Help My Unbelief (Mark 9:14-29)

What does it mean when we say we believe in something?

The Cambridge Dictionary defines believing as “thinking that something is true, correct, or real”. We believe in things all the time, but what happens when things don’t go the way we believe they will? Whether it’s simple like sleeping through an alarm we believed would wake us up or looking at the chaos and injustice in the world around us and wondering if God is actually good.

In Mark 9, we meet a father whose child has been in distress since childhood. He’s likely been let down enough times that he knows well enough not to get his hopes up. And yet, he believes in Jesus enough that he was willing to bring his son to him and ask if there is anything he can do.

The invitation for us then isn’t to ignore our doubts or pretend we don’t have them in order to seem like our faith is strong. The invitation is to show up, just as we are, with all of our questions, our disappointments, and our fears. To take whatever mix of belief and doubt we have at any given moment, and to courageously and faithfully act by drawing nearer to Jesus, saying, “I believe; help my unbelief!”