A Question of Unbelief
Not all that long ago, I wrote a post regarding how faith is hope in things that are unseen. However, what about the times when that hope must be faced with things that you can see? This was a question that was brought to Jesus’s attention by one man. How can we have faith in God when we are routinely faced with visible aspects that are out of our control? This is the scenario that we find in Mark 9:15-27.
“As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. 16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked. 17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” Mark 9:15-18.
Here we see a father who had brought his son to Jesus’s disciples for help. His son had been possessed by a spirit that caused him physical pain as well as the inability to speak. The father had seen this happen to his son day in and day out with no help. I am sure this father sought out any way that he could to have his son helped and now he has come to the disciples, but even they are unable to help. There is no doubt in my mind that the father was probably thinking that the disciples were his last best chance to help his son. I can only imagine the pain and heartache that he was going through. Which makes the father’s response to Jesus in the next passage understandable even though it is misguided.
19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” 20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” Mark 9:19-21.
“If you can”, the father was in the presence of the Son of God Himself! And yet, because he had seen so many others fail, the father was unsure if even Jesus could help his son. While we do not know the age of the son, I do believe that he was at least in his teens to early adulthood based on the father stating that this has been occurring since his son was a child. So for years the father had been seeking out help for his son and was routinely disappointed. For years the father watched his son struggle and be in pain, and there was nothing that anyone was able to do for him. It is unsurprising that the father would expect another disappointment, and yet in the next passage you can see that the father was still holding out hope that his son could be healed.
23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:23-24. Jesus points out blankly to the father that everything is possible for those who believe. The father replies that he does believe. My impression of the father’s response in verse 24 is that he does believe that Jesus is the Messiah, but the father had been let down so many times that he was unsure if God would listen to him. I don’t believe that the father was doubting that God was able to heal his son, but perhaps doubting if God cared enough about him to do this.
This is a scenario that I feel many face in their Christian walk. We have come to a point where we have been disappointed so many times by mankind that we doubt if God is able to help us. We become so disheartened that we forget that God is bigger than our problems that we are facing day to day without end. It is in these times that we must remember Jesus’s response that “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Mark 9:23. In these times we must ask just as the father did for help with our unbelief. We must pray that God gives us the strength to face the challenges we are in so that our hope is not diminished. When we do, we will see just as the father did, how God will work and bring a resolution to our situation. For the father, this meant a restored son (Mark 9:25-27). For us, it means that our faith grows stronger in God’s power to defeat the trials that we see and are experiencing. But do not forget, our faith is built on a trusted source, it is Jesus Christ who we have faith in, and it is Him who saved the boy and will also save you. Our faith might be in the unseen, but it is not blind, when Jesus is the center of such trust, our faith is secure.
Seek the truth and encourage one another,
Alex