A few days ago a friend of mine said, “I like that phrase you say often when you are leading worship, ‘I believe…Help my unbelief!’ It is assuring to me as I struggle with doubts though I have faith in Jesus.” A father begging Jesus to heal and liberate his son (Mark 9:14-28) said, “But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus said, “If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” One of my colleagues challenged us in a discussion last week: “Why do we feel the need to qualify the words of Jesus. He says, ‘Ask ANYTHING in my name and I will do it.’ He says, ‘All things are possible for one who believes.’ Why is our first response, ‘Jesus must not mean anything; he must mean something less than all things. My colleague and I took a break from the meeting to walk along the UBC peninsula and I said, “Those statements are qualified: anything IN MY NAME and all things…for one who believes. These qualifications move us to see Jesus as the worker according to God’s will. Our faith and prayers to do not make God a slave to our whims.” My colleague responded: “But why don’t we first think, “God can do all his holy will; he can do more than we can imagine, what we think impossible?”
The father to whom Jesus said, “All things are possible for one who believes,” said, “I believe! Help my unbelief!” What a candid response!” Jesus healed and liberated his son as he was pleased to do so according to his heavenly Father’s will. We are not left to be satisfied in our struggles to believe in God, but we are established in our faith in God who is the worker, who freely grants our requests and is pleased to shower upon us a plethora of good gifts, even the securing of our bodies and souls for eternity through the atoning work of Jesus.
