“I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). This plea of a desperate father, who was interceding to Jesus on behalf of his afflicted child, expresses in FIVE SIMPLE WORDS a profound, difficult, confusing, and common experience. All followers of Jesus have both belief and unbelief, both faith and doubt, present in us AT THE SAME TIME.
We see this contradictory presence elsewhere in Scripture. We see it in Peter, who walked on water only to start sinking WHEN UNBELIEF SET IN “…the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, they were terrified…Jesus spoke to them… ”It is I; do not be afraid.” Peter called, “Lord, if it’s you…tell me to come to you on the water. “Yes, come,” So Peter walked on the water…when he saw the strong wind and the waves, HE WAS TERRIFIED (unbelief set in) and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.” (Matthew 14:26-30)
We see it in Thomas, who declared, “I will never believe” without physical proof of Jesus’s resurrection…Jesus finally appeared to him… “Jesus said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here and put it into My side. DO NOT BE UNBELIEVING but believing.” Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:27-28) We see it laced through the Psalms, where saints wrestle out loud with their unbelief. “What does God know?” they ask. “Does the Most High even know what’s happening?” (Psalms 73:11)
And we see it frequently in ourselves, which is why we identify with the desperate father’s prayer. Unbelief is a “common to man” temptation for believers, “The temptations in your life are NO DIFFERENT from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will NOT ALLOW the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you A WAY OUT so that you can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13) But though it is a common temptation, it is a spiritually dangerous one, one that can lead us “to fall away from the living God” “Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, TURNING YOU AWAY FROM THE LIVING GOD.” (Hebrews 3:12)
What must we do? “But you, beloved, BUILDING YOURSELVES UP on your most holy faith, PRAYING in the Holy Spirit, KEEP YOURSELVES IN THE LOVE OF GOD, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” (Jude 1:20-21)
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham