I struggle with unbelief when crises overwhelm me.
My stomach churns. My thoughts tangle as I search for more information. My faith in the strength and power of our Almighty God wavers. My racing mind searches for alternatives as I struggle with God’s timing.
I wish I could say that my faith is 100% unwavering 100% of the time. The truth is that I occasionally feel the need to help the Lord with circumstances instead of believing in Him to respond. Does this ever happen to you??
“Surely,” I think inside my wee little mind, “surely the Lord would not want things this way. I’ll ______ …” Over the years, I have come up with lots of different actions to fill in this blank.
It’s not pretty. Invariably, my actions to fill in the blank run ahead of God’s plan. I sadly recall attempting to push a friend into a relationship with Christ on my time schedule. Then there is the time when I tried bulldozing the way for a new program at work.
Then I pause. I cry out the statement of the dad in the book of Mark:
“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
This dad had carried his child through the crowds. He came in desperation. His son suffered from seizures and an evil spirit. He begged for healing for his son.
Jesus responded, “Everything is possible for him who believes.” (Mark 9:20-24)
The dad immediately uttered the line: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
He came to Jesus and his disciples with some level of belief. In his statement, however, we learn that some weakness in his faith existed. It’s not an unwavering trust. But we also observe his acknowledgement and plea to overcome his unbelief.
Jesus then healed his son. The dad was also on the path to healing his own unbelief.
Faith is not a static thing. It is a continuum from “I think this can be true” to absolute trust.
Life’s journey through this spectrum of faith is frequently not pretty. Thankfully our Lord knows the depth of our heart and the breadth of our struggles. Lord, help me overcome my unbelief.
Do you ever struggle with doubt and the goodness of God?
Ah yes. I have been here and there are seasons when I’ve done better at this than others. Currently, it seems that God has put a “hedge of protection” around my head/heart so that even when things get hard, I don’t find myself doubting His goodness or failing to trust in him. Glad to meet you here– visiting from the MWoF linky!
So true! Seasons do change things as we continue on this faith journey. Praise God for His goodness that never fails. Thanks for stopping by, Lorretta!