Doubting? God Can Work With Your Faith

There are many great examples of faith in the bible, but today, let’s read from Mark 9.

“One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, ‘Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.’ Jesus said to them, ‘You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.’ So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth. ‘How long has this been happening?’ Jesus asked the boy’s father. He replied, ‘Since he was a little boy.’” - Mark 9:17-21 (NLT)

As soon as the evil spirit saw Jesus, it reacted by throwing the boy to the ground and shaking the boy violently – the demon invoked a seizure. The disciples were unable to cast the demon out of the boy, and Jesus was frustrated with their unbelief. But the mere sight of Jesus caused a trembling in the demonic realm. The demon had possessed the boy since the boy was very young, so the boy’s father pleaded with Jesus.

“‘Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.’ ’What do you mean, ‘If I can’?’ Jesus asked. ‘Anything is possible if a person believes.’ The father instantly cried out, ‘I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!’ When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil spirit. ‘Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak,’ he said. ‘I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!’ Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him.” - Mark 9:22-26 (NLT)

The boy's father pleaded with Jesus. Jesus, still frustrated with the disciples, asked, “What do you mean if I can?”

I love that. Anything is possible if a person believes. That’s what Jesus said.

But I love the father’s response too. One translation puts it this way: “Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief.” 

The Power of Imperfect Faith

Jesus even works with the faith of those who doubt. He meets every person where they need to be met.

He connected with the faith that they had in order to perform the healing they needed. Through physical touch and spoken word, Jesus healed the sick. But somehow or another, faith was always involved.

Examples of Faith in the Bible:

For the Woman with the issue of blood, all it took was a touch. (Mark 5:25–34)

For the Centurion’s servant, all it took was a word. (Matthew 8:5–13)

For the father of a tormented boy, all it took was a little hope. (Mark 9:14–29)

Yes, as your faith grows, so does your capacity to receive. But God also meets you where you are. He works with the faith you have.

For more on divine healing, watch my full video, “In-Depth Bible Study on Divine Healing | David Diga Hernandez,” on YouTube by clicking here.

ENJOY DAVID'S WEEKLY BLOG? CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP TO RECEIVE IT VIA EMAIL.