For years, a father and son lived in utter turmoil. The son was demonically possessed, and the father was desperate for help. Quite literally, the demon was tearing them apart. It had often tried to throw the son into fire or water to kill him. The demon robbed him of speech, and he would foam at the mouth and gnash his teeth.
Everything felt hopeless--until the boy's father heard about a man named Jesus. Jesus had been performing miracles, opening the eyes of the blind, healing the lame, and even setting the demon-possessed free. But before finding Jesus, the father came across Jesus' disciples, who had also been performing miracles. He knew they were his only hope. So, he asked them to drive out the evil spirit. And things didn't go exactly as planned.
The disciples couldn't drive out the spirit--and things once again felt hopeless. Then Jesus arrived on the scene. When He heard that the disciples couldn't cast out the demon, I imagine he smiled and shook his head. "'You unbelieving generation,' Jesus replied, 'how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.'" Simply upon seeing Jesus, the spirit threw the boy into a convulsion.
"If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us," the father pleaded. "'If you can?'" Jesus responded. "Everything is possible for one who believes." The father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief." That's when Jesus turned to the boy, rebuked the spirit, and healed him.
But the boy's healing was, honestly, terrifying. And doubts must have been swirling through the minds of the father and Jesus' disciples. Because once Jesus rebuked the spirit, it convulsed the boy violently, and he looked like a corpse. The crowd said he was dead. The father's hopes and dreams of healing for his son were dashed into pieces. That's until Jesus took the boy by the hand, and miraculously, he stood up. He was fully, completely restored.
This story comes to us from Mark 9:14-29. Although this event took place 2,000 years ago, it's still relevant for us today. There's so much we can learn from it, but there's one thing that stands out to me: trust.
The father shows an incredible amount of trust in Jesus, simply by coming to Him to ask for healing for his son. And it also shows that every single person in the Bible was just like us--human. Yes, the father demonstrated a level of trust, but he also demonstrated a level of doubt. The same kind of tug-of-war doubts that we tend to experience when we need to trust Jesus. The father cried out, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief."
Last October, I wrote an article about faith and doubt, and I shared my thoughts on how God views doubt. Something I hope readers took away from it is that God isn't afraid of our doubt. Doubt is often where God shows Himself the best.
God isn't afraid when we're dealing with both belief and unbelief--trust and distrust. We can bring all our emotions and fears to Him because He can handle them all. Simply coming to Jesus is an act of trust, just like the father coming to Him.
We'll talk more about trust and how we can actively trust Jesus in our lives. It isn't always easy, but it's always worth it. Whether you have a boatload of trust in Jesus or you're struggling with unbelief, I'm telling you, simply come to Jesus. Make the jump and fall into His arms. I hope and pray that you walk away from this devotional with a renewed sense of who Jesus is and how much He loves you and is for you. Let's dive in.
JUDAH., "I Am"
As a kid, a favorite game of mine was trust falling. I would stand on my bed, close my eyes, and slowly fall back into my sister's arms. Giggling, I would climb back onto my bed and do it again and again. There was something almost death-defying about it. But at the same time, I knew that I had nothing to fear. I would fall back into my sister's arms, knowing that she was going to catch me.
It's easy to trust someone when we can look into their eyes and see that they're not going to let us down. But sometimes, trusting God can be a bit harder, especially when He asks us to do something that feels so terrifying. Trusting in someone unseen can be a challenge because as humans, we want to trust in something or someone that we can see with our eyes and touch with our fingers.
Earlier this year, I was faced with two options. I could either fall into the arms of God or fall into fear. I needed to make a difficult decision, and at the time, those two options looked about equal. I felt scared to trust God, yet I thought I would still be trusting Him if I gave into my anxiety.
During that time, I heard a song by one of my favorite worship artists, JUDAH, called "I Am." The song's chorus struck me: "Sometimes trusting me looks like a free fall/But either way, I hope that you jump right in/Let my peace you can't understand take over your heart/Take over your thoughts."
When I heard those words, I knew that the only option I had was to trust God. And honestly? It was scary at first. But God is trustworthy. In the same way, my sister always caught me when we would do trust fall exercises, God caught me when I decided to trust Him.
In the words of pastor and author Louie Giglio, "[God's] arms are strong, and His heart is good." I don't know what you're walking through today, but I know this: God is strong enough to get you to where you need to be.
Your circumstances might be telling you otherwise, and it may seem so dark that you can't see any light. But Jesus loves you more than you could ever fathom, and He's giving you the invitation to jump into His arms. He'll never let you fall. His arms are open and strong, ready to catch you.
"Press on and move forward/And leave the rest in My hands/For I'm with you, and I'm for you/Because I am who I am."
Pat Barrett, "Morning by Morning (I Will Trust)"
Perhaps, like many, you've been told your whole life to "just trust God." But that leads us to the big question: why should we trust God? It's much easier to trust in ourselves or someone or something we can physically see and touch. Why would we trust someone whom we can't see? And especially, why would we trust God when He, at times, feels so distant? The answer is this: because He's faithful.
When God feels distant, the truth is, He's not. Sometimes our hearts and minds are just too distracted to see Him. That's when we need to remind ourselves of this simple truth: He's faithful. When everything feels clouded, and you feel like you're not going to make it through your difficult circumstances, remember this: God is faithful.
He's shown up many times before, and He's going to show up again. You can trust God because He's good and faithful. Even when it feels like God is a million miles away, remember what He's done in the past and how He will keep showing up for you in the future.
Remembering God's faithfulness is a principle that the psalmist Asaph was well familiar with. Psalm 77 starts with Asaph crying out to the Lord, and a few verses later, we truly see the depth of his pain. He feels like God's love has vanished and that He'll never show His favor again. But then a turning point comes in verse 10.
The psalmist remembers the days when God would stretch "out His right hand." And in verse 11 he writes, "I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago."
He looked to God's faithfulness in the past, and in turn, it gave him hope for the present and the future. The rest of the Psalm goes on to talk about God's goodness, and how incredibly mighty He is--because that's who our God is. He isn't just faithful, He's also incredibly good and just.
This idea of trusting God because He is faithful is also found in contemporary artist Pat Barrett's new song "Morning by Morning (I Will Trust)." The song's chorus goes, "I will trust where You lead/I will trust when I can't see/Morning by morning great is Your faithfulness to me."
So, yes. Trusting God isn't easy. But when we look back at God's goodness and faithfulness, it gives us hope and strength to carry on. Just like you, I don't know what my future is going to hold. But God has been so incredibly good to me in the past, and I know He'll continue to be good to me in the future. If Jesus can run the world, surely, He's capable of running my life. So, I will choose to trust Him--every single day, every single morning. Great is His faithfulness to me.
"I will trust with all my heart/You are good, You always are/Morning by morning, great is Your faithfulness to me."
NEEDTOBREATHE, "Into the Mystery"
For years, I resented any change. I didn't like it when people changed plans or changed their minds. Even if the furniture was moved around, I'd be on edge for days, wanting everything to be returned to their original location. I might've felt that when things change, I'm not in control.
But since the 2020 pandemic, we've all had to learn to adapt and let go of many things. I had to let go of my usual routines and patterns and learn to trust. The move of furniture felt uncertain, but I'm certain of the One who holds my future. I don't resent change as much as I used to. I've learned to embrace it. Life is an adventure, and I'm willing to embrace change and give up my day-to-day routines to experience it.
Alt-rock band NEEDTOBREATHE has a song called "Into the Mystery." To me, the song is a call to let go of the comfort of our day-to-day lives and step into the beautiful mystery God has placed in front of us.
Stepping into this great adventure will change a lot of things, and it requires a lot of trust. It takes a lot of courage to say, "Wherever You go, God, I'm coming with you." The lyrics to "Into the Mystery" tap into this idea: "I will follow you anywhere/Into the mystery."
How far are you willing to go with God? Are you willing to trust Him? The future He has in store for you is so much better than staying stuck in mediocrity and complacency. Are you willing to let go and trust that God will lead you into a life filled with goodness and joy? Whatever it takes, make the jump.
Fall into the arms of Jesus and learn what it means to surrender. Wherever you go, God will be with you. The future remains uncertain, but there is certainty in knowing who is going before you. Trust Him because He is faithful. Follow Him into the mystery.
"We are sons and daughters, we are flesh, and dust/We are pulled from the wreckage, we are not alone/We are lovers broken, we are vicarious dreams/We are tumblin' in space, out of control/Into the mystery."
Grace Chaves has been a fan of all things Christian music since 2016. She is NRT's news editor, and one of NRT's youngest writers. Homeschooled, Grace is an author, loves Jesus, concerts, and road trips.
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