Read: Mark 9:14-27
I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief! (v. 24 NIV)
I’ve been trying to give you a clear look at doubt. Now I want to help you to do something about it. What will you do with your doubt? You can accept it or reject it, treasure it in the spirit of postmodernism or fight it with everything you’ve got.
I understand that you may be too weary to try or too skeptical or too angry with God or too stubborn. To deal with doubt we need strength and hope and repentance and forgiveness. There is only one place to get such things. Follow this desperate father in Mark 9.
He brought his profoundly troubled son to Jesus for healing. The boy falls to the ground in a convulsion foaming at the mouth. The father says, “Sometimes it gets worse.” Then he utters the agonized prayer we know too well: “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “ ‘If you can’?” repeats Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
Those are hard words for those who believe but don’t see answers to their prayers. We can get angry at Jesus. Or we can do what this father did. He exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” He had doubt, and he did what we should do with our doubt.
He takes it to Jesus and asks him to help. That sounds too simple, but it is the heart of the remedy for doubt. Ask Jesus to transform doubt to faith.
As you pray, confess to God: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
About the Author
Stan Mast
Rev. Stan Mast is a retired pastor, who served four churches in the West and Midwest regions of the United States. He finished his career with three years of teaching at Calvin Seminary. He is happily married to Sharon, and they have two sons and four grandchildren.
