WATCHWORD:
23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” 24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:23-24
Meditation:
Conversation with a Friend
A fictional conversation with a friend who is struggling in his relationship with the Lord, and has health issues.
Friend: I believe in God but sometimes I wonder if God no longer believes in me. You know what I have been going through. Does He care?
Me: You raise a very interesting question but I believe the answer is right there within the question. If it’s true that you believe in God, and we know that God is love, then the second part of your question could not be true, that God no longer believes in you, no longer loves you. If you truly believe in the Creator God, the holy spirit, and Jesus Christ as Lord and savior, then you must believe that he is love despite our wicked ways, and you must also believe he is always there for us, even in the midst of the difficulty you’re going through.
Friend: Well, I do believe that, yes. But it’s confusing. I wonder. What happens if what I believe in lets me down. You know, I trust God, then this happens to me. Where is He? I don’t know how to deal with that.
Me: Which part is confusing? The part that God loves us or the part that he loves us despite the way we live our lives. What happens to us in these human suits that we wear, going through our days, the afflictions that we may encounter, the diseases or fractures or health problems. That’s all of us getting through this world. These aren’t acts of God. However, every mountain that we have to climb teaches us something to prepare us for something that’s coming in our future. It could be something good or it could be something challenging, something we will have to grapple with. Faith is a very difficult thing to define because it is believing in something in the absence of proof. You say you believe in God, and I believe that. But you have that belief and commitment without concrete proof, just your own conviction. Faith. That may suggest that you trust in Him solely and not rely on your own strength,
Friend: I don’t know what to say. I think I understand your point, but then I think about the tests I have gone through and I am still waiting results. I don’t know whether I should be worried or whether I should celebrate. I want to believe, but…
Me: Friend, when in doubt, celebrate, anyway. Make a joyful noise. Talk to the Lord. Give it all to Him, including these doubts you are having. Because, after all, He’s in charge.
We all go through these moments of doubt when we’re confronted with something that takes us out of our comfort zone, or threatens our health, or the health of a loved one. We must rely upon the truth that we find in the statement that God loves us and that God is in charge of whatever it is that is before us. We are his children, so bring your concerns to the Father, “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief”.
Mother’s Day In Retrospect:
I sat in my recliner at the end of Mother’s Day considering all that has transpired through the weekend. On a cabinet next to the TV, there is a picture of my mother. She was probably 18 or 19, a college freshman at the time the picture was taken. She’s beautiful, just as she has been all of her life. Her life did not follow a path that she had dreamed of. She fell in love and married. Being a pastor’s wife was not what she had in mind when she entered college and majored in art. They had three beautiful children, each one possessing some of mother’s traits. It took strength to do what she did and I believe that is precisely why we honor Mother’s Day. We honor their strength, their resolve, their love that causes them to make decisions that may be different from what they would have chosen. In our memory we play moments of our lives with our mothers. Moments that shaped us, that tested us and continue to guide us now, traits that we pass on to the next generation. May God bless all of our mothers, everywhere. And so it goes. Stan
Prayer to Strengthen My Faith:
Heavenly Father, at times I waiver in my belief that you see and hear me. Like the father of the demon-possessed man, I wonder if you will answer prayers. I believe, yet I ask you to help my unbelief. Your Word says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Strengthen my belief in You that I may be able to do everything I am called to do. Help me to depend on You to do what I think I cannot do. Let your strength alone sustain me. Amen.
