Friday, September 13,
2024
YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT
Mark 9:23-24
23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe,
all things are possible to him that believeth.
24 And straightway the father of the child cried
out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
Belief is the “assent of the mind to the truth of any
proposition.” (McClintock and Strong). Belief does not need any means or
arguments but may simply be a response to our senses. What makes one witness
credible while another witness is discredited?
In Mark 9, the father of the demonized son relates the
failure of other means to release his son from this torture. The father then
pleads with Jesus saying, “but if thou canst do anything, have compassion on
us, and help us.” This was almost a statement of doubt and not a statement of
faith. The father was willing to try this one more thing, but you can hear the
doubt in his plea.
Jesus answered that
belief is crucial to the cure. The father then admits the weakness of his faith and asks for help
in believing. So it is with us. We believe with the weakest faith at our
disposal. Without evidence, we place our trust in an invisible God.
God always allows for
doubt because
doubt and belief exist together. Cures, miracles, and turn-a-rounds can almost
always be ascribed to natural means. Only the believer assigns the cure to God.
Doubters go on doubting, even in the face of miracles, while believers go on
believing.
Only when the doubter
is willing to ask
for help in believing does he move from one realm to another. When the doubter
acknowledges his doubt, and agrees to the possibility of belief, faith is born.
Belief grows as we
exercise faith.
Stephen, in Acts 5 and 6, was said to be a man “full of faith” or “covered over
with persuasion.” He maintained his faith even while being stoned to death and
saw, by faith, Jesus standing at the Father’s right hand ready to welcome him
home.
Dear Lord, we beg with the disciples, increase
our faith! AMEN
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