I believe.

Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" Mark 9:24

I’m the son of two southerners. My father was raised on a sharecropping farm which my grandfather later managed to purchase. My mother was raised in “the projects” of Orlando, Florida. Seeing the election through the eyes of Southern blacks was a lesson in the tension between belief and unbelief. There was a great desire to see Barack Obama win. But having lived and witnessed the unrelenting obstacles of discrimination and racism, pragmatism kept taking over and covering optimism with doubt. African Americans, particularly those who came of age during the Civil Rights Movement wrestled with their emotions until the final results were tallied; both believing and not daring to believe that Mr. Obama would prevail. As Christians, we also struggle to put our faith to work when the situation that confronts us dwarfs our ability to rationally believe it can work out in our favor.

Mark’s account of the healing of the sick young man is a vivid portrait. The child would convulse, fall to the ground and foam at the mouth before becoming rigid. His father tells Jesus that his son has been this way since childhood and had often fallen into the water and fire and almost been killed. His desire to help his son is well illustrated in the story as he asks Jesus to have compassion and help them. Jesus tells him that all things are possible to him who believes. Immediately the man begins to cry professing his belief and asking for help to believe at the same time. What a perfect mirror for us as we confront illness, financial difficulties, disagreements with loved ones and co-workers and even our own destructive character traits. We stand before God proclaiming our trust in Him while at the same time asking for the faith to trust Him more. Jesus heals the boy and later tells his Disciples that situations like that one require prayer and fasting.

My prayer for you today is that you take on the volume of prayer commitment needed to access the power through faith to overcome your obstacles.

Deacon Larry Woodard