Faith or Hot Air?
"One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, 'Teacher, I brought my son for you to heal him. He can't speak because he is possessed by an evil spirit that won't let him talk. And whenever this evil spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground and makes him foam at the mouth and grind his teeth and become rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn't do it.' Jesus said to them, 'You faithless people! How long must I be with you until you believe? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.' So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth. 'How long has this been happening?' Jesus asked the boy's father. He replied, 'Since he was very small. The evil spirit often makes him fall into the fire or into the water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us. Do something if you can.' 'What do you mean, If I can?' Jesus asked. 'Anything is possible if a person believes.' The father instantly replied, 'I do believe, but help me not to doubt.'" Mark 9:17-24 (NLT).
What pain must have filled this father's heart! Imagine your son being possessed by a demon from young boyhood? Imagine living every day worried that your son would die that day by fire or drowning because the demon inside him wanted him dead? Every day would be worse than the one before. At times you would probably wish your son would die so that the misery for him and you could end.
No wonder the man had doubts about Jesus' ability to heal him! After all, everything else he had tried had failed. None of the religious leaders of his day could help him. All they could do was argue with the disciples about it; no doubt they were trying to make the case that this boy could not be healed because God had judged him or some such thing. Then, Jesus' disciples couldn't heal him either. Would we doubt God at this point? It is likely, for we are all human.
Yet Jesus chastises this man for his unbelief. Why? Because it may be human to doubt and disbelieve but God does not like it. More than anything in this world he wants us to believe in him. Hebrews 11:6 says, "It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him" (NLT).
We must believe in God enough to seek him when things go sour. We should not first turn to the government or our family or friends when trouble knocks on our door - we should first seek God-always.
A man looking for meaningful work; a single mother raising children; a church struggling without a pastor; a child facing school without a father; a widow grappling with loneliness and age; and addict battling for sobriety - - all these and more must seek God and stay the course.
Staying the course and seeking God is the hardest part about faith. When everything is uncertain; or up in the air; or indefinite, the temptation to doubt God or his calling on our lives is strongest. It is horrible when everything is out of our control! Yet is precisely where God wants us, for we were never created to be controllers, only believers. God is the controller and we are called to believe in his controlling ability.
Recently I prayed a prayer like this: "Lord God, I worship you. You are great and greatly to be praised. But things in my life are so indefinite, so uncertain right now. I abandon myself to your will for me, whatever that may be. Only use me for your glory. In Jesus' name amen."
It is when we are willing to abandon ourselves to God's will for us that we begin to realize that our relationship to him is more important than the answers we seek. It is during the times of seeking that we draw closest to God and our faith deepens beyond any level we ever knew before. We know that we know that we know that God loves us and is in control of all that happens to us. Our job is to simply seek and believe in him with all our might.
Now this does not mean we should sit piously idle. Please note that the man with the demon-possessed boy had to get out of his easy chair and walk to find Jesus, then endure the disappointment of not immediately finding him. We must not sit idle either, and we will also endure disappointment. But whatever comes, we must continue to walk toward Jesus. take the steps God has placed before you and in so doing demonstrate to him that your faith is real and not a lot of hot air. Do what he has given you to do. Stay the course! Healing and victory lie just ahead.
So enjoy the journey, and just believe.