Have you ever told someone something and they look at you with doubtful eyes and say, “I want to believe, but I can’t”? This is nothing new. This was the same response a father had in Mark 9:24. This story of the desperate father captures one of the most raw, honest human interactions with Jesus in the New Testament.
Jesus had just returned from the mountain where the transfiguration had taken place. He steps into a scene where a crowd was gathered. Some of His disciples were arguing with scribes. A father had brought his son who was demon-possessed. The boy was mute, and the demon had thrown him into the fire and water and caused severe convulsions. The disciples had tried to heal him but had failed.
The father was desperate for help. Mark 9:17-24 shows us this father’s desperation.
Mark 9:17-24 “And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
This father was struggling. He wanted to believe, but he had tried everything humanly possible and found no help for his son. Yet he still doubted his own belief. When Jesus says that all things are possible for the one who believes, the father admits his weakness. This man wanted more than anything for his faith to be strong enough to truly believe Jesus could help him, but even in his belief, he had doubts. He then cries out to Jesus for help for himself. “I believe; help my unbelief.” He does not try to hide his doubt; instead, he asks Jesus to strengthen his weak faith.
When this man was completely honest about his weakness, God stepped in. These verses remind us that even the ability to trust God comes from Him as a gift. It is not something we can muster through our own human effort. It comes from God as we seek Him.
After Jesus had healed the boy and He was alone with His disciples, they asked Him privately why they could not heal the boy. Jesus responded that this could only be done through prayer. Reminding us that we too are weak. Each of us has defects in our faith. He wants us to depend on Him for strength and grace, to put our entire confidence in Him. He longs for a relationship with us where we depend on Him so fully that our strength for each day comes from Him. We need to see ourselves as needy people. The world’s view is to do all we can for ourselves and show how strong we are. Let others see our independence. Yet, in reality, we are only one breath away from eternity, and we do not control that; God does. We need to realize that everything we are, or ever hope to be, depends on Him. The more we depend on Him, the greater our relationship with Him will be. Our goal should be to know Him so deeply that, every moment of the day, we engage with Him in all we do. We need to turn our everyday thoughts, routines, and emotions into an ongoing conversation with God.
Mark 9:25-29 “And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”
So where are you today? In the midst of life’s difficulties, when things can change in a moment and become confusing and uncertain, we often find it hard to believe. We find it hard to look past the present to the future. We must cling to His promises and trust Him in all He allows in our path. But first, we must believe God can change us and build a relationship with Him so strong that He is present in our thoughts every minute of the day. While we know He can do far more than we can imagine, we must also do our part by seeking Him in prayer and study. Do you want this kind of faith?
