Mark 9:14–29 (ESV)

¹⁴When they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. ¹⁵And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to [Jesus] and greeted him. ¹⁶And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” ¹⁷And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. ¹⁸And 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.” ¹⁹And 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.” ²⁰And 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. ²¹And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. ²²And 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.” ²³And Jesus said to him, “If you can! All things are possible for one who believes.” ²⁴Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” ²⁵And 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.” ²⁶And 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.” ²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. ²⁸And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” ²⁹And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”

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As Christians we are like the father of the epileptic child in today’s reading from the Gospel according to St. Mark saying, “I believe!”, “I do not believe!”  Sure, you believe but then again, you are not certain.  Faith never stands still; it either grows strong or it becomes weak, wavering on the brink of unbelief.  Sadly, the temptation of unbelief can taunt sincere people who do believe but are carrying heavy crosses.  Burdened Christians desiring to sincerely believe begin to struggle when they grow weary from an illness or circumstance and the situation seems to be getting worse.  Maintaining a constant faith is not easy when life’s experiences constantly try our faith.  Often, we are like this father who recognizes in his son the presence of the devil, and yet fails to see Jesus is Stronger than the strong.  Jesus turns the “If You can” statement upon the man in effect saying, “If I can?  Your “if” is not with Me, but with yourself.  The real question is whether you have faith in My power for “All things are possible for one who believes” (23).

No matter how dire, desperate, or frustrating our circumstances may be, we are never out of reach of our Lord’s presence.  
When Jesus said, “Bring [the boy] to me”, the scene changed, and the demon believed and shuttered (cf. James 2:19).  With His Word, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again” (25), the demon violently came out of the boy, leaving him like a corpse (26).  “But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose” (27). 

Once, Jesus walked on the water to meet His disciples in their little boat, and Simon Peter, with great love and boldness, started out on the water to meet his Lord.  Seeing the waves, he took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink.  He did not perish because of His doubt. The Lord Jesus reached out His hand and lifted him up, gently chiding, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (cf. Matthew 14:22f).  We may go from moments of faith to moments of unbelief, but just as it was for this father and for the sinking Peter, help is at hand.  Christ Jesus, the Son of the living God, is powerful and graciously and mercifully takes command in our dire situations, always answering our prayer, “Lord, help my unbelief!”  

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