that rise in altitude leaves you reaching back down for the ground.

I think sometimes God refuses to let us walk because He knows - in His arms - we can fly.

More than a decade ago, I held my first son in my arms. The build-up to this baby was big.

I scoured magazines and stores for just the right nursery design. We darkened the edges of the baby name book considering syllables and meanings and how it fit with our last name. Joy oozed from our pores as we anxiously awaited the day we would meet our boy.

We loved him and held him and rejoiced at his birth - then, the doctors told us to take him home. Say what?

I sat outside the hospital with my bundle in my arms thinking, Who could possibly believe it is a good idea to send this child home with me?

Deep down in my heart I screamed, Too high! Too high!

With shaky hands we secured him in his car seat and took the plunge. The next several months I wondered where all these "instincts" were that I'd been hearing about.

And when it came time to have another child I told God, "You've got the wrong girl."

I worried my way through my second pregnancy, confident I could barely manage one child and clueless about what to do with two.

Too high! Too high!

Now, I have six little bundles. Six! I have no idea how we do it, and we don't do it well every day, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

The other day, a few of those kids asked to plant mustard seeds in the yard. We had a little jar full of these seeds Jesus talks about in our key verse, "If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible" (Matthew 17:20b).

We lost a few seeds before any made it to the dirt. They really are tiny! Even in the palm of a tiny preschooler's hand, the seeds seemed to almost vanish.

My favorite part of the planting was watching their eyes light up with wonder. Their excitement didn't blossom from the near-invisible seed in their hands. Instead, it bloomed from the expectation of what it would become.

They'd heard Jesus' words and believed Him - a small seed of faith planted in God's power produces the impossible.

God took me higher than I ever imagined and I begged him to please put my feet back on the ground I knew so well. But, much like my fairy princess in her daddy's arms, God's strong grip secured me.

Dear God, I know in my own strength I can do nothing. But, I also know in my Father's strong arms nothing is impossible. Help me run into Your arms today so I can soar higher than I ever imagined. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

***

TRUTH FOR TODAY:

Ephesians 3:16, "Father, out of Your honorable and glorious riches, strengthen Your people. Fill their souls with the power of Your Spirit." (VOICE)

Isaiah 40:31, "But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." (NLT)

RELATED RESOURCES:

How do we let the principles of our faith outshine the pressures of our world today?Join us for the study of Romans and 1 & 2 Corinthians on the First 5 app. Gain practical ways to make opposition work for, not against, the process of strengthening your faith, beginning July 25!Get the Romans and 1 & 2 CorinthiansExperience Guidehere, and download the free First 5 app today.

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REFLECT AND RESPOND:

Is God calling you to do something that you don't think you can handle?

Write a prayer asking God to help you trust Him and follow Him in this area. Then make a plan to take one step of obedience this week!

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