The Mustard Seed PrincipleSample

Perseverance and Hiddenness

God values faithfulness in small things. Great moves of God often begin quietly, in obscurity. We must not be discouraged by modest beginnings because God often uses them to accomplish mighty things. The issue is never the size of the problem. The question is whether you can see God and if you are in right standing with Him.

The disciples came to Jesus and said, "Lord, give us more faith!" The way Jesus answered was basically to say, "I already gave you a mustard-seed portion of faith. Just use it." (Luke 17:5-6). God is a God of mustard seeds. He hands them out to humble people with open hands.

A story: In India, there is a man known as The Forest Man. His name is Jadav Payeng. In 1978, 16-year-old Jadav came across large clumps of dead snakes on the banks of the Brahmaputra River. The snakes all died from the heat because there were no trees or vegetation where they could find shelter. He went to the Deori village and sought advice. The people recommended that he plant trees so that there could be shade for the snakes; the trees would attract birds again, and bird eggs would serve as food for the snakes. The shade would also allow other plants to grow.

The locals gave him a few seeds and 25 bamboo plants. Thus, in April 1979, Jadav began planting bamboo plants and seeds. Thirty-six years later, there was a forest of 1,360 acres. Essentially, this means that he cultivated more or less three-quarters of an acre of land every week and planted trees, bamboo, and other plants. It is almost the size of a rugby field per week.

Today, there is a real forest with many plant species. Five Bengal tigers, hundreds of antelopes, wild bears, over 100 vultures, and numerous other bird species live in this forest. Sometimes, even Indian rhinos and elephants visit.

His day starts at 3:00 a.m. He rides a bicycle to the river, then rows in a boat for 5 km, then another half mile to milk and feed his cows, and clean the stables. After breakfast, he walks to his forest and starts working. Even today, he is still planting trees and enlarging the forest.

The words perseverance and hiddenness come to mind when we think about this man.