…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 20:17b

When a person sets out to give life to their dream or vision, or even to undertake a project that is relevant for that season of their life, one thing they do without fail is to take stock of what they have in hand.

Our Master and Savior, the King Creator, actually instructs us in His Word that a wise man takes inventory of what he has before he begins, lest when he starts he finds he is unable to finish (LUKE 14:28-29).

The one thing that many of us find paralyzing about this is that when we do actually take inventory of what we have, we tend to lean on our own understanding, often stifling the voice of the Lord that is telling us to begin, in favor of believing what our eyes and logic are telling us, and that is we don’t have enough.

What is interesting and most compelling about these two verses; our view of the mustard seed (MT.20:17) and the urgency to take inventory (LK 14:28-29), is that if you view them from the paradigm of faith, you see that what the Lord is saying to us to take inventory of our faith and to have the faith to begin…oh and while we are having faith, it only needs to be the size of a mustard seed.

In short, if He is telling you to proceed, all you need is the seed of faith to even start right from where you are.

TAKING INVENTORY OF WHAT WE HAVE

When we start with our seed of faith, we must marry it with the Word. We must remember what His Word says for faith comes by hearing and hearing through the word (ROMANS 10:17).

Here are a few words to stash in your starting-arsenal:

• He (Jesus) blesses the work of my hands and the fruit of my body (DEUT. 28:14)
  What you are beginning to produce is blessed by Him especially when it is He who has prompted you to start where you are.
• He gives you the power to gain wealth. (DEUT. 8:18)
  If He gave you the vision and the green light to start building it, then He will give the provision for the vision.
• He will show you which way to go (ISA. 30:21)
  If the Good Shepherd told you to start, then He will show you what to do at each step and turn. His word tells us that if we consult Him in all our ways, He will make straight our paths (PROV. 3:6). Knowing that His word is unchanging and steady, we can start with confidence that as we seek His leading in faith, He will faithfully guide us into success.

5 THINGS TO REMEMBER AS YOU START

Taking a firm grasp upon the word and promises of the Lord, even as we lean into Him, as He prompts us to go forward and begin to build what He has put in us we must:

Allow His words of faith and truth to take residence in our hearts and evict everything that our spirit is telling us is contrary to the call.
Abide in His wisdom as the plan of action is born and develops within you.
See where you are and determine where it is that you would like to be.
Write your vision (HABAKKUK 2:2-3)
Step out in faith! The Children of Israel wanted freedom. They had to step out into the Red Sea to get it!
Determine from this moment on to take inventory of the faith within your heart that Christ has given you for the dream before you, take that seed in hand, and plant it in the soil with your first step.

The Lord is calling you to it! He has also equipped you with the faith you need to do it!

~Dream. Imagine. Believe. Do. CONQUER!

–Candice Coates is an author, blogger, and contributor to Ambo TV. This article originally appeared on her website www.icameforthesoup.com.