Help My Unbelief

March 6

Leviticus 26

Psalm 31:1-8

Proverbs 7:6-8

Mark 9:1-29

Help My Unbelief

“But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!  And Jesus said to him, ‘If I can?  All things are possible to him who believes.’  Immediately the boy’s father cried out and was saying, ‘I do believe; help my unbelief.’”  Mark 9:22b-24 LSB

This man brought his son who was possessed with an evil spirit to Jesus.  He asked Jesus’ disciples to cast the demon out but they were unable to do it.  Jesus told them to bring the boy to Him, but as soon as the spirit saw Him it threw the boy into a convulsion, and the boy fell to the ground, rolling around foaming at the mouth.  Jesus asked how long the boy had been this way and the man said he had been like this since childhood with the demon often throwing him into the fire and into water to try to destroy him.  The man begged Jesus to take pity on them and help the boy if He was able.  They had tried everything and he had heard about Jesus healing people and casting out demons so he brought the boy to Jesus.  Jesus responded with compassion and yet he challenged the man.  He said, “If You can?  All things are possible to him who believes.”  The man could have said, “Oh, yeah, I believe!  I didn’t mean to say if.”  But he responded to Jesus in complete honesty.  He said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”    He wanted desperately to believe that Jesus could help but was afraid to get his hopes up too much.  They had suffered greatly for years.  They had probably tried everything with no relief.  He didn’t want to doubt, but yet there was doubt lingering in the back of his mind.  He responded in the best way he could, “I do believe; but please help me believe more.”  Jesus commanded the demon to come out of him and never to enter him again.  The demon came out and Jesus took him by the hand and raised him up. 

            Have you ever felt like this man?  You have prayed and prayed for something and you desperately want to believe Jesus will intervene in the situation, but you are afraid to get your hopes up in case He doesn’t.  Just like Jesus understood what this man was feeling, He understands where you are as well.  He knows that you are weary.  He knows your doubts better than you do.  It’s ok to be completely honest with Him.  Pour out your heart to Him and tell Him that you believe but you need help believing more.  Ask Him to help your unbelief.  I can’t promise that He will answer your prayer in the way you want, but I can promise that He will meet you where you are and He will help you trust Him more.  He will bring you to the place where you are able to trust Him to answer in the best way to give you what you need even if it isn’t what you want.