Today’s Scripture: Mark 9
In today’s scripture in verses 1-8, Mark describes how
magnificently “Jesus assumes his glory during the Transfiguration at the top of
a mountain- shining in dazzling white clothes and revealing himself as worthy
of worship” (iWorship Bible) Imagine the marvelous scene Peter, James and John
witnessed, that they were stunned by the miraculous sight! (vs. 7-8)
After coming down from the mountain: “When they came [back] to the [other nine] disciples,
they saw a large crowd around them, and scribes questioning and arguing
with them.” The father of a suffering
boy explained to Jesus that his boy had been tormented by a spirit for so many
years and he came seeking for help:” I told Your disciples to drive it out, and
they could not do it.”, he said (vs.18b)·
The apostles had failed in their attempt to drive this
spirit out of the boy! Didn`t they have the sufficient faith to do so? (vs. 19) And since
the boy’s father witnessed this, his faith
waivered too!
Then the boy’s father continued saying:
“ But if You can do anything,
take pity on us and help us!” 23 Jesus said to him,
“[You say to Me,] ‘If You can?’ All things are
possible for the one who believes and trusts [in Me]!” 24 Immediately the
father of the boy cried out [with a desperate, piercing cry], saying, “I do
believe; help [me overcome] my unbelief.” (Vs. 22-24) In the nest verses we discover how Jesus with
His love and compassion healed this child!
Have you presented one or more prayer requests to God and are
still waiting for the answer? Has it been a long time? Has this apparent delay
strengthened your faith, or not?
“All things are possible for the one who believes and trusts [in Me]! (9:23)
This promise seems so simple, but it is powerful! We
need to believe and trust in Jesus, in His Faithfulness!
C.H. Spurgeon explains it this way:
“The presence of Christ is victory to His Church: the
absence of the Lord Jesus entails disgraceful defeat. O armies of the living
God, count not on your numbers, rely not on your strength; reckon not upon the
ability of your ministers; vaunt not in human might; nor on the other hand be
discouraged because ye are feeble; if He be with you, more are they that are
for you than all they that are against you. If Christ be in your midst, there
are horses of fire and chariots of fire round about you.”
We have many examples in the Bible, of apparent
delays from God to the prayers of some characters: Abraham and Sarah, Moses,
Elijah and Joseph. How about Hannah, one of my favorites in 1 Samuel 1:
“… but the Lord had given her no
children. 6 Hannah’s rival provoked her bitterly,
to irritate and embarrass her, because the Lord had left her childless. 7 So
it happened year after year, whenever she went up to the house of the Lord, Peninnah provoked her; so she wept
and would not eat.” (Vs.:5-7)
“ Hannah was greatly distressed, and she prayed to
the Lord and
wept in anguish…” 13 Hannah was speaking in her heart (mind);
only her lips were moving, and her voice was not heard, so Eli thought she
was drunk. 14 Eli said to her, “How long will you
make yourself drunk? Get rid of your wine.” 15 But
Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman with a despairing spirit. I have
not been drinking wine or any intoxicating drink, but I have
poured out my soul before the Lord…”It
came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a
son; she named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for
him from the Lord.” ” (Vs.:12-15, 20)
I waited for 12 years for the birth
of my youngest son, who we named Samuel. But when I became pregnant after the
joyful surprise and we praised God for this miracle, we later discovered my
uterus had many tumors growing on it which made the pregnancy a great risk both
for the child and for me. While seeking God in the midst of this situation, He
took me to 1 Samuel 1, and Hannah`s faith and perseverance were an example for
me!. We praise God that through this difficult situation we experienced a
powerful and Faithful God (Sam is now 23)!!
So remember: “All things are possible for the one who believes and trusts [in Me]! (9:23) Let us seek,
cry and pray, and continue praying like Hannah did. We must keep on believing and never be moved
away from it by what we see or feel. We must stand firm on His promises, and
trust that even that apparent delay is an answer to our prayer requests. But
there is a powerful purpose for this, and as we wait in Him, He will equip us
and strengthen our walk in faith!
Blessings,
Mari
