Day 5 – Possessed Boy
“And someone from the crowd answered him, ‘Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.’ And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, ‘You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.”
Mark 9:17-26
This man’s story is similar to yesterday’s in that he has come to Jesus out of the same desperate love for his child.
My experience as the father of a lot of kids is that it has a really unique way of revealing things in me that I ignore or try to pretend aren’t there. Things like impatience and selfishness, and countless other uglinesses. But it also reveals levels of love that I never knew existed: a willingness to sacrifice; a willingness to wear a princess tiara or bounce around like a horsey with absolute abandon; a willingness to go through trees and parked cars to love, care for, and protect these little humans.
This dad is there. He is at the end of his rope. All he has is a slightly-less-than-believing prayer – “If you can do anything..”
Sometimes all we have is a tiny seed of hope, of faith, that is planted in us.
It comes out as, “I do believe. (the seed) Help my unbelief! (I want the full tree!)
INWARD: Father, what do you want me to know?
What do you imagine Jesus’s tone of voice to be as he replies, “If you can?” Is he angry? Critical or condescending?
I imagine him giving a half-chuckle and then answering him reassuringly, “Everything is possible (even the healing of your baby girl).” He loves seeing the seed of faith and wants it to grow.
What rings true to you in this story?
OUTWARD: Father, what do you want me to do?
Can you identify a seed of faith in you that you want to grow? Offer it to Jesus in a simple prayer.
“Jesus, in this place, ___________, I do believe. Help my unbelief!”
