Lent opens up the wisdom of God’s word to us and challenges us to live by His wisdom. Such is the nature of “faith”. Nothing seems more basic than to say “we believe” which is a statement of faith. Of course, having faith in anything is based on what is often unprovable. I have faith in God, faith in Jesus Christ, and faith in the Holy Spirit, but I have not seen God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. I can say I’ve seen the work of God in people’s lives, in miracles, in events that transcend understanding. Yet, faith is a mystery. The writer of the Book of Hebrews gives us a definition of faith, and many examples of people’s faith in God:
“Now faith is the assurance of
things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our
ancestors received approval. By faith, we understand that the worlds were
prepared by the word of God so that what is seen was made from things that are
not visible” (Hebrews 11:1-3).
For many people, especially people
who claim no belief, faith is a stumbling block. I’ve had people tell me “I don’t believe”,
which always strikes me as an untruth.
They may not believe in God, which means they have no faith in God, but
they do believe and have faith in something or someone, even if it is themselves!
Faith appears in various forms in
the scripture. For example…
“By faith Noah, warned by God
about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his
household; by this, he condemned the world and became an heir to the
righteousness that is in accordance with faith.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he
was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was
going. By faith, he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a
foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him
of the same promise” (Hebrews 11:7-9).
Faith surrounds many biblical stories,
as we see in the faith of Noah who listened to God’s warning and built an ark,
while the rest of the world drowned in a flood.
We also see Abraham listening to God’s word to leave his home and go to
a land that God promised to give to his ancestors, and by faith Abraham traveled
to where God showed him. These two stories are two among dozens of stories in the
scripture of people who exercised the faith of believing in God.
Yet, there’s another story of what
I call – doubting faith.
“(Jesus) came to the disciples,
they saw a great crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. When
the whole crowd saw him, they were immediately overcome with awe, and they ran
forward to greet him. He asked them, "What are you arguing about with
them?" Someone from the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I brought
you my son; he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak;
and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds
his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, but
they could not do so" (Mark 9:14-18).
This is not the “doubting faith”
that I just mentioned. Nevertheless,
Jesus looked at his disciples and said, "You faithless generation, how
much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring
him to me" (Mark 9:19). The disciples certainly had exercised faith
in Jesus just by choosing to answer the call to “follow me”, but being
faithless meant they hadn’t learned how to exercise Jesus’ authority to bring
healing to the boy. In truth, healing
always involves God’s power, and not on the extent of our faith. The father had enough faith to seek Jesus out
for his son’s healing, yet even he had doubts…
“…they brought the boy to him.
When the (evil) spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell
on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the father, "How
long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. It
has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if
you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us" (Mark
9:20-22).
What I mean by doubting faith is
exemplified by the father’s words – “God if you are able to do anything” –
these are not the words of the faith that says “I believe”, but the
human words of “I would love to believe, but I’m not sure I can”.
Jesus’ response and the Father’s
response to Jesus are instructive…
“Jesus said to him, ‘If you are
able?—All things can be done for the one who believes.’
Immediately the father of the child cried out, "I believe; help
my unbelief!" (Mark 9:23-24).
If you are like me, you have
compassion for the father because you know he had been praying for a miracle
for his son’s healing for years. We all
have moments of doubt; thus, we are like the father in the story. When Jesus asks the father, "How long
has he been like this?", the father's answer is "since
childhood". When we face pain, suffering, and disease, they become
times of disorientation that can last for long periods...days turn to weeks,
weeks to months, months to years...and it can lead us to places of sincere
doubt. We ask, “Does God know? Why
will he not act to change things? What have I done to deserve this? Where is
the faith that leads to healing?” etc...The questions go on and on turning
over in our minds, sometimes minute by minute, and there seemingly are no
answers.
"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
which is not seen," says the
writer of Hebrews. There is hope, and there is the “I can’t see God”
aspect of faith, even though I believe in Him.
So, then what do we do with doubt?
In the story, the father says to Jesus, "...If
you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." It is not just
about the boy, it is about "us" too. These kinds of needs for healing
affect everyone around the person who needs healing. When Jesus addresses the doubt he challenges
it – “If you can?" said Jesus.
"Everything is possible for him who
believes."
We say it…everything is possible with God.
Yes, but then we wonder, “Why then?”. Even the disciples struggled and they said, “Why
could we not…?” That is our dilemma…why
could I not?
I don't think Jesus was stern in
his rebuke, but rather, I see a calm, measured confidence that was meant to dislodge
the negative thoughts that had flooded his mind over time, to bring him out of
his desperation, and lead him back to believing faith. There are times when it
is ok to embrace doubt. It can be an act of humility that simply says "I
don't know what to do, and I don't know how to pray this, Lord have mercy".
None of us knows all that God has
in mind for us, or anyone else we know. We are seekers of "truth",
not seekers of being right all of the time. So I say, “Embrace the doubt, pray
with Faith, and hang on too!
Peace
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