One of the most poignant events in the life of Christ Jesus is found in Mark 9. The first thirteen verses of the chapter are devoted to His experience on the Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus took His inner circle, Peter, James, and John up on a high mountain. There He was transfigured before them. There Moses and Elijah met with Him. It amazed the Inner Circle.
The part of the chapter that always touches my soul comes next—when they come down off the mountain and are met by a desperate father with a son who was troubled by a demon. While Jesus and the Inner Circle were high on the mountain, this desperate father was seeking relief and healing for his son with the other disciples down below … and was coming up empty.
The father approached Jesus, and when questioned about how long the boy had been beset, responded. “’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.’” [vss 21-22 HCSB]
Then Jesus repeats the father’s words back to Him, “If You can’?” and adds His own, “Everything is possible to the one who believes.” [vs 23 HCSB]
Immediately the father of the boy cries out, “I do believe! Help my unbelief.” [vs24 HCSB]
How often I have cried out as the father of this boy cried out—I do believe, I really do, but if there is any part of me that harbors even the smallest element of unbelief, then help me LORD!
And just as Jesus helped the father that day, Jesus helps me.
