“If you can?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” – Mark 9:23-24
In Luke 17, Jesus says, if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can say to the mulberry tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it will obey us. What’s our first reaction to this Jesus’ saying? For most people, the first thought that will come to their mind will be, that it’s nonsense. How can a tree be uprooted and planted in the sea just because we have faith? Also, how does the father ask Jesus? “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
In our lives or our prayers, it’s surprising how much we lack faith. Our inherent attitude toward our hope and request is that we first have the voice of doubt and question to the voice of the Lord. We have this question, “If you can.” We only partly believe and partly question when the Lord speaks to us with the words of great things. We have a question, “Will he really do so? If not, well, that’s also fine.” In the chapter of faith, Hebrews 11, the author of Hebrews brings out numerous examples of ancestors of faith in the Bible. None of them were in the place where it seemed possible. But only by faith, they overcame. The word “by faith” appears more than 20 times in this chapter.
God is giving us the same promises and challenges as the ancestors of faith in our lives. Then what’s the only difference between them and us? It is faith. Everything is a matter of faith. At first, the father in Mark 9 asks Jesus to help him heal his son. But afterward, he asks to help him overcome his unbelief. Jesus said all things are possible for one who believes. Faith decides everything in our lives and only by faith we can overcome the fights and struggles. Let us examine our attitude toward God’s great promise and calling and overcome all things that are laid on our path of faith by faith.