Help Me Overcome My Unbelief

"A man in the crowd answered, 'Teacher, I brought You my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid . . . 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.

"' . . . if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us.'

"'If You can?' said Jesus. 'Everything is possible for him who believes.'

"Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, 'I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!'" ~Selected verses from Mark 9:17-24

"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father love His Child as well . . . Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." ~I John 5:1&5

I am always struck by this desperate father's prayer to Jesus, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" Isn't that just like us? As Christians, we are all so caught in this tug-o-war between the spiritual and the physical ~ between the head and the heart. We KNOW and we BELIEVE that Jesus heals; if you've been a Christian for very long, you probably know of someone who "beat the odds" and was healed from some malady. But because faith isn't something tangible and because our emotions are such fickle things, we always seem to think that God is always there for everyone else but . . . ourselves.

When a loved one is sick and hurting ~ or when we come to the end of our rope and know that we need a Savior ~ we desperately grasp at any and every straw of hope that the world has to offer. Oddly enough, it seems that the last person we go to is the Lord, when He should be our first Source . . . for everything. This world says, "Go to the doctor and throw in some prayers for good measure . . . um, IF you think you must." Or "Shake it off, get and grip! You don't need anyone but yourself. God will let you down just like everyone else."

One of the hardest things for unbelievers ~ AND some believers ~ to understand is that no one has to jump through any hoops to make the Lord love you or hear your prayer. Nope. You don't have to drink poison, you don't have to walk on burning coals, and you don't have to live on locusts and honey. Some believers did that, but you don't have to. Our Pastor often recites the quote: "Nothing you can do will make God love you any more or any less."

Nothing.

God LOVES you. He loves you with an everlasting, never ending love. He will help you overcome your unbelief.

Blessings, Kim<><