The Mustard Seed Principleਨਮੂਨਾ

22 Years

Don't despise the day of small beginnings—the days of the mustard seed. Somehow, Jesus is saying: Don't despise the day of small beginnings (Job 8:7; BSB). The NASB translates the verse as, "Though your beginning was insignificant, yet your end will increase greatly." We have the exact words in Zechariah 4:10 (BSB) - For who has despised the day of small things?

But why doesn’t my mountain shift immediately? People feel they have prayed, and yet the mountain remains unmoved. This is one of the biggest reasons people don't pray: they don't see immediate answers to their prayers! Why does it take so long? Has God heard at all? Isn't God's "silence" simply indicating that He can't do anything about the situation? Moreover, does He even exist? Does He care? We sometimes want to see answers immediately, but change often comes piece by piece as we persevere in what God has given us to do.

A story: This is a true story of The Mountain Man, who comes from Bihar, an Indian province. Dashrath Manjhi initially worked in a coal mine and married Falguni Devi. She often walked over Gehlour Mountain to get him food.

But one day, she fell on the mountain and later died from her injuries. Manjhi was devastated by this incident and decided to cut a road through Gehlour Mountain. This mountain cut off their village from a larger town where they could access better medical services and essential living supplies. He got up at 4:00 a.m. every morning for 22 years (1960-1983) and went to work with a hammer and an iron rod.

At first, the village inhabitants laughed at him, but in later years, they began to help him by providing him with food and tools. After 22 years, there was a road 110 meters long, 7.7 meters deep, and 9.1 meters wide.

Often, people would laugh in the beginning, assuming it couldn't be done, certainly not with “a hammer and an iron rod.” Can you imagine that first day with a hammer and an iron bar? Just imagine the first blow of the hammer. After a week? Six months? Five years? But 22 years later, there was a road.

Friend, let's cut through rocks and mountains to open spiritual gates for the advancement of the Kingdom. Some prayers, God will answer immediately. At other times, it may take “22 years.”