The Mirror of the Word by C.E. White can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/Mirror-Word-Devotions-Reveal-Refine/dp/B0DFZS83C7  To learn more about this author and other works, visit https://cewhitebooks.com/

“‘If you can do anything, take pity on us, and help us!’ But Jesus said to him, ‘“If you can?” All things are possible for the one who believes.’ Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, ‘I do believe; help my unbelief!’”

—Mark 9:23–24

We often come to the Lord in prayer, desperate for him to work.

But even as we pray, we hear the echoes of that phrase, “…for the one who believes,” and we fear that isn’t us. We feel the doubt rising, unwanted, in our minds.

That is no cause for despair. The honesty of this man’s, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” didn’t result in Jesus’s reprimand or refusal.

As a good parent rejoices at a toddler’s first steps though they are anything but steady, Jesus rejoices at our efforts to trust him. The man’s feeble attempt was not a failure, but the first step to building a sturdy and consistent faith.

This shows us what to do with our unwanted thoughts and feelings. We don’t ignore or hide them; we take them straight to Jesus and lay them at his feet.

Whether we’re dealing with unbelief, unforgiveness, comparison, bitterness, selfishness, or any other thing that may hinder our walk with him, we take it to God and ask for its opposite. “I choose to be joyful; Lord, help my bitterness.” 

We can act in obedience even where our feelings don’t yet follow.

We may take many faltering steps. We often take those wrong things back from God and have to give them to him over and over between our stumblings.

But the quicker and the more often we submit to the Holy Spirit, the more natural it becomes to live in belief, forgiveness, generosity, mercy, and compassion.

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