Good morning! My family and I have been on vacation for the past week and we are soaking up the last bits of Summer 2021. We have been swimming, going to the beach, eating out, watching the Olympics, and spending time with extended family. Late night ice cream runs have become a routine and the conversations on those trips have been sweet. Our kids are at the age where we truly enjoy their company and I have laid in bed many nights thanking God for His provision. As we head back home in a few days we will face the year head on and I anticipate things being busier than ever. I have enjoyed being home with them this summer and I am thinking a lot about what this year holds. My prayers are many and I look forward to seeing how God answers them. Most of the time God, in all His glory and wisdom, changes my thoughts about situations instead of changing the actual situation. Which is always humbling. I know He will show up, but there is always the internal struggle of how, when, and unfortunately “if” He will. Are my concerns and requests really worthy of the creator of the Universe?
In Mark 9:14-32 Jesus heals a boy with an evil spirit. The boy’s father brought him to Jesus because the boy had been tormented by an evil spirit from childhood. The disciples tried to drive out the spirit but they were unsuccessful. In Mark 9:22 the father comes to Jesus and says, “But 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!” And Jesus delivered the boy from the evil spirit.
Why couldn’t the disciples cast out the evil spirit on their own? They had cast out other demons in the past without any problem. Jesus told them in Mark 9:29 that “this kind of spirit can only come out by prayer.” This was a reminder to the disciples that their power over demonic spirits was from Jesus and not something they could do on their own. It required prayer and submission to Jesus.
While my children are not suffering from the same issues as the boy in the chapter of Mark, I relate to the child’s father so much. “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” Since faith is never perfect, belief and unbelief are often mixed. We are always having to choose to trust and believe that Jesus is who He says He is and that His plans are perfect. And He can help our doubts and unbelief if we ask. Even if things fall apart and do not go the way I want, I still believe that God is in charge. And by prayer I am able to fuel my faith and receive His power to carry on in His name. I do believe in the God who walks alongside us and continues to draw us close to Him in all circumstances. He never promised life would be easy and carefree, but His promise of life everlasting with Him is our ultimate victory. This year will have its mountain top moments and its valleys and I look forward to seeing God work in all the moments.