Scriptural Comfort for 5 Things That Will Never Be Perfect in This Life: Part 5
Read Part 1: Imperfect People
Read Part 2: Imperfect World
Read Part 3: Imperfect Past
Read Part 4: Imperfect Bodies
“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
-Mark 9:24
That Fateful Word
Have you ever felt overwhelmed with concern for a precious child or loved one? Despite having a belief in God, did you feel like this consuming worry could choke the faith right out of you? There’s a man in the Bible who felt the same way.
We read about him in the ninth chapter of Mark; a man whose son had been tormented by an evil spirit for years. This demon had even tried to kill the boy by fire or by drowning. His father was desperate. He had tried everything he could think of to free the boy from this terrible force. Just that morning he had taken him to the disciples of Jesus, hoping for a miraculous touch, but even they could not cast out the demon.
Finally, Jesus came upon the group surrounding the father and his stricken son. The minute the evil spirit recognized Jesus, it threw the boy onto the ground in a violent convulsion. We can imagine just how scared and helpless the father felt as he begged Jesus for mercy. “Help us if you can,” he said.
Jesus gently rebuked him. “If?” he said.
I like to think that His eyes were kind as He said to the man, “Anything is possible if you believe.”
He proceeded to command the evil spirit to leave the boy, and with a scream of protest, it fled. Jesus took the boy’s hand and led him back to his father
(Mark 9:17-27).
Have you ever felt like this man? I know I have. We know the answer is Jesus, and we come to him—to ask our questions, to intercede for others. Trying to trust him. And yet our flesh needs evidence, proof. We want to believe, but only if our eyes see that we can.
Faith = Trust
Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
The key words in this verse are confidence and assurance. The essence of faith is an acknowledgment that something is true, and our acceptance of truth concerning God and the Bible is based on the ultimate trustworthiness of God. In many ways, faith is connected to trust.
Sometimes our faith feels weak not because God is weak, but because our trust in Him is not strong.
The Bible is filled with documentation—stories, poetry, eye-witness accounts—that show God is trustworthy. Though it also seems to be full of followers of Christ whom we consider “heroes of faith,” those same people were as flawed and weak as we are.
God promised Abraham that his descendants would outnumber the stars (Gen 15:5), but he ran ahead of God and tried to fulfill the promise himself (Gen. 16:1-3, Gen. 21:12-13).
Moses debated God regarding his ability to speak to Pharoah and argued with God’s assignment (Exodus 3:1-14; Exodus 4:1-17).
Peter was a devoted follower of Jesus, yet he denied knowing him not once but three times before Jesus was crucified (Luke 22:54-62).
The Lord Looks at the Heart
What feels like weak faith may leave us embarrassed, humbled, or ashamed, like the boy’s father above.
“No, wait!” we cry. “I really do believe! I just _____,” and we fill in the blank as we try to justify our unbelief. Inadvertently, we attribute more power to our circumstances, convinced that they are just too big or too difficult for God to handle.
Here’s an encouraging word, friend: God sees us in that moment, floundering in our faith, our trust in Him fragile and uncertain. He understands that our flesh can become consumed with what we see in front of us and that our circumstances or feelings can blind us to His strength.
Let’s take a minute to reflect on the anointing of David as king of Israel. Samuel himself assumed the Lord would pick a strong, handsome, adult male. What a surprise for Samuel to hear the Lord’s reminder as He led him to anoint David, a young shepherd boy: “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
It’s the same with our faith. We may look at our outward behavior and think we’re either doing pretty well or we are “the chief of sinners.” Thank God that though He knows both the good and evil that lingers in our hearts, He loves us anyway. He knows how deep our faith truly extends, and in what (or whom) we place our trust.
When We Are Weak, He is Strong
It’s at times like these that we can remember the Lord’s words to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”
We may find ourselves dejected because it seems our faith is weak. We may find our faith lacking and small when we compare ourselves to others. The problems we are dealing with may seem overwhelming, our failures all-consuming. We wonder why it is so difficult to trust God.
Every believer will have times of doubts and struggles with their faith—their ability to trust God—throughout their Christian walk. Our constant wrestle with our flesh, the world, and the enemy provides ample opportunity.
Jesus proved He is trustworthy when He gave His life on the cross for our sins. His power was displayed in his victory over death and the devil. Though He doesn’t need our faith, He can use faith the size of a mustard seed to accomplish His will (Luke 17:6).
Do you wonder if the father in this story went back home and spent the rest of the day beating himself up for that one little word, “if”? Do you think he hid himself in his house, too embarrassed to admit he had questioned Jesus’ ability? No, I am sure the only things filling his mind as he chased his son home to tell the family were joy, gratitude, and awe of God’s power.
Jesus is the Answer
The Bible gives us the answer to our imperfect faith: Jesus. The one who remains the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He is the one who can strengthen our faith and help us overcome our unbelief—He is the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2)! Like the father in this story, who cried, "I do believe! Help my unbelief!", we only need to ask.
Thankfully, God’s sovereignty is not lessened by limited faith. Many times, God uses us for His greater purposes regardless of the level of our faith. Jesus has already accomplished His Father’s sovereign will, so although our faith may waver, His faithfulness never does.
Despite his mistakes, Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3).
Moses is forever remembered as the deliverer of the Israelites from captivity in Egypt, a great prophet, and a friend of God (Deuteronomy 34:10-12, Exodus 33:11).
Jesus entrusted the care of His sheep to Peter and called him the rock on which the church would be built (John 21:15-17, Matthew 16:18).
If you believe that God is who He says He is and that He will keep His promises, you have all the faith you need.
If you’ve stayed with me through this whole series on the 5 things that will never be perfect in this life, you will have noticed that the answer to our struggles is always Jesus—His grace, His trustworthiness, His renewal, His forgiveness. When it seems that life doesn’t measure up to your expectations and leaves you hurt and disappointed, or even struggling with your faith, don’t turn away from God. Fix your eyes on him, run hard after him, and dive headlong into his Word, where you will be refreshed by His steadfast love.
No matter the imperfections, disappointments, or challenges in our lives, He is the one who remains constant and unchanging, faithful and true.
God’s way is perfect.
All the Lord’s promises prove true.
He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.
For who is God except the Lord?
Who but our God is a solid rock?
God arms me with strength,
and he makes my way perfect.
-Psalm 18:30-32
The Bible’s Answer for our Imperfect Faith: Jesus
Questions for further reflection or journaling (Find a printable version here).
Hebrews 11:6. We can try to please God through our outward behaviors, doing things like going to church, volunteering, and making financial donations. What does this verse say is necessary to please God?
Read the following verses. Who gives us our faith?
Hebrews 12:2
2 Peter 1:1
1 Timothy 1:13-14
In 2 Peter 1:5-11, what does Peter encourage his readers to add to their faith? What can cause us to become “nearsighted and blind” (v.9)?
Look up the following verses and fill in the blanks:
(Romans 1:17) For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by _______.”
(2 Timothy 2:11-13) If we are unfaithful, he remains _________, for he cannot deny who he is.
(Ephesians 2:8-9) For it is by grace you have been saved, through ______—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
(Romans 5:1) Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by _______, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our ________, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
(2 Corinthians 5:7) —for we walk by _______, not by sight.
When your faith feels weak, or you are having trouble trusting God in your circumstances, what will you remember about God to help you?
Excellent
Jesus. The author AND finisher of our faith, no matter what level of faith we present. Always Jesus. Thank you for this.