Friends' Favorites - He Can! Can You?

... if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."
 " 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."
 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
Mark 9:22b-24 NIV

We want to claim a walk of faith, but when was the last time we checked the reality of it? What does it mean to walk in faith? It means we don't have all the answers in front of us. We reduce God to our level of ineptitude by our unbelief and then want to blame Him when our prayers are not answered. In our minds, we define God by our self-righteousness rather than define ourselves by His true righteousness.

Maybe we don't know where the money's coming from for that bill that is due or for groceries, but we can know that God is true to His Word. And if we are in covenant with Him, He will supply all of our needs in glory by Christ Jesus. That's His Word, not mine. 

Sometimes, we don't know why people get sick but we can know how they can get well. Jesus took the stripes on His back to purchase our healing. He is the Healer. He sends His Word and it can heal. 

Sometimes, they don't get well. Sometimes they die. Titus tells us we have this Truth - His truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began.

It's not a pick-and-choose situation. We can't just pick the ones we like and forget the rest. Addison Road did a song called, "What Do I Know of Holy?" and it depicts this whole scenario of confining God to our finite-ness. Limiting Him by who we are and/or what we believe. Negating His promises by our words of unbelief - our view of Him as too small, as not enough... 

Have you thought about who He is? Who God is doesn't change just because our circumstances change or our feelings change or because our friends say so. His sovereignty is not diminished by our inability to believe. However, what we receive IS limited by what we believe.

Can we be forgiven? Can we be made new? Can He heal? Can He provide? Can He restore? Can He remove the stain of sin? Can He empower us to overcome?  Yes, He can and He will...  Can you believe?

Prayer:

Father,
          Shine Your light of Truth into the deepest, darkest places of our lives. Root out unbelief. Your Words are alive and powerful! Quicken them in us, Father, so that we may fulfill Your purpose in us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen