Bible Reflections From Scripture Union Volume OneSample

Simply Trusting Everyday Read Mark 9:14-29 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" Mark 9:24 It only takes one failure for the world to condemn all of Christianity. The scribes had seen many miracles, but they chose to attribute them to the devil, Beelzebub. But now when they saw a failure, they were quick to condemn the entire ministry. The man had brought his son to the disciples and they had tried and failed to help the boy. Human inadequacy was apparent, both in the desperation of the father and the failure of the disciples. They had attempted to apply a religious formula and it had not worked. They did not have the power in themselves to make it work. The father was powerless as well. If he could have done anything for his son, I believe he would have. The situation was grave, but Jesus was up to the challenge. We see here the condition of the miraculous. The father said to Jesus, “But if you can do anything...” And Jesus replied, “If you can?" The father’s request was turned back to him in the form of a challenge. The challenge was for him to meet the condition of the miraculous, and that was to have faith. When the father heard this, he cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” Truly that could be the cry of each one of us. We do believe God can work, but sometimes it’s hard to believe that He can work in our situation. We must never be afraid to confess our sense of inadequacy and our struggle with faith. As we humbly come to God, He will bless the little faith we do have and increase that faith. Realization of our inadequacy leads to reliance on the ability of God. Pray that we will always trust Jesus and His power to help us when we are in trouble, no matter how great the problem is.