Confronting Inner Division
As we step into a new year, many are asking the same quiet question: "How do I move forward with faith when I've been pulled in so many directions?"
Jesus gives us a profound answer in Mark 11:23: "Whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him" (ESV).
The key phrase is often overlooked: "Does not doubt in his heart."
The word translated "doubt" does not mean intellectual curiosity or honest questioning. Its deeper meaning is to be divided, inwardly split, pulled apart within oneself (see Strong's G1252). Jesus is not rebuking questions; He is confronting inner division. As we enter a new year, this distinction matters more than ever.
The New Year Is Not About More Effort, It's About Alignment
Many people cross into January carrying vision in one hand and fatigue in the other. Hope is mixed with hesitation. Faith is layered with self-protection. This is not rebellion; this is dis-traction. The word "dis-traction" literally means to be pulled apart.
Jesus teaches that mountain-moving faith flows from a heart that is not being tugged in opposite directions. Faith is not force; it is alignment. When the heart comes into agreement, authority follows naturally.
This is why the New Year often feels like a reset moment. God is not just turning the calendar; He is inviting us to reunite what has been fragmented.
The Fig Tree, the Calendar, and the Call to Fruitfulness
Mark places Jesus' teaching on faith right after the cursing of the fig tree. The tree was full of leaves—motion, activity, appearance—yet barren of fruit. Leaves were in every direction, yet no fruit was in any direction. (Photo via Unsplash)
This is a prophetic picture for the start of a year. God is not impressed by how busy our branches are. He is after fruit that comes from focus.
A tree grows strong not because it reaches everywhere but because its roots go deep in one place. The New Year is a call to depth, not duplication.
A Prophetic Word for January: God Is Healing Divided Hearts
Many Believers are not lacking faith; they are carrying unresolved disappointment from past seasons—promises delayed, prayers unanswered, and hope they learned to whisper instead of declare. But the Lord is saying: "This is not the year to stay split inside."
Psalm 86:11 says, "Teach me Your way, O Lord... unite my heart to fear Your name" (ESV).
This is a year where God is unifying hearts, not by ignoring pain but by healing it, not by demanding certainty but by restoring trust.
The Lord is not asking you to pretend you were never wounded. He is asking you to stop letting old wounds dictate new direction.
Faith for the New Year Requires a Single Track
A train does not move by steering. It moves by staying on the track. All its power is released through alignment.
Many Believers have passion, prayer, and gifting but no momentum, because they are slightly off-track, pulled between what God said and what fear predicts.
James calls this being "double-minded"—literally "two-souled"—unstable in all one's ways. Stability does not come from knowing everything. It comes from choosing one direction. (Photo via Unsplash)
This year, God is not calling His people to louder declarations but to clearer agreement.
Mountains Are Waiting for Undivided Faith
What if the mountain has not moved not because God is unwilling, but because the heart has been negotiating with fear?
Faith rises when we say, "Lord, I choose to stand where You stand, even if part of me is still healing."
When belief and direction come into agreement, something powerful happens. Your mouth carries authority. And when the heart is unified, mountains listen.
A Prophetic Declaration for the New Year
As we cross into this new season, may the Lord unite what has been scattered. May distractions lose their grip, and may focus be restored. May old disappointments lose their voice, and may God's Word regain its weight in our hearts.
This is the year of undivided hearts. This is the season of realigned faith. This is the moment when authority is restored, not through striving but through agreement. Mountains do not move because we shout louder in January. They move because we stop pulling in opposite directions and rid our hearts of doubt.
Step into the New Year aligned. An undivided heart that speaks still moves mountains.
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Crystal G.H. Lowery
Based On Faith
Email:Â click here
Website:Â www.basedonfaith.org
Crystal G.H. Lowery, Esq. is a Christian estate planning attorney, ordained minister, and prophetic author. She is the founder and visionary of the Law Office of Crystal G.H. Lowery, LLC and Based On Faith, a ministry dedicated to deepening Biblical understanding through faith-filled teaching, prophetic insight, and the integration of faith, life, and law. Crystal is passionate about equipping the Body of Christ to walk in bold faith and purpose. She is the author of Abraham's Sandals of Faith, Faith. Is. Now., and Sweet Love Letters to Jesus. Many of her books are also available in Spanish. Her resources can be found at www.basedonfaith.org, on Amazon, and wherever books are sold. Crystal is also a mother to four precious and beautiful children, living out her message of faith in both ministry and everyday life.
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