Tuesday - Mark 9

It’s so faith-building to see the miraculous power of Jesus break every stronghold, such as in the life of the demon-possessed, mute son mentioned in Mark 9:14-29. After the disciples couldn’t heal him, the general opinion became that he was bound by something so strong only Jesus could loose.

Turns out, just a small, two-letter word stood in the way.

I love the exchange between Jesus and the father of this bound son…
Son’s father to Jesus: “If you can do anything…”
Jesus: “If you can believe…” (or in the words of the Message Bible, “There are no ‘if’s’ among believers.”)

How many times have I let this ridiculously short, two-letter word trip up the manifestation of God’s miraculous works? There’s no “if’s” when it comes to what Jesus can do. But would the father of this mute son have left out the “If” and simply said to Jesus, “You can do anything,” the conversation would have ended there, and they could have gotten on to the healing of his son!

I’ve found there are some annoying little “if’s” that like to break down the muscle of my faith. And there's only one way to repair a flabby muscle.

What’s convicting me even more in this reading is the question of how many times have I let that “if” keep people around me from perceiving how powerful God is? The disciples couldn’t heal the mute son, and his father noticed. And by the time the father got his son to Jesus, he had a huge “if” on his shoulder and a case of weakened faith.

Is my lifestyle showing God to be powerful? Or am I keeping people from approaching God with faith and seeing miracles happen? I know the answer for me. And I know God’s training regime to fix that: Pray, pray, pray. And repeat. (Mark 9:29)

Ready to hit the Gym,