Who Is Your Faith In?

In Mark chapter 9, we are told that Jesus, having separated from most of His disciples for a time, returned and found the scribes disputing with them, and a man with a demon-possessed son. For many years, in reading this, I assumed that the son was a child, however it never says that, in fact, Jesus asked the man how long his son had been tormented, and the man said, “Of a child,” which would imply that the son was no longer a child. In other words, because the son was possessed by a demon while he was a child, the father has attempted to take care of him even after the son was old enough that he should have been able to take care of himself, if he had not been afflicted.

It occurs to me that there is a lesson here in the fact that the disciples had unsuccessfully attempted to cast the demon out before Jesus returned. I seriously doubt that this was the man’s first attempt to have his son healed; we are told that his son had suffered for a long time, but Jesus’ ministry only lasted about three years, total. I would think that he would have tried anything he could think of before Jesus was even tempted in the wilderness.

It’s hard for me not to consider that many people with problems will go to great lengths to try to solve their problems. Doctors and psychiatrists can help with many things, but there are some things that only God can fix. I wonder how many people go from this to that, hoping for a cure, and not finding it, and then start trying different religions, and still not getting out from under, and finally going to a Christian minister, and still not getting satisfaction, because they are looking to the man for answers, instead of to God. One would hope that a minister of the Gospel would be able to call down power from on high, but, if Jesus’ own disciples were not able to cast out the demon from this young man, and had to wait on Jesus to do the work, then we have to understand that every minister has his limitations. God, however, does not.

It’s interesting, too, that at the beginning of the chapter, Mark describes an event that has become known as “The Transfiguration.” Peter, James and John went up the mountain with Jesus, and He was transfigured; His raiment became shining white, and Moses and Elijah appeared with Him. Now, Elijah’s protégé was named Elisha, and in Elisha’s time, there was a man named Naaman that came from Syria to try to buy a healing from his leprosy. Elisha wouldn’t even talk to him. He sent a messenger to talk to Naaman, and told him what to do to be healed. Apparently, Elisha didn’t want there to be any confusion about who was doing the healing. Naaman went and dipped himself in the Jordan River seven times, and came out of the water completely healed. Now, he knew that it wasn’t the water that healed him, and he hadn’t even seen Elisha, so he can’t have thought that the prophet healed him; he would have known that the God of Israel healed him.

I don’t mean to suggest that you shouldn’t talk to your pastor about your problems; you should. I do mean to say that if your pastor’s advice helps you, then that’s of God; if it doesn’t, then maybe you should prayerfully consider who it was that you were putting your faith in: Your pastor, or God?