DAY 27 - MOVE OUT OF THE WAY
ANDI LEWIS, RRC Park Meadows Facilities
“‘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.’” Mark 9:19
Have you ever felt like someone or something is standing in the way of you accomplishing great things? What if you were the person or thing standing in someone else’s way, or even your own? I’m definitely guilty of having stood in my own way before but what if I’m The one standing in the way of someone else’s greatness? That’s kind of a tough pill to swallow. I don’t want to be the reason someone else isn’t living out God’s calling because of my lack of faith in His will and his plans.
Mark 9:19-27 is a story about Jesus healing a demon-possessed boy and how the boy’s father had to overcome his lack of faith in Jesus in order for the boy to be healed. The verse that really stands out to me in this story is when the man asks Jesus if He can help. Jesus responds with “what do you mean if I can do anything? Anything is possible if a person believes.” Then the father cries out “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!“
That’s me more often than I want to admit. I do believe that God sent his one and only Son to die for us on the cross and He rose again so that we may be set free, but certain circumstances in life I doubt His promises just like the father did. The father’s lack of faith was standing in the way of his son being healed. The father recognized that he needed Jesus to stand in the gap of his faith so he humbled himself and asked for help. That’s a hard thing to do sometimes.
What if you are standing in the way of someone else's healing or opportunity? It's impossible to know who or what that may be without knowing God's plans but sometimes we hold on to things so tightly and want to have full control that we end up standing in our own way or even worse someone else’s.
Is there a person that has been on your mind lately and you’ve been meaning to reach out to them but haven’t? What about a neighbor that you could be inviting to church? Or a life group you’ve been thinking about joining or even leading? Maybe you just want to ask someone to help you with your faith walk? There is no telling where these actions might lead, but for the boy in Mark 9, they made all the difference.
Faith is a dynamic journey. Some days we might have it all together and be confident in the calling God has for us but others we can’t help but stand in the way.