March 12 – Mark 9:14-29

“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” ~ Mark 9:24 (NIV)
This cry to Jesus is the cry of many believers at one time or another. While we may have a firm intellectual belief in Jesus as our Savior, our circumstances can sometimes cause us to fear—to have some hesitancy about God’s work in our lives as we try to live out of that belief. In other words, the object of our faith—Jesus—is unwavering and unshakable, but our ability to remain grounded in our faith in Him occasionally wavers and can be shaken because we are human. Fortunately, we have a patient Savior who knows our weaknesses and has compassion on us.
Jesus does become frustrated with unbelief in this passage (see v. 19). He has just come down from the heavenly hours spent on the Mount of Transfiguration, recalling the divine glory He left in the company of Moses and Elijah (Mark 9:2-13). What a stark contrast to the scene that meets Him at the base of the mountain—an eager crowd clamoring to see a miracle, His disciples trying to figure out how to cast out a demon, and a suffering child who is being tortured and is unable to speak. It’s no wonder Jesus is disturbed by this “unbelieving generation” (v. 19). But the father of the boy is willing to try to believe.
When the father says, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us,” Jesus responds, “ ‘If you can’? Everything is possible for one who believes” (vv. 22-23). This is the statement that inspires the father’s paradoxical cry—“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” In that moment, the father realized that Jesus is trustworthy but that his faith was weak. And in spite of the father’s wavering faith, Jesus drives the impure spirit out of the boy, which not only ended the boy’s suffering but also undoubtedly strengthened the father’s wavering faith. This is the kind of Savior we serve. What is impossible for us is possible with Him! (see Philippians 4:13)
After the boy is healed, the disciples ask Jesus why they couldn’t drive out the impure spirit, and Jesus answers, “This kind can come out only by prayer” (v. 29). The disciples had tried to rely only on the authority Jesus had given them to drive out the spirit; instead, they should have relied on the God who imparted that authority. They should have gone to Him in prayer, for with Him, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).
In John 15:5 (NIV), Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” Apart from Him, we cannot even live out our faith in Him without wavering. He is the one who “helps our unbelief,” so whenever we feel uncertain or doubtful, we must go to Him. We must rely on Him in prayer—just as the disciples should have done—for He is the foundation of our faith, and He is trustworthy. So, go to Him now. Spend time in His Presence today. And if your faith is shaky, if circumstances in your life seem overwhelming right now, bring that shaky faith to Him. He will strengthen it, for with Him all things are possible.
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