“I do believe, help my unbelief!"

Mark 9:24

This is the journey of life – from belief to unbelief, back to belief, and so on.  That natural progression from initial hope, faith, and trust to doubt, fear, and despair when life doesn’t go as we think it ought.  Those times when life is hard, prayers seem to go unanswered, and we don’t know what to do next.

It is a cycle we will repeat many times in our life, even the most “faithful.” And God knows this, which is why this beautiful encounter with Christ, written in Mark 9:14-29, one line of which is quoted above, is included in Scripture.  It reminds us of our ongoing struggle with trust, which never seems straightforward, but rather follows a circuitous route with the ups and downs of our lives. 

Jesus’ comment to the man that solicits this response is, “If you can!  Everything is possible to one who has faith,” is instructive for all of us.  Not that our faith magically transforms a situation and makes our wildest dreams come true.  But rather, our faith keeps returning us to God, who loves us and calls us to a deeper level of trust and hope – to hang on even when things look grim or are just plain awful - that calls us to a deeper level of belief. 

Help my unbelief – this speaks to the fact that we will faulter and need help.  And so we can’t do this alone.  Yes, we need to commit ourselves to believe, but we also need people, and God, to walk that decision out with us.  God calls us to bring our troubles, our doubts, our fears, to him in prayer.  And to share these with trusted friends and/or professionals to companion us on the journey.  Neither of these can happen unless we prioritize our spiritual life, quiet ourselves, cease the frantic activities that run our lives, and commit time and focus to this.  Perhaps today is a good day to start.