By Sandy Jones
Recently a pastor friend, Jimmy Hutchings, did a sermon titled “I do believe, help my unbelief” that really spoke to me. His quotes used in this column are done so with his permission.
“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24b NKJV)
It comes from the parable in Mark 9:23-25 NKJV where a boy’s father came to Jesus asking for healing for his possessed son.
Jesus said to him,“If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears,“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it,“Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!”
“Have you ever believed something and yet doubted at the same time?” Jimmy challenged his congregation.
Jimmy continued on, “Maybe at one time you believed that God loved you, but that life had become so hard that you wondered if He had forgotten you. If you’ve ever felt that way on some level, then you have something in common with today’s story.”
“He [this father] had faith, but his faith had been tested to exhaustion; it had been bruised by disappointment; worn down by waiting; scarred by years of unanswered questions.”
“His faith wasn’t dead, it just simply was tired. And that’s where a lot of people are at today. They’re not trying to run from God, they’re actually trying to hold on to the smallest little scrap from the hem of His garment. They still come to church. They still know the Bible. They may still whisper prayers, but there are days when the heart is saying ‘Lord I know You can, I’m just struggling to believe that You will.’”
Jimmy reminds us all that, “A weak faith in an Almighty God is still stronger than any confidence placed in the things of the world. Faith is not the absence of doubt.”
Again, this sermon really spoke to me. Honestly it’s been a really long 3 years, and the last 7 months of trying to come to grips with my new normal had taken a toll on me. A toll on my thought processes. A toll on my perception of reality. And yes, I worried, a toll on my faith.
“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
I heard Jimmy utter these words at the beginning of his sermon, and my ears perked up, something stirred in my heart.
Could I possibly not be the only one who felt this way?
Isn’t that just like the enemy? He lies to us, and then he tells us we’re alone in this, so all too often we hide it both in shame and fear.
Many people reached out to check on us throughout Steve’s illness, and even beyond his passing to see how we/I were doing. I developed a mantra of sorts, because it was too hard to come up with a unique response to each query. The mantra was true, and accurately represented how we/I were making it through each day.
“While we don’t know what today holds, we know that God is still on the throne; He’s still in control, and we just need to be faithful to do what He has called us to do in this season of our lives.”
I believe in God. I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s one and only Son. I believe in The Holy Spirit. Completely, and undeniably. And yet, I’d become afraid to pray, to ask for certain things, due to my unbelief, if I were to be transparently honest. I, too, had been “tested to exhaustion”, “bruised by disappointment; worn down by waiting; scarred by years of unanswered questions.” Coming out on the other side to a new normal, where for the first time in my life, I was living alone. In all my years, I’ve never lived alone.
I never doubted for one moment that God has always, and continues to, love me. He proclaims that loudly – He sent His one and only Son to die for each and every one of us – but I was emotionally exhausted to the point of being numb. Realizing this I had begun to pray, asking for clarity and relief from this numbness. After all, He has not released me from the calling He placed on my life nearly fourteen years ago – I desperately needed to be able to think clearly, and see life plainly again… and he had my pastor friend, Jimmy, send me the recording of the sermon he delivered to his congregation on Sunday, August 2.
Dear reader, if this speaks to your heart, please let me reassure you that God has not moved. He knows you. He knows your heart. He hears you. He knows you’re getting tired, or that you’re already exhausted. Please trust me when I tell you this: while I believe that I am now on the upswing, I also know that there are lessons I’ve learned in this most recent part of my journey. I encourage you to hold fast to the fact that He IS still on the Throne, is still in control, and He has a plan for you – don’t let go of the hem of His garment.
If you would like to hear Jimmy’s full sermon, you can do so by going to https://youtu.be/zW8H-wKUnTM?si=zgzu-THFfSGYg1d0.
I ask often, and it is with the greatest sincerity – please frequent our advertisers and thank them for supporting Christian Living Magazine. If it weren’t for their support we simply wouldn’t exist. We love them and think you will too!
Until next time…….
