By Michael Kelley

“‘If you can’? Everything is possible for the one who believes” (Mark 9:23).

I’m sure those words stung a little bit. Here was a hurting father who had brought his son to Jesus to be healed. He, along with his son, had suffered for a long time. There must have been years of struggle; years of financial and marital strain; years of social ostracism because of the dangerous outbursts from his boy. But the father still had one, last hope – he had heard Jesus could help people like him. People like his son. And so he brought the young man to Jesus.

But then the father blew it. Jesus asked him for more details about his son’s condition:

“How long has this been happening to him?” Jesus asked the boy’s father. 

“From childhood,” he said. “And many times it has thrown him into fire or water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’? Everything is possible for the one who believes.”

Perhaps it was the emotion of the moment. Maybe it was the sense of desperation at the situation. But for whatever the reason, the father had bungled his words and had confessed his doubt. What had been there, below the surface, came bubbling up, and the statement was out before he knew it. This man did not believe. At least not completely. And the circumstances had brought that doubt to the surface.

Now this is where we really start to identify with this man. You might not have had a child in such a desperate circumstance, but surely you know what it’s like to want to believe more. Stronger. To have more faith than you do. Surely you know what it’s like to come to God in a moment of need and, deep in your heart, know that you don’t really trust Him. Or at least trust Him as much as you would like to. So what do we do with that?

How do we trust God more? The rest of the story gives us two action points:

1. Be honest.

“I do believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).

When we come face to face with our own doubt, we typically just deny it’s there. We take what has come up to the surface and try to push it away. In other words, we might lie about what we are truly feeling. Surely we are accustomed to doing this especially if we have been conditioned to fight against our own perceived weakness, and we have.

We are a boot-strap kind of people, people who prize self-reliance. To admit that we are less than confident, less than absolutely certain, and have real fear and anxiety about the present and the future runs very much against it. But not this father. This father owned his doubt. He admitted the reality of his weakness in a moment of honesty, and that’s the first step for us as well. The good news is that Jesus is strong enough to deal with that honesty, which leads us to step 2:

2. Ask for help.

The man didn’t just admit his doubt; he asked Jesus to help him with it. Now think for a moment a little further about that simple request of “help me with my unbelief.”

What did it take for this man to bring our doubt to Jesus? Ironically, it took faith. And that’s the same thing it will take for us to follow his example. It will take faith to believe Jesus already knows what we are feeling. That He is loving and understanding enough to receive it. That our relationship with Him is not based on our ability to have our hearts or our conduct in perfect working order. That the essence of our relationship with Jesus is His ability to make up for what we lack. 

And doing so might sound something like this:

“I do believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).

If you want to grow in trust today, consider these two simple things. Be honest about your doubt. Ask Jesus for help. And trust him enough to answer you.

Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.