How do you approach an impossible situation? Do you already feel defeated or does something inside you rise up in blind faith? The message I’ll be sharing today is for anyone who has encountered the impossible. Anyone? Maybe you’re in the midst of it right now. From where you stand, and the way you see it, there’s no path forward. If you find yourself face to face with an impossible situation, then the word I have for you today will encourage you. It’s not a new word; it was recorded in the Gospel of Mark a long time ago. But it is every bit as relevant today. It’s a word straight from the mouth of Jesus. I can’t be 100% sure, but I think He said this word with his brow furrowed in frustration. Here’s the bottom line we will focus on today:
Everything is possible when I overcome unbelief.
But, how do we overcome unbelief? Especially when we haven’t seen the slightest shift in our impossible situations. We’re going to look at a few verses in Mark 9 that will help us believe God for the impossible. Stay with me as I share three tips to overcoming unbelief.
I believe what Proverbs says about our words having the power of life and death. So, after I read from the Bible, I give you a declaration drawn from the verses and I encourage you to declare it out loud with me to empower your tongue with truth.
Today, we’ll read about a man in an impossible situation with his son who approaches Jesus and says,
“If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
Mark 9:22-24 (NIV)
What did that boy’s father see in the eyes of Jesus or in the sound of His voice that made him immediately declare “I do believe” That desperate man knew in an instant the truth I invite you to declare with me today.
Everything is possible when I overcome unbelief.
I often talk about the power of our words to shift the atmosphere. The tongue has the power of life and this phrase is not only incredibly life giving, it can change our perspective about our impossible situation.
Everything is possible when I overcome unbelief.
I don’t know about you, but there are times I need to give voice to that truth to convince myself to believe and speak that God can do anything. God is not limited by what we experience in the natural because God is supernatural.
I promised to give you three tips to overcoming unbelief, and the first one is this:
- Don’t judge God by human standards.
In the moments before the interaction that takes place in the verses I read from Mark 9, the father tells Jesus that the disciples could not help his son. Jesus is fully God and fully man. In this moment, Jesus demonstrates His humanity. I actually think his remarks, to no one in particular, show us the human side of Jesus more than any other moment recorded in scripture. Picture the scene with a desperate father, his demon-possessed son, a bunch of argumentative teachers of the law, several stumped disciples and a crowd of onlookers. I can’t be sure that Jesus furrowed His brow in frustration at that moment, but I do hear something like that in Mark 9:19.
“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.”
This story continues with the boy’s miraculous healing and ends with the disciples asking Jesus privately why they couldn’t help the man’s son. Thankfully, Jesus did not condemn them. He was gracious and patient with them. I won’t go into all the details and encourage you to read the story in Mark 9, but I want you to hear me say that just because we can’t change our impossible situation doesn’t mean God can’t.
Another thing that will help you overcome unbelief is
- Concede that God allows impossible situations.
I’m studying the story of Gideon right now and it holds a message for those of us in impossible situations.
God called Gideon to save Israel out of the hands of the Midianites, who for 7 years straight had been invading the land and impoverishing the Israelites. The Bible says that even though Gideon’s army was already vastly outnumbered by the Midianites,
The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’”
God pared Gideon’s army down to 300 men and then, God gave them the victory. Gideon started with 32,000 men. But God did more with 300 than Gideon could’ve done with 32,000. The sad truth is that if we can find a way without God we will. Gideon is just one example of how God allows impossible situations so that He can show up in undeniable ways. God graciously helped Gideon overcome his unbelief just as Jesus helped the boy’s father overcome his unbelief and just as He will help you overcome yours.
Everything is possible when I overcome unbelief.
The last of my three tips for you is this:
- Never doubt God’s love for you.
God loves you so much. He is not a harsh critic or a taskmaster to be feared. He loves you. God loves you.
The Bible says, ”The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love (Psalm 103:8 NIV).”
Doubting God’s love will keep us stuck in unbelief. I know because I’ve been there. I might claim to believe that God loves me. After all, He gave His only son to die for me. Jesus went to the cross for me. That’s love! But I’ll admit, sometimes I doubt that He will reach into my impossible situation and make a way for me to get through it. Just the other day, I bowed my head in prayer and confessed that I didn’t believe God was willing to help me. Wouldn’t he have intervened by now if he was going to help me? Why the wait? Why the prolonged agony? But then I remember that the Midianites terrorized Israel for seven years before Gideon’s army defeated them. And in the story from Mark 9, Jesus asked the father how long his son had been tormented by the demon and he answered “since childhood.” It had been a long time. I get it, the longer you wait the harder it is to keep believing. But God has a reason for making us wait. His timing really is perfect.
We may not see it this side of heaven, but here’s what I know:
When you fully grasp the intensity of God’s love for you, you will never doubt His willingness to help you.
In order to keep believing that God will help you through your impossible situation.
- Don’t judge God by human standards.
He is not limited by what is humanly possible.
- Concede that God allows impossible situations.
He will make a way where there seems to be no way.
- Never doubt God’s love for you.
God cares more about our character than our comfort. But He cares. He cares about you in your impossible situation, so cry out to Him and trust Him. And remember:
Everything is possible when I overcome unbelief.
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, help us to be like that father who said, “I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief.” Lord, help us to never doubt your love. Help us to allow you to be the Sovereign God that you are. You see what we don’t see. You understand what we can’t comprehend. You know there is a time for everything: a time to be stuck in that impossible situation and a time to finally come out on the other side. Lord, help us to trust in your timing. Help us, Lord, to absolutely believe that you are not constrained by whatever we can figure out. If we don’t see a way, Father, that doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Lord, help us to cling to that promise that no mind has conceived, no eye has seen, no ear has heard what you have prepared for those who wait for you, for those who love you, for those who trust you and don’t doubt you. God, we ask that you would help us to overcome our unbelief even now. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
