May 16–Help Me Believe

Happy Wednesday! I hope that the week is treating you well and that you have good things in store for the rest of it. Yesterday I was picking up the limbs that had blown off the trees from the storm and thinking about the night before. When I woke up to the heavy winds, I thought about getting in the storm shelter but in all of my sleepiness, I didn’t stop to pray. Picking up those oak limbs, I couldn’t get past this idea of faith and how much I lack. I feel so much like the father of the boy with the demon who cried out to Jesus “I do believe, help my unbelief.” 


I’ve been listening to the new Michael W. Smith album and one of the songs on it simply says “This is how I fight my battles...It may look like I’m surrounded, but I’m surrounded by You...This is how we fight our battles. “ We are able to fight those battles when we surround ourselves full in the faith with Jesus. 

Right after the transfiguration, Jesus and the disciples come down to the crowd, a father begs Jesus to help his demon-possessed son. He tells Jesus he first brought him to the disciples but they couldn’t help him. So he begs the Master who proceeds to cast the demon out. In Mark’s account, Jesus calls the man out because he said “IF you can help.” Jesus explains that people who believe don’t say “if.” In response, the father cries out for help with faith. 

Afterward the disciples want to know where and how they went wrong. 

““You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible. ””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭17:20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Nothing is impossible with enough faith. (No pressure!) But since we are just humans, we may not be capable of such a blinding, mountain-moving faith. I don’t know. But I do know I want more. I want to have maybe a part of that seed...a granule? Lord I do believe—help me overcome that other part of me and have the faith to know you surround me. 

Dear Jesus, you are good and you are kind and you are the Almighty. We praise you for who you are and for all the things you have done for us. We love and adore you and we bow before your holy presence. You are our God and we are your people. Bless us we pray and surround us as we fight our battles. Amen and amen. 

Love you dear one,

Pam

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