Digging Deeper – Help My Unbelief!

Let’s just keep it real. We’ve ALL had circumstances – MANY circumstances – when we struggled in our ability to trust that God was going to come through for us. Or maybe you trusted that He would come through but were despondent and anxious in a season of waiting. You do your best to will yourself to believe, but deep down, you just aren’t sure things will work out.

That’s why I’m so thankful this story in Mark 9 was included in the Bible. This dad is wrestling with his unbelief in the very presence of Jesus.

This man’s son has been possessed by a spirit that would make the boy deaf and mute. From a very young age, the spirit would throw him down – sometimes in fire, sometimes in water – and would also make him foam at the mouth and grind his teeth. Like any father, this man is distraught and desperate to find healing for his son. He’s already asked Jesus’ disciples to cast out the spirit, to no avail. The man is perhaps a bit reluctant to press in on Jesus. So, he softens his request by saying, “If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

In his apparent exasperation, Jesus responds, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Feeling somewhat ashamed, the father replies, “I believe; help my unbelief!” Never has there been a more honest expression of the tension between faith and doubt! I am right there with this dad – I DO believe, and yet part of me wonders if Jesus will choose to do something to help me in my present circumstance.

Some have referred to me as a pessimist. I like to say I am a realist. A friend recently told me, “That’s what all pessimists say.” In any event, the political pundit George Will once uttered one of my favorite quotes of all time: “The great thing about pessimism is that you’re either constantly proving yourself right, or you’re pleasantly surprised.”

When it comes to faith and doubt, it’s really easy for pessimism to rear its ugly head. However, we don’t see any examples in Scripture where pessimism is lauded or when it has been an effective strategy for coping with the unknown. Instead, we’re told to seek God’s Kingdom and to live righteously – and that God will provide all we need (Matthew 6:33).

Like so many things in life, it’s simple but not easy. But, as Mike Linch says, when we continue to lock eyes with Jesus daily, the Spirit ministers to our minds and hearts to give us wisdom and direction for what lies ahead, even when we can’t see what’s coming.