Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…

“When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them… One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, ‘Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk…So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.’
‘Bring the boy to me.’ So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth.
‘How long has this been happening?’ Jesus asked the boy’s father. He replied, ‘Since he was a little boy. The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.’
‘What do you mean, ‘If I can’?’ Jesus asked. ‘Anything is possible if a person believes.’
The father instantly cried out, ‘I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!’…and so He rebuked the unclean spirit…”
Mark 9: 14, 17-25 (NLT)

It must have been a great moment to witness. 

Jesus had just taken Peter, James, and John, three of His disciples, with Him to the top of a nearby mountain.

When they returned to the other disciples, and the crowd gathered there with them, Jesus learned that a man with a son possessed by an evil spirit had come and asked the disciples Jesus had left below, to cast the evil spirit out of his son.

But they couldn’t do it; they couldn’t heal the boy. 

And so, the father wondered once again, where he could turn for help for his son. 

Then there was Jesus. 

The father shares his plight and frustrations with Jesus. Who says to the father, “Bring the boy to me.”

When the boy comes into Jesus’ presence, the evil spirit throws the boy into a violent convulsion, causing him to fall to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth. The father tells Jesus this has happened since his son was a little boy.

Then the father pleads with Jesus to help his son, ‘If you can.’

We can identify with that dad, can’t we.

We’ve all had too many of those days, weeks, months, seasons, and more.

Frustrated too many times, standing in the middle of a life of uncertainty once again, not knowing where we can turn. Not sure who can help, or who we can trust.

Fear grips us. Sickness overwhelms us. Circumstances we face seem insurmountable. We feel lost.  Maybe even wondering what’s the point of going on. 

The darkness of impossibility has fully covered the journey of our lives.

And Jesus, in a moment calling for candor, says to the dad—

“What do you mean, ‘If I can?’”

Jesus understood. He is a God of empathy. He knew what the father was going through, feeling defeated. He refused to leave him there in his unbelief. 

And so, Jesus pushed back on the father’s seeming unbelief, causing him once again to embrace his attitude of belief. 

It’s why the father turned to the disciples at first—he had believed. 

And why he turned to Jesus when Jesus came down off the mountain with Peter, James, and John. He had believed.

And now Jesus challenged him, poked him, to believe once again in the God of the possible.

Reminding him—and us—where we can always turn.

To the God of the possible.

Always.

In His Name–Scott

Enjoy this video and song— “In Jesus Name (God of Possible)” by Katy Nichole.