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If You Can Believe "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes,” was the response of Jesus to the desperate father of a child plagued by a demon. (Mark 9:14ff, NKJV). Mark then records in verse 24 the response of the dad: Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" For too many of us the solution to many of our problems is elusive because of unbelief. We doubt ourselves and then transfer that doubt to the ability of the Almighty God. It is my purpose in this short essay to remind us that our Father is not a nobody! With Him, all things are possible! When Sarah and Abraham were informed by messengers from God that Sarah would give birth to a son within the following year though she was past childbearing age, Sarah laughed at the message. God was offended that her faithlessness had prompted such a response. It was He who appeared to Abraham and Sarah saying, Is anything too hard for the Lord? Subsequently, Sarah even denied that she laughed, but both she and Abraham knew that she had in fact, by her laughter, manifested doubt at the prospect of birthing a son (cf. Genesis 18:1-15). Jesus is on record in Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27, and Luke 18:27 clearly teaching that things impossible with men are possible with God. In Matthew 6:30, 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; and Luke 12:28 Jesus upbraided the “little faith” so prevalent in His audiences. Coupled with “little faith” is fearfulness. Fearfulness is born of doubt. Kind reader, if there’s one thing that will sap your energy and leave you in a depressed state — it is fear! I submit to you, more times than not, our lack of growth in our spirituality is a product of faithlessness born of fear. To the young evangelist Timothy, the apostle wrote: For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (II Timothy 1:7). “Like a mighty army moves the church of God,” says a stanza from Onward, Christian Soldiers. Can you believe in the progress of yourself in the kingdom? Can you believe in the victories to be had in our battles against the old serpent? Through Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us (Eph. 3:20) we can believe! --Al Sandlin |