In Mark 9 there is a man who brings his son to Jesus to be healed of a “mute spirit.” We’re told in Mark 9:18 that “wherever it (the spirit) seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid.” This is a problem that the man’s son has had since childhood. He says in Mark 9:22, “And often he (the spirit) has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Clearly, this father is desperate for Jesus to heal his son. There is a two-letter word problem with the father’s request. The father asks Jesus “IF You can do anything.” Being aware of the man’s doubts, “Jesus said to him,” in Mark 9:23, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Realizing the implication of his two-letter word faux pas, he cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
As a Christian, we do believe in God, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t struggle every so often with certain aspects of our faith. Some struggle less, while others struggle more, and some might claim to never struggle. Yet, when our faith may falter, like the father in Mark 9, we also should ask for God to help us with our unbelief.
In our Mark 9 passage, the Apostles were also dealing with doubt. They could not cast out the demon from the boy and they wondered why. Jesus tells them why in Matthew 17:20, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” Without question, the Apostles have the faith to follow Jesus. We too have faith enough to follow Jesus. Yet, the Apostles struggled with their faith. Even though the Apostles could do miracles, they had difficulty with this case. While we cannot do miracles, we can have the kind of faith that moves mountains. We can have faith in God to do what He says He’s going to do. Such faith gives us hope and strength. Still, we might be challenged to doubt.
Sometimes our doubts lead us to greater faith. Like the father who said to Jesus, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” If we are experiencing times of doubt, we must be willing to confess that to God and patiently wait for Him to move. During these times of waiting we often search and explore the Scriptures and pray with a renewed sense of zeal. When these times of doubt pass, we often reflect upon them with an appreciation of how it helped transition us from a doubting faith to a more trusting faith.
One thing a trusting faith comes to understand is we can never know everything. Only God can know everything. This also means that we can never know everything that God knows. While this truth may shake a person’s confidence, it also helps us to place our hope and trust in the God who knows everything. Such confidence helps us to not be swayed by whatever it is that is provoking us to doubt. The fact that we know the God who knows all things assures us that we can trust Him to help us through the things we do not know. This is why we can trust God even when it doesn’t make sense to us to trust Him – even if we doubt.
