Marie’s daily verse: 

May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace! (Psalm 29:11). 

DAILY DEVOTION, October 1, 2022

Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).

In the episode, a father appeals to Jesus for help. His son is ill, He has seizures and often throws himself into fire or water, and the father fears for his son’s life. Jesus tells him that all things are possible through faith. The father responds with the above verse. He believes but has mixed feelings. His faith is mixed with doubt. Jesus responds and heals his son.

The application to us is as follows. We have the same kind of faith as this father. Our faith is never pure, unmixed with doubt. We believe, but . . . If our faith was uncontaminated with doubt, we could do the things Jesus did. Alas, who will claim that his faith is equal to that of Jesus? Sin pollutes even our faith. We believe in Jesus, but we wonder if He will answer our specific requests. I believe Jesus can do anything but when I am confronted with cancer, doubt creeps in. Yes, He can do it, but do I believe He will? I think most of our prayers are like the prayer of the father in our verse. We need to confess our doubts and leave the results in the hands of Jesus.

Father, like the man who approached Jesus for help, I believe, help my unbelief. I pray my doubts will decrease and my faith will increase. I pray I will never doubt that Jesus is my Savior. Amen.