Most of us believe in God with our whole hearts. We trust that He is with us through the ups and downs of life. We hold on to Him when things get shaky. Most of the time!
What happens though when something is beyond our ability to simply keep believing? What happens when the events we’re facing, or the current situation strikes us as simply not possible? I’m reminded of the father in Mark 9:24, who goes to Jesus because his son is being tormented by demons. It’s a tough situation. Even Jesus’ disciples can’t seem to help the boy. In desperation, the father says something like, “If you can do anything, do it!” Of course, Jesus never doubts what God can do and so he tells the father to simply believe! The father sighs, “I do believe, but help my unbelief!” That may seem like an odd thing to say. Either he believes or he doesn’t!
But I’m also reminded of Abraham and Sarah who prayed for a baby for years. They believed in the promise God had made to them that Abraham would be the father of many nations, but still Sarah did not conceive. By the time Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90, they had every reason to be doubtful. After all, there was no biological possibility for them to have a child. But you know what happened. The Angel of God paid them a visit and told them they would indeed have a son. Poor Sarah laughed. You and I probably would have laughed too. We would have struggled to believe it could still be possible. Help my unbelief might have well been Sarah’s prayer. Her baby boy arrived a few months later.
What do we struggle with that causes us to lose absolute trust in God’s promises? What would cause us to say with the father from Mark 9, “I believe, but help me with my unbelief!”
Of course, we’ll all have different answers, but here’s the thing. When faced with something that challenges our faith, we can do exactly what the father in the story did. We can go to Jesus and tell Him we are not sure we believe as fully as we need to, and so we need help. We need more faith. We need more courage to believe in the promises of God.
God loves that you start any approach to Him with “I believe!” That’s really all it takes for Him to respond, “Then stick with me and I will help you get through this.”
God is bigger than your situation. Even when you don’t receive the answer you want, God will not leave you empty handed. He will hold you up and give you strength you never imagined you could have. He wants to help you with your unbelief!