Mark 9: 23 -24 NIV
“Everything is possible for him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
So how is your belief level today? We all have trouble from time to time with our belief level but as we continue on this journey with Jesus our ability to believe grows. That is part of our renewal. As we renew our mind with the word of God our heart develops the capacity to hope, believe and trust.
There is nothing impossible to you if you believe. So here is the first hurdle? Do you believe that statement? You must recognize the speaker here. Jesus is the one who said, “Everything is possible for him who believes.” Now, if we are truly Christians, as we claim to be, then would you accept that one of the first requirements of Christianity is believing Christ? For us to blow by this sentence or erase it with our doubt is to call Jesus a liar. None of us wants to do that so we must reconcile ourselves to belief and faith. We must have a heart to heart talk with ourselves and determine what we choose to believe. Are we going to accept Jesus’ words as absolute truth or are we going to wrestle and argue with them.
The father in today’s verse had a son who was possessed by an evil spirit and he wanted Jesus to cast out the demon but the man had little faith. His approach showed Jesus that the man’s belief level was low. So Jesus addressed the first problem which was the father’s lack of belief. Notice that Jesus did not immediately pray for the boy. The father’s unbelief stood in the way of him receiving that for which he prayed. So Jesus first directs his attention to the father’s unbelief. We know that this father was not a man of no faith because as soon as Jesus told him that all things are possible he exclaimed, “I do believe.” But there is another key phrase in the father’s response. He asked Jesus to help him overcome his unbelief.
Remember that Jesus is with us at all times to help us in all things. He can, therefore, even help us to increase in faith. He can deal with our unbelief. We are called to be believers and everything we are called to do the trinity helps us to do. There is nothing that you must do on your own. You do not have to work up faith or develop belief. The father has already provided the means for you to be a faith giant. The answer is Jesus. He is the truth and the way and the life. He has given you his words in order to encourage you and to transform you into the image of himself. “Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10: 17).
If you are having trouble believing that God can or will give you the desires of your heart then ask Jesus to help you overcome your unbelief. It works. We know it works because the father received what he asked for, the demon fled from his son and the boy was completely restored. God will restore you too.