Door Frame Scriptures: Believing

“I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!”

Mark 9:24

Have you found yourself in one of those times of life when you were utterly hopeless? Nothing at all could be done by you to fix the situation you or your loved one is in. You tried, countless times to fix it, but nothing changed. You sought help, yet nothing changed. You prayed, you begged and pleaded with God, but nothing changed.

This is where the father in Mark 9 seems to be when he meets Jesus face to face. As the father explains in verses 17-22, a demon has possessed and tormented his son for many years, “...he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak; and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes stiff... It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to kill him.”

Likely the father has heard of the miracles the disciples are doing and he comes with his son to find healing. Unfortunately, once again, hope is deferred. The Disciples can’t heal the boy. He and his son remain as they were before meeting the disciples. Sad, conflicted and hopeless.

As I began to study this passage in context of the whole chapter, something new jumped out at me for the first time. Chapter 9 begins with Mark describing the events of the Transfiguration. Jesus takes James, John and Peter up on a high mountain and they get a taste of His true glory. And He was transfigured before them; and His garments became radiant and exceeding white, as no launderer on Earth can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus. When Jesus and the three disciples comedown from this mountain top experience they find a crowd of people, the other disciples and a group of Scribes embroiled in a religious argument. I had never connected the mountaintop experience of the transfiguration with Jesus’ response to the father’s plea and subsequent confession.

So often in our human reasoning, we look for answers in what we can see with our eyes or feel with our emotions. The father was desperate and he came to find help. He was looking to the disciples as people who could fix his son similar to how we look to a doctor or counselor. We assume their education, talent or skill will be able to resolve the situation. Sometimes we look to religion to find resolution. Perhaps if we get involved in a church, attend Sunday school classes and serve in the community, looking for a way towards salvation from our broken lives.

Although God can, and most definitely does use others as a means for healing in our lives, they can not replace Jesus. They are mere shadows of His power and His infinite healing. Believing in anyone other than Jesus to truly heal us will only lead us to greater sadness and emptiness. This is apparent in verse 22, where the father says to Jesus, “if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us!” Nothing else had worked. No one else had been able to help. It was hard for him to still believe healing is possible.

Jesus responds, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes”. Since we have no way of knowing Jesus’ tone in verse 23, it is very easy to read His response as we ourselves would say the words. I personally would have been aggravated and exasperated and my tone likely would have conveyed those emotions. However based on the way the father reacts to His words, I believe Jesus spoke more like a parent whose goal isn’t to condemn but rather to instruct and guide the child towards a better way of thinking.

According to Mark, Jesus’ words had their intended impact. “Immediately, the boy’s father cried out and began saying, “I believe; help by unbelief”. Up until this point, he likely felt that his faith in God was strong. Through all the years of watching the demon torment his son, he still had confidence and trust that God could perform miracles. Yet at the instant when he came face to face with Jesus Christ and heard His words, the father realized the shallowness of his belief. He had no idea what true belief was until he looked into the face of Jesus and saw His amazing glory. When we truly meet Jesus, we realize just how very much He is and just how very much we lack.

For me this why I love this verse and have chosen this as a doorframe verse for myself. In my years of living as a good Christian girl, I have spent way too many years believing deeply in myself and in the physical things around me that I could see, touch and feel. I profess (and do actually have) a fierce belief in God. However, when the hard things in life come at me, the beliefs I hold in my mind and in my heart aren’t always reflected in my actions or my thoughts. I tend to try to fix things in my own strength, endlessly fretting, worrying and getting annoyed and grumpy when things don’t meet my expectations. In other words, I know God can but often act like I don’t think He will.

Oh Jesus, please help my unbelief! These are words that I now cry out often. Not every day but on many days. They keep my heart, my mind and my actions aligned with God. These words drive me to my knees and they humble my heart. They remind me of my weakness and His infinite power and knowledge. When His ways don’t make sense and answers to prayers don’t come, these words draw me to seek His peace in the mystery and the unknown. It is in these words I yield my control to Him. I cry out because He promises that if I seek Him, He will be found. Just as Jesus met the father exactly where he was, He promises to meet us as well.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

The sacrifice that God wants is a humble spirit. God, you will not turn away someone who comes with a humble heart and is willing to obey you. Psalm 51:16-17 ERV