SCRIPTURE: But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” Jesus said to him, “[You say to Me,] ‘If You can?’ All things are possible for the one who believes and trusts [in Me]!” Immediately the father of the boy cried out [with a desperate, piercing cry], saying, “I do believe; help [me overcome] my unbelief.” Mark 9:22-24 AMP
THOUGHT: This story can both wreck and encourage you. A young boy, possessed by an evil spirit; an alternatingly humble and assertive father who loves and advocates for him; and the miracle-working savior who never stops teaching, even in the midst of the miracles. Because it is the teaching he has really come to do.
Jesus actually expresses frustration at the crowds in this story for their lack of faith, saying “O unbelieving (faithless) generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? (v. 19)” And yet, he hears the desperate cry of a man who’s brought his son for anything. “If you can do anything,” he says, pleading. “If you can?” Jesus answers incredulously, knowing the power that resides in his own fully-believing heart. “All things are possible for the one who believes and trusts [in me]!”
His challenge to the boy’s father, and to you and I, is to look at what we’re asking for and who we’re trusting. Perhaps he wants to give us amazing and incredulous and awe-inspiring more than pity. Like the father, I often cry out, I do believe! I’m here, at your feet Lord, asking you, can you do anything? But could he help my unbelief and give me the faith to ask for everything that is possible? I know the desperate, piercing cry of the heart where faith and fear collide, and I know the savior who patiently (and sometimes not-so-patiently) persists in asking me to trust him more.
PRAYER: Oh God, I want to move more to the “all things are possible” end of the spectrum, would you help my unbelief?
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ABOUT ME:
Blogger Amy Clemens is the author of Walking When You’d Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall. In it she explores childhood sexual abuse and how it impacted her faith (or lack thereof) for four decades. You’ll find not only her story, but better yet, the Big Story of God.
Check out Walking When You’d Rather Fly, and learn more about the book and Amy’s other ministries. You will also find her devotional work at Words of Hope.
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