3-5-2023

Good Morning All,

        Mark 9:24; “Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” 

    Do you ever have days like this?  I believe; but help my unbelief!!  Most people I know have probably had days like this.  The story around this verse is about a man, a father of a boy who suffered from convulsions and would throw himself into the fire and into the sea and almost drown himself in the process.  This is one of those stories that, when you read it, you can almost experience the pain and the desperation of the father.  You wonder how many times he watched his son writhe in the convulsive fit and feel totally helpless. What do you do?

    Many of you who are parents have experienced this at one level or another.  We watch our children suffer and struggle and we don’t know what to do.  It can be more than just parents; we can look at our parents as they struggle with everyday things that never slowed them down before.  We can look to our siblings or friends and watch as they struggle and we don’t know what to do.  Sometimes that pain we watch can be self-inflicted as we watch them make decisions that look like they will only hurt.  We want to help so much but how.

    In our verse’s story, you wonder how many places the father took the boy to looking for someone who would heal or at least offer some relief to the young boy.  You wonder how he reacted when he first heard of Jesus.  Did he run right to him or did he reluctantly go forth?  The verses ahead of our passage have the father telling Jesus about the little boy.  You wonder how often he told that story.  He ends it with the phrase, “if you can do anything would you please help?”  Oh, how desperate this poor man sounds.  You can almost hear the level of exhaustion in his voice as he weakly asks for help.  Jesus responds with, “IF!!! All things are possible for one who believes.”  The father responds, I believe; help my unbelief!

     There are times and events that shake us literally right to our core.  These events may have even literally knocked you down.  The blood left your face and you felt lost and hurt.  At so many levels, the supports and the things we thought mattered, crumbled away.  We were left to wonder what happened and why.

    God uses these times, times that shake us to our core, so we can see what our core is.  God knows what is in you but he wants you to see what is in you.  When you are shaken to your core, is that core your faith in Jesus?  When you experience these events, do you look to God for more support, more comfort or do you look somewhere else?  I believe but help my unbelief!  The father had faith, but he knew his faith wasn’t enough; the father knew he needed God’s grace.  So do we.  Only through God’s grace and mercy can we ever survive the events that shake us to the core.  Whether it is illness or death or relationships breaking down or whatever it is; we need to trust that God is in control but even more than that; God loves you and because he loves you, he will protect you and provide for you as you experience those events that shake us to our core.  He is there to help our unbelief.  He is there to show us that his grace and mercy are made known to us by his love.  God’s grace is there for you; believe it and hold onto it.

Dear Lord Jesus, you told us that if we had the faith the size of a mustard seed, we could move mountains yet we struggle with our own life.  Help our unbelief!! Teach us to trust, teach us to lean only on you.  In your precious name we pray, amen!!

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret