Friday Mark 9:20-27
BIBLE PASSAGE
[Please do read the passage before (or after) reading the devotion.]
Let’s spend a little more time in yesterday’s “valley” event, focusing on the afflicted boy’s father and Jesus. The boy’s affliction, which often threatened to be fatal, obviously spanned many years, years that would make any parent’s heart despair. And then came news of hope – a healer in town! So the father begs Jesus to heal his son…if he can. In the subsequent exchange, we learn a few things about belief. Firstly, belief in God begins with the conviction that the outcome is completely dependent on God. Second is the question of whether I trust that this God cares enough and is capable of doing it. Third, do I know this God and personally want him to do it. Fourth, whatever the outcome, do I really want my experience of this loving God to grow because of/through it? The father’s answer (“I believe; help my unbelief!”) is less about any doubts or lack of faith he had; it is more about a yearning to grow in the knowledge and trust of the One who can change even the most dire situation. Jesus always answers that yearning – it’s a good one to have!
Prayer: I believe; help my unbelief! That’s a prayer I often pray, Lord. I don’t doubt you exist; I believe that you have the power to move mountains. And yet I resist asking; what if it’s the wrong thing? I’m afraid to expect anything; what if I’m disappointed? Oh, how I want to know you in a way that takes away all resistance and fear! I want to know you as a much-loved child who deeply trusts his/her loving parent. Help me experience that love both in receiving what I ask for and in being denied, trusting that it’s for my own sake. Draw me close to you, Lord, even when I falter. Because if I fall, I’d rather fall into your arms. Amen.
Song: CLICK HERE
[Please do read the passage before (or after) reading the devotion.]
Let’s spend a little more time in yesterday’s “valley” event, focusing on the afflicted boy’s father and Jesus. The boy’s affliction, which often threatened to be fatal, obviously spanned many years, years that would make any parent’s heart despair. And then came news of hope – a healer in town! So the father begs Jesus to heal his son…if he can. In the subsequent exchange, we learn a few things about belief. Firstly, belief in God begins with the conviction that the outcome is completely dependent on God. Second is the question of whether I trust that this God cares enough and is capable of doing it. Third, do I know this God and personally want him to do it. Fourth, whatever the outcome, do I really want my experience of this loving God to grow because of/through it? The father’s answer (“I believe; help my unbelief!”) is less about any doubts or lack of faith he had; it is more about a yearning to grow in the knowledge and trust of the One who can change even the most dire situation. Jesus always answers that yearning – it’s a good one to have!
Prayer: I believe; help my unbelief! That’s a prayer I often pray, Lord. I don’t doubt you exist; I believe that you have the power to move mountains. And yet I resist asking; what if it’s the wrong thing? I’m afraid to expect anything; what if I’m disappointed? Oh, how I want to know you in a way that takes away all resistance and fear! I want to know you as a much-loved child who deeply trusts his/her loving parent. Help me experience that love both in receiving what I ask for and in being denied, trusting that it’s for my own sake. Draw me close to you, Lord, even when I falter. Because if I fall, I’d rather fall into your arms. Amen.
Song: CLICK HERE
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