‘‘All things are possible to him who believes.’’ Mark 9:23
One day a distraught father came to Jesus and said, ‘My son…frequently…he falls into the fire and…the water…I brought him to Your disciples, and they were not able to cure him’ (Matthew 17:15-16). Notice, he never once said, ‘Maybe my son inherited this problem from me’ or ‘Perhaps if I had raised him differently.’ No, he dumped the responsibility onto the disciples, who were themselves in training. Whenever we’re in trouble, we like to blame the pastor, the church, our spouse, our boss, our family, our looks, our social status, or find some other excuse. We’re unable or unwilling to admit that we stuck our own hand in the fire or almost drowned by jumping in headfirst when we couldn’t swim. After Jesus healed the boy, His disciples asked Him, ‘Why can’t we do the things you do?’ (see Matthew 17:19). That’s like asking, ‘Why isn’t my situation changing?’ when we haven’t brought the problem to God, prayed about it, and trusted in His transformative power. Jesus replied, ‘Because your faith is too small’ (Matthew 17:20). Sometimes you need the kind of faith that makes you seem a little weird; the kind that doesn’t need other people’s approval and doesn’t care whether or not you fit in. That’s the kind of faith that made Noah say, ‘Even though there has never been rain and nobody in my generation believes, I’m still going to do what God said.’ As a result, he came out on top! Paul writes, ‘Having done all…stand’ (Ephesians 6:13). Stand on what? Stand on what God has told you in His Word, because ultimately, it’s the thing that will work.
