Are you tempted to say with the father in Mark 9, today or any day, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief"?
In Mark 9, we read the story of a father caught up in a crowd. He was the father of a tormented son, and when he meets Jesus, he's caught in the commotion of the crowd. Throughout history, this type of commotion hasn't been dispelled. Perhaps it's even grown. Commotion is a distraction, a doubt machine. There's no certainty in commotion.
The father was caught up in the commotion and he was desperate. He pled, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." Most of us can identify. This isn't meant to excuse doubt. I'm not trying to be relatable. This is a fact: It's hard to believe. It's too hard, which is why it's the gift of God.
To whom did the father say these words? He said them to Christ. He said them to the One who gives faith through the Spirit. He said them to the object of true faith. He asked for help from precisely the right person.
To whom are we tempted to turn in our doubt? Too often, we get lost in the commotion, whether inside ourselves or around us. Faith, however, comes from one place and rests in one person, and so we need to know to whom to plead, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."
God deals in promises. Faith is trust in those promises. Those promises are centered in Christ, and so faith looks to Christ. And yet believers are sinner-saints. The old Adam clings to us even as we live in Christ this side of heaven. And the old Adam listens to all the wrong things and looks to all the wrong places and likes all the wrong religions. The old Adam doesn't want promises. The old Adam loves the commotion.
Are you tempted to say with the father in Mark 9, today or any day, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief"? Say it, but say it to Christ. And look to Christ. And hear Christ. And trust Christ.
All of this is possible when we know where to find Christ. Thankfully, he's told us where he is: Hear the Word. Remember your Baptism. Eat his body and drink his blood. Receive his promise, and let the Spirit work the trust.
Doubt isn't a virtue, but it's also a reality. We live in a fallen world where God often seems lost in the commotion. God is always near, though, precisely where he's promised to be, and he who conquered death will not be undone by doubt. He's greater than your heart (1 John 3:20).
"Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." That's often the plea of the Christian life here, but the Christian life is never lived outside of Christ. And so, like the father in this passage, be with Christ, look to Christ, speak with Christ, and most importantly, hear Christ, with whom nothing is impossible.
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