"I believe; help my unbelief!" - Mark 9:24
A father cries out to Jesus to cure his child. He's not a perfect father. He's not a perfect person of faith. He doubts. He questions. He worries. He's not completely sure about Jesus. He just knows that his son needs help.
Everyone has doubts, questions, and worries. No one is completely sure about Jesus. We hope. We pray. Yet, we're afraid that our lack of total belief poisons the water and turns God against us. So not only do we have unbelief, we torture ourselves for having it. This is a vicious spiral that makes us secretly resentful of God. People will go to great lengths to hide their resentment.
The father in this story knows he believes. He also knows he has unbelief. He confesses that he has both belief and unbelief at the same time.
People are complicated. All of us hold conflicting, contradicting feelings. We feel hate, we feel love, often at the same time toward the same person. That doesn't make us hypocrites; it makes us human. We make ourselves hypocrites when we pretend one feeling or another doesn't exist, when we proclaim it doesn't, but we know in our hearts it does.
Take a few moments to sit quietly with your belief and your unbelief. What unbelief makes you uncomfortable? What belief comforts you? Ask God to help you sort them out. Listen to God's silent acceptance. Be amazed that you don't hear God's harsh judgment thundering. Like the father in the story, confess your belief, pray for your unbelief, and find healing.
1 comment:
Amen, brother. Well said!
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