Humanness

Submitted by Tommy Galik

If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.  Mark 9:23,24.

When Jesus descended the mount of Transfiguration, he saw a large crowd conversing with his disciples. One of the men came running to Jesus with a request to heal his son who was demon possessed. He had brought his son to Jesus but He was not there. The disciples tried to heal him but they failed to appropriate their faith. Jesus called them an unbelieving generation. They were not much different than the present group of Jewish religious leaders.

Their lack of faith made Jesus a little angry. Yes, Jesus was angry with his disciples. They were not following the training He gave them. They ignored a vital teaching of Jesus that faith is necessary to do the work of God. Was Jesus wrong to be angry? No, he expected more from them. This account helps us see the humanness of Jesus. He was the both God and man. He had emotions and feeling like us. He was disappointed that they didn’t exercise faith and trust the training that He gave them. We all have moments when our spiritual nature takes second place to our human nature.

He called for the boy to be brought to him. He addressed the father’s concern with these words, If you can”? “Everything is possible for one who believes.” The man, realizing that he is human, says, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.” Mark uses the present tense to tell us that the father was continuously believing but that the man wasn’t sure he could maintain his faith.

I can identify will the father. Judy has been through several surgeries and God has brought her safely through them. We have known for a week or so that she was going to have surgery to remove the melanoma from her left lung. Things were going well until last Tuesday. My mind began to focus on the surgery and the possible problems that could be encountered including death. I prayed and confessed my weak faith. About 2:00 A.M. Wednesday morning, I woke up very calm and relaxed and God told me that everything was going to be alright. His voice was heard and I believed that the surgeon would get the cancer and that she would live to see another day.

Even though I am a minister, I am human. My overriding fear was that she could die. Faith and doubt should not go together but they do sometimes. When they do, is this a sin? Not necessarily.  We believe that God is going to do what we ask but sometimes we are afraid that God’s plan may not be ours. When our doubt prevents our faith from being exercised or in control, we are sinning. In other words, if doubt controls our thoughts and decision-making process, we sin. Doubt serves as a warning to pray to find the answer we need. It can help us to see that we are very passionate about something we are giving to God.

When you feel that your faith is being overridden by doubt, admit that your faith is being tested by the situation you are experiencing. Ask yourself why doubt is gaining the upper hand. Take it to God in prayer and leave it with him to reveal what you need to do. If you find it difficult to leave it with God, call the ministerial staff to make an appointment to discuss your situation.

Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.
Mark 9:24