If You Can?

I have been neglecting my Bible lately, and every time I do that I feel less and less like reading my Bible as time goes on. But then I choose to pick it up and find myself devouring the words. Usually when I read the Bible I want the words to be a part of me, in a way I can't describe. This doesn't happen with anything else I read because the word of God is "living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword."

Yesterday I was reading in Mark, which almost never happens. I'll open to any of the other gospels before I read Mark, but yesterday was the day. As a literature enthusiast, I was struck by the different wordings the writer of Mark used, and I was surprised I had never noticed it before. Upon opening my Bible I asked God to show me something new about himself, and he didn't let me down.

The chapters I read in Mark seemed to portray Jesus as having great compassion on the people, and just wanting them to get it. He seems a little more blunt at times. This passage from Mark chapter 9 really stood out to me:

"Teacher, I have brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him on the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not."

"O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."

So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?"

"From childhood," he answered. "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But 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 believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

Now, there are many ways I could pick this passage apart and analyze it. But the truth is, when Jesus says, "'If you can?'" I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Obviously, the man didn't know who he was talking to, fully. And most of the time I don't think we do either. Jesus is one with God, the creator of the universe. There absolutely isn't anything He can't do. So how do we doubt God ever? I just get tickled every time I think about it. There isn't anything God can't do because God is over everything, has authority over everything. Haha! I still laugh every time. . .

It's also very humbling because all of that power and authority is in us, to use at our disposal. That is extremely hard for us to believe because we see all our own faults and scrutinize them daily under a microscope. But God doesn't do that, and neither should we. It takes the attention off of God's power within us, and puts it all on ourselves. And if we are just looking at ourselves, we won't see anything without God.

Everything is possible for we who believe! There is no point in arguing that. Lord, help my unbelief.