If You Can

READ: ISAIAH 55:8-9; MATTHEW 19:26; MARK 9:14-27 I come to You, and I wonder if You can. I have turned to others, and I have tried myself. I question You, not sure if You understand my needs. I doubt You, not sure if Your plan and my plan will align.   If I have tried already, how can things be different? If it has been impossible for me, how can it be better? If I leave it in Your hands, will I end up disappointed? Am I making a mistake even just by turning to You?   You tell me that Your ways are not like mine. You tell me that what’s impossible for humans is possible for You. You tell me that all I have to do is trust You to work. You tell me so many things, and I still have my doubts.   But You have compassion on me, even when I don’t trust You. You’ve made me, and You’ve given me life. God, take my unbelief—rip it away from me. Let me know that You can, let me trust that You will. • Emily Acker   • Consider taking some time to reread Mark 9:14-27. A man brings his son to Jesus because the boy is possessed by an evil spirit. Jesus’s disciples are there, and they try and fail to drive out the spirit. When Jesus arrives, He talks to this desperate father, asking more about his son. Then the man says, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” Jesus replies, “‘If you can?…Everything is possible for one who believes.” The father exclaims, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Then Jesus commands the evil spirit to come out of the boy, and He lifts the boy to his feet, healed. Have you ever felt like the father in this passage? How could it be freeing to know that we can be totally honest with Jesus about our desire to trust Him, and also about our doubts? Is there anything you want to ask Jesus for that seems impossible? “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:24 (NIV)