Devotional:

“And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” — Mark 9:14-29

Ok, backstory time…in the first part of the chapter, Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain where they witnessed Jesus’s transfiguration. This is also where Peter famously says, “it is good that we are here.” After Jesus transfigured, they walked back down and met up with the other disciples.

Verse 14 says, “And when they (Jesus, Peter, James, and John) came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them and scribes arguing with them.” The dad of this tormented and possessed little boy came over and explained why everyone was arguing. What a downer for Jesus after such an amazing experience of transfiguration!

The scribes had been arguing with the disciples because they tried to drive out this evil spirit and they couldn’t do it. In verse 19, Jesus was clearly upset with their lack of faith and asked to have the boy brought to Him. Then, in verse 22 the dad finally asked Jesus for help, but he asks, “if you can.” At this point, Jesus had already dealt with the disciple’s lack of faith and now He was dealing with the father’s questionable faith. Jesus calls it out and with all the humility and honesty he had in him, he said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” After that raw and vulnerable confession of doubt, Jesus healed the boy.

Imagine the hopelessness this dad must have felt after the disciples could not heal his son. I don’t know how long they had been there or how many attempts they had made, but as a parent, it had to have been devastating.

There is no pain like kid pain and this man had experienced horrible kid pain for years. He had watched his son be thrown into fires and rivers because this demon attempted to destroy the little boy. To watch this must have been torture for him. He was supposed to be the one to protect and provide for his son, but instead, he was helpless and desperate, in need of a miracle.

Joby and I recently talked about parenting with some close friends who don’t have kids yet, but are at that stage of weighing the pros and cons and analyzing if it is the right time yet. They asked us questions like, “how did you decide it was time to start having kids…how do you know what to do, when to do it and how to do all the things?” Every answer that came out of my mouth seemed completely unhelpful because “you’ll understand when you’re a parent” is not beneficial for the nonparent asking for parenting advice!

But isn’t it true? Parenting is hard! And it is hard to explain, because it is different for everyone! Parenting is a lot like pregnancy. In the beginning, there’s a cluster and it just sits there. You can’t really see it doing anything important, but you know it is! And then that cluster starts to look familiar and things become more recognizable, which is a relief. 

Then you go on autopilot for a while and it’s pretty easy and relatively pleasant. And then, out of nowhere, things get complicated. They want to do their own thing. They disrupt your daily and nightly routines and it’s all you can do to roll out of bed in the mornings because you’ve been awake all night worried and anxious about your child’s health, safety and future.

You have many sleepless and uncomfortable nights, wishing it would be over sooner! And then, before you know it, it’s over. They’re out and you can finally take a deep breath and sleep again. And at first, it feels nice, you’re back in a routine, but quickly, your mind starts racing. “Did I do everything right? Will they know how to survive without me outside of my warm, safe world? Will I know how to help them?” That is when it hits you: you were never in control. God had everything planned from the beginning. So, you drop to your knees and you cry out, “Father, I believe; help my unbelief.” 

This father was in a place of complete surrender and all he could do was cry out and even though he confessed to unbelief, he still ran to Jesus to help him believe. Jesus restored the boy physically that day and through that miracle, the father’s faith was restored.

Have you ever cried out to Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief?” 

I will confess that it is a common prayer for me. Prayer for my children, illnesses, disease, tragedies…all these things that I don’t understand; sometimes, those are the only words that make sense.

The disciples lacked faith and power to heal the boy outside of Jesus’s presence. They had become dependent on Jesus for so long that outside of His presence, their faith was weak.

Our faith is stronger when we stay close to our Savior. Our faith will weaken when we stray from reading God’s Word.

What kind of faith do you have through the difficult seasons?

Do you notice a difference in your faith when you spend more time in God’s Word?

How can you be more intentional about staying close and consistent with your time with Jesus? 

Lord, don’t let the busyness around us keep us from spending time with You and in Your Word. Please help us to remember that it is ok to cry out to You with our unbelief. Thank You for this man’s cry for help when his faith was small and the reminder that when we feel our faith wavering, we can come to You and say, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.” Amen