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Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. “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.”
“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
Mark 9:21-24
Most Christians can identify with this man from time to time.
It is the acknowledgment of our failing to practically trust that what God’s Word says is true. We mentally trust God to protect, care for, and provide for us, but sometimes we are faced with something that seems to overpower our faith to live it out. We don’t feel we have enough faith to follow Him at that moment, so we ask for more help.
We know what the truth is and believe it, but we struggle to live it out practically.
It’s in these moments we must remember a few things:
- We are on a lifelong journey of being graciously discipled by God Himself. Each life event is a new situation for us to practice living out what we say we believe. We will not always do this perfectly. Isn’t that why He came? It is His enabling work in us by His Holy Spirit that empowers us to obey and we are growing more and more, over time, in cooperating with Him in that process.
2. We can always ask for what we need. When we doubt, we can ask for more faith. When we waver in our strength to follow, we can ask for more strength. When we lack the desire to obey, we can ask to be made willing. As believers, we know that our faith and obedience are always deficient, and we frequently ask God to enable us to live a life that glorifies Him. If left to our own fleshly strength, we would never make it.
“I believe; help my unbelief” is at once a statement of faith and an acknowledgment that our faith is not perfect.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Hebrews 4:15-16
3. All things are under the control of our good and faithful Lord and we must keep our eyes fixed on Him.
In the book Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan leads the reader, through allegory, in the reality that a Christ follower will see difficulties ahead. The difficulties are, at one point, shown to us as two lions on the way. When faced with difficulties ahead, Christians may be tempted to feel or say, “I cannot pass through such an ordeal.”
In Pictures From Pilgrim’s Progress, Charles Spurgeon says,
“Unbelief generally has a good eye for the lions, but a blind eye for the chains that hold them back. It is quite true that there are difficulties in the way of those who profess to be followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not desire to conceal this fact, and we do not wish you to come amongst us without counting the cost. But it is also true that these difficulties have a limit which they cannot pass. Like the lions in the pilgrim’s pathway, they are chained, and restrained, and absolutely under the control of the Lord God Almighty.
…Live consistently, walk carefully, – not right at the edge of the way, as though you were half inclined to wander from it; but on the crown of the causeway, right in the middle of the King’s highway. Walk in integrity and up-rightness, whatever may be the consequence of doing so. For a while, difficulties may dismay you, but they really cannot hurt you. The lions are chained.”
Charles Spurgeon
4. Look at the difficulty of following Christ in the face, for it will soon vanish. Spurgeon goes on to encourage us to, “Go ahead and consider the difficulty carefully, and then consider the far greater difficulty in your way if you do NOT profess the faith which you say you truly hold.”
Friends in the faith, we are on this journey for the long haul. There are many ways we will grow and are growing. God’s grace is present in it all. He does not expect you to be perfect and He longs for you to recognize your dependence on Him to boldly approach His throne of grace in our time of need. God is not the author of evil, but somehow He works all things together for His purposes and those purposes are beyond us and this physical realm. As we fix our eyes on Him and recognize that the lions are chained, we will grow in our trust and faith and we will practically live out more and more what we say we believe.
“For this God is our God for ever and ever;
Psalm 48:14
he will be our guide even to the end.”
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I’m linking up this week with these awesome bloggers:
“Unbelief generally has a good eye for the lions, but a blind eye for the chains that hold them back.” Well said. Thank you, Amy.
Spurgeon and Bunyan are the true writers and inspiration for this post! Thanks!
Walking consistently is a key piece…thank you for this.
Consistently and carefully!
Amy, thank you for this timely reminder! I am always shocked at how easily I allow unbelief to shackle the Lord’s work in my life. Spurgeon’s words hit home for me today!
He’s got a way with words, doesn’t he?
Thank you for this post, Amy. “Friends in the faith, we are on this journey for the long haul.” So very true. We are always growing and changing and hopefully, becoming more like Christ.
Glad to be on this journey of walking and writing with you and our blogging friends!
So well said and so encouraging to be reminded that my faith is imperfect, but not absent when I have these moments.
Thanks, Lauren! May the Lord strengthen us in our faith!
I’m so thankful we can always ask for what we need, and we can know that God hears us and responds. The answer doesn’t always look like I expect it to, but that’s okay too. 🙂
Hi Lisa, may we grow in our quick response to run to Him.