"I believe; help my unbelief!"- A Devotion for Men
“I believe; help my unbelief!” –Mark 9:14-29
The 9th chapter of the gospel of Mark tells us the story of Jesus’ encounter with a man whose son was possessed by an evil spirit. The evil spirit had taken over not only the son’s ability to speak, but his body movements as well. While I am not a father myself, I can only imagine the grief and pain that it caused this father to watch his child be destroyed on the inside and the out. Helplessly, the father brought his son to the disciples, but they too were unable to do anything to help him. So the man went before Jesus and pleaded, “If you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.” Jesus responded, “IF?! All things can be done for the one who believes.” The father’s response may be one of the most powerful confessions of faith in the entire Bible. He said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
So often we, men, desire to do things on our own. When we are unable to provide for our families health or well being we are left feeling like failures. We imagine that we have somehow missed what it means to be a man. The reality is, however, that we cannot be and provide everything. Things will happen in our life that leave us in need of help beyond ourselves- a child might get sick, we might lose a job, we might fail to meet the emotional needs of our spouse. But when we encounter a situation that tests our manhood, may we have wisdom to do as this father did and go to the one in whom all things can be done. And when we get there, may we have the boldness to proclaim that we come with faith, but also with doubt. But in our doubt we know that God, not us, can work it into faith.
Brothers in Christ, it might feel sometimes like the world requires everything of you, but always remember that our brother who is Christ accepts us with our unbelief, and equips us to believe.
The 9th chapter of the gospel of Mark tells us the story of Jesus’ encounter with a man whose son was possessed by an evil spirit. The evil spirit had taken over not only the son’s ability to speak, but his body movements as well. While I am not a father myself, I can only imagine the grief and pain that it caused this father to watch his child be destroyed on the inside and the out. Helplessly, the father brought his son to the disciples, but they too were unable to do anything to help him. So the man went before Jesus and pleaded, “If you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.” Jesus responded, “IF?! All things can be done for the one who believes.” The father’s response may be one of the most powerful confessions of faith in the entire Bible. He said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
So often we, men, desire to do things on our own. When we are unable to provide for our families health or well being we are left feeling like failures. We imagine that we have somehow missed what it means to be a man. The reality is, however, that we cannot be and provide everything. Things will happen in our life that leave us in need of help beyond ourselves- a child might get sick, we might lose a job, we might fail to meet the emotional needs of our spouse. But when we encounter a situation that tests our manhood, may we have wisdom to do as this father did and go to the one in whom all things can be done. And when we get there, may we have the boldness to proclaim that we come with faith, but also with doubt. But in our doubt we know that God, not us, can work it into faith.
Brothers in Christ, it might feel sometimes like the world requires everything of you, but always remember that our brother who is Christ accepts us with our unbelief, and equips us to believe.
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3 Comments
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Comment by Todd Haugland on December 6, 2008 at 11:43am -
You mean we're not supposed to do that Brian?? ;^) (It's even worse for those of us with formal training in problem-solving, such as engineering and consulting!)
I am living this message right now. Having just lost employment I am having those feelings of loss and weakness. At times like these, I find a calmness in my faith in the Lord still, and particularly with the activities I participate in with GSLC. Thank you Shawn for pointing me to GSLC Rams, too. This message is timely and cathartic.
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Comment by Brian Grant on December 5, 2008 at 4:37pm - This is a great message Shawn. Not only do we men often feel like we have to be the sole provider, we often cannot listen to people without trying to solve their problems, on our terms. Sometimes folks just want you to listen / understand / validate / acknowledge, and you have turn off that part of you that immediately says - "well just do X" or "why haven't you tried Y".
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Comment by Gordon Keehn on December 4, 2008 at 12:32am
- I'm not sure how to reply to this. My son and daughter are not possessed by demons, but the father's prayer is one that I pray daily, on my own behalf.
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