A desperate boy who was being tortured by a demonic spirit was in need of divine help. He had been tortured by this evil spirit for most of his life. The spirit would make him do horrible things to himself, like throw him into fires and try to drown him. The demonic spirit’s goal was to destroy the boy’s body through suicide. Out of complete desperation, the boy’s father brought him to Jesus for help but Jesus was not there. Jesus’ disciples tried to help but they could do nothing to rid the boy of the evil spirit.
It was at that point that Jesus walked up to the panicked crowd. When the father of the boy saw Jesus he said, “…if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”…Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
As I read that sacred text I can feel the agony of the son and of the father. I have walked in the shoes of both men in this story. I have received bad news about my own health and worried if things would work out or not. I have received devastating news about a child and cried out to the Lord for help. Each time anxiety would set in and the internal battle between belief and unbelief ensued.
In desperate times like those I have cried out to the Lord, “I believe, help my unbelief”. Every time I have prayed that prayer, the Lord has shown Himself to be utterly faithful. He has not always saved me from the pain and sorrow of the moment but He has always given me what I needed to endure it. Today I stand grounded in my faith not because I have believed but because the Lord has helped my unbelief. How true that is for all of us who are in Christ.
RICKY GARCIA
Ricky is a Pastor of Community Baptist Church in Victoria, Tx. He and his wife have been married for twenty-one years and have four children.