Help My Unbelief
Mark 9:17-24 NKJV
[17] Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. [18] And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.” [19] He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” [20] Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. [21] So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. [22] And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” [23] Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” [24] Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
There are things in this world I just can’t believe. It’s an amazing thing to see the depravity of sin in the cold hearts of people.
I can’t believe that things are changing so fast. There is a presence of evil that I have never felt before. It is easy to be disconnected and discontent with all the things happening in our cities, states and even in our own neighborhoods.
Even the most pious, observant religious person can be affected.
The most prayerful God fearing follower of Jesus Christ could be disheartened.
But we must be a people of faith!
A people that is called to be set apart from the ugliness and evil of the world.
The ones that stand in the gap for the searching, lost, hurt soul!
Bring peace and comfort from the heart of Jesus to the heart of the wandering.
These are all good things to do in the name of the Lord, but more often than not it is not always the case! To see the corruption and eversion of this world can deplete our faith, belief and even trust in the Sovereignty of Jesus.
The father of the boy says something that should stir all of our hearts.
Mark 9:24 NKJV
[24] Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
We believe but in the same breath we have unbelief.
The evil we see happening can drain the faith of us. We may still believe but not as we should.
I’ve seen many amazing things that, with no other explanation, comes from the Grace and Mercy of the Lord! There are days when I feel His Spirit rising up in me. There is the faith that grows from a mustard seed into a mighty tree that can move mountains! There are days when I feel Him working through me. I’m more than a conqueror in Him. Bold, unrelentless in building His Kingdom. Not ashamed to Proclaim His Holy Name. Declaring His kingdom, His mercy and His Love.
Sometimes these days are far and few.
Every believer and follower of Christ has experienced the Spiritual Highs.
It’s not often we even attempt to utter any Spiritual Low. Those lows are accompanied by less amounts of faith and belief.
Faith is the center of our Christian life.
We trust in a God we have never seen.
We have faith in Jesus Christ we have never seen.
We believe in a Holy Spirit that we have never seen.
We have faith in the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus that we have never witnessed.
We have faith in the promises of God that we have not yet experienced.
Everything has to revolve around faith.
Not one of us has perfect faith. It’s a process. The more we learn who Jesus is, what is Sacrifice was for and how to follow Him not just to the mountaintop but in the deepest and darkest valley, then and only then will a true belief, a true trust and faith will grow.
This should be our everyday prayer.
I believe but help my unbelief!
Here is a man that is honest and says, “I believe, but there are still areas in my life where I don’t believe.”
You see, the Lord is not limited by an imperfect faith.
Even the strongest faith will always have a small amount of doubt.
The man acknowledges that he has Faith, but he wants to have more.
How much Faith do you desire to have?
As time draws short we will need Faith like we have never had before. We will need a solid belief in the Promises of God!
Jesus must be that firm foundation we haphazardly speak of.
A time IS coming and IS already here!
LORD I BELIEVE, HELP MY UNBELIEF!
This story comes right after the Transfiguration of Jesus. Peter, James and John get a Glimpse of His Glory to come.
The Glory of Heaven is what we should focus on. To see His Glory in all of its Magnificence, perfection . To drop to our knees in awe of Him, this is what we should long for!
We go from the Glory of Heaven back to the unfortunate and sad reality of the Valley.
But there is something that we see here is the reality of us still living in an imperfect world with imperfect people.
Having faith is admitting that you do not have all the answers.
It’s admitting that there are things you can’t do. Things you can’t fix.
It is having to put your trust in the One person that can.
It is not a matter of believing in Jesus Christ, it is about trusting Him!
In the times of peace and war.
In times of clarity and confusion.
In the darkness and in the Brilliance of His Glorious Light!
There will be times that people of faith will doubt the very faith they have.
The father with his demon possessed son wants nothing more than to have him healed.
He looks and asks Jesus,
“ But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help”.
Jesus gives this father His answer
Mark 9:23 NKJV
Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
This is true, but it is only true by the will of God who governs all things, including this very promise.
When a person believes and puts all their trust and all their faith in God then anything is possible because God is all powerful who makes all things possible.
This is not about a faith that produces the impossible, this is about a faith in the God who can do the impossible.
The one who truly believes will set no limits on the power of God!
Seek today to have more faith and more belief in the richness of the Power of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ!
Believe in all that He says is true and trusted.
If you must, come humbly to His Feet and confess
I Believe, help my unbelief!
Pastor Ed
