WATCHWORD:
17 One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son for you to heal—he can’t talk because he is possessed by a demon. 18 And whenever the demon is in control of him it dashes him to the ground and makes him foam at the mouth and grind his teeth and become rigid. So I begged your disciples to cast out the demon, but they couldn’t do it.” 19 Jesus said to his disciples, “Oh, what tiny faith you have; how much longer must I be with you until you believe? How much longer must I be patient with you? Bring the boy to me.” 20 So they brought the boy, but when he saw Jesus, the demon convulsed the child horribly, and he fell to the ground writhing and foaming at the mouth.
21 And he asked his father, how long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us. 23 Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. Mark 9:21-24
Meditation:
My Unbelief
Do you have any unbelief? Momentary lapses in your faith journey where you thought you could do it all on your own? But, then found you couldn’t? In the midst of your prayer life has your mind wander into tomorrow or, worse, into yesterday and yesterday’s troubles? Do you find yourself dwelling on an argument you had with a friend?
The Mark 9 passage was recently used in a Verse-A-Day devotional. The commentator made this statement: “From the father’s perspective, the spirit possessing his son is trying to kill him. Jesus asks, “How long has he been like this” to get to the bottom of this man’s heart and reveal this man’s faith.” The man is desperate and he cries out, “if you can do anything, help us”. Jesus’ replies with — “If you can believe.” That is when the desperate father cries out, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!”
I believe that anyone who finds themselves in a desperate situation, where alternatives cannot be found, where the way out is lost in the fog of fear, where your health is on the edge and you can’t see beyond the next minute, that is when we cry out “Lord, help me, Lord, refresh my belief”.
For us human beings, faith is a fragile thing, and too often pride overshadows our reliance on Christ. We believe that God is in charge, and that God loves us, even in this desperate situation in which we find ourselves. Yet, off we go, on our own until we crash and burn and the fragileness of our faith is put on full display. Then we seek out Jesus, and find that he was always there. Amen.
Bulletin Board:
Be Not Afraid, a beautiful hymn/praise prose of encouragement to read and contemplate. Do not be afraid, I go before you always.
You shall cross the barren desert, But you shall not die of thirst
You shall wander far in safety Though you do not know the way.
You shall speak your words in foreign lands And all will understand
You shall see the face of God and live.
Be not afraid I go before you always
Come follow Me
Another version of Be Not Afraid has this stanza:
Even if you wander away from my loving,
far away from home you might stray.
Still I will seek you and gently take you with me
and bring you back.
Be not afraid, I have made you,
I have saved you, I have called you.
You are mine, you are precious to me and I love you.
Be not afraid. Be not afraid.
Closing Prayer:
Thank You, Father, that You have promised that the testing of our faith produces perseverance and steadfastness, which in time will bring forth the beautiful Christ-like character that You so desire in all Your children, but which all too often I personally seek to avoid, or regard as a time of bitter struggle. Help me Lord, to embrace any trials that You see fit to enter my life. Help me to look at the difficulties that engulf me with Your eyes, and give me an eternal perspective on all the problems I may be called upon to face, so that I may count it all joy when I am confronted with various trials, knowing that the testing of my faith produces the godly fruit of patience. Help me Lord, to use those times of testing as an opportunity to grow in grace, and as a springboard to develop a deeper and more secure relationship with You.
Lord, it is not always easy to align our minds with the mind of Christ. It is often very hard to see trials in a positive light, and to embrace the various testings we have to go through as a thing to be highly prized, and yet Your Word tells us that life’s difficulties sharpen our faith, while developing our trust in the Lord, which is more precious to You than much fine gold. Give me a heart that understands and chooses to look at trials and tests from Your perspective, so that the testing of my faith may bring forth the righteous fruit of patience and grace. I ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
