Lord, I believe- Help, thou, my unbelief. Mark 9:24
What is this man saying to Jesus? He, like you and I, don't want anything to stand between us and Jesus. We believe, but even a sliver of unbelief scares us and we don't want even the smallest bit of unbelief in our lives. Satan is ever ready to fill us with doubt. Around every corner the devil will throw up roadblocks meant to veer us off the narrow way and onto his broad path. Doubt in our Savior is a Satan specialty that he doles out every opportunity he can. Is it any wonder the father of that demon possessed son cried out he believed, when Jesus asked if he believed, and then right on the heels of that pronouncement he added that the possibility of unbelief lurking within him, and he did NOT want that to keep Jesus from healing his son! He did not want the slightest weakness in himself to cause his son to suffer a moment longer. If his own failing cost his son his freedom from his tortured life, the father would not forgive himself. He BELIEVED, so what more was there to say? He told Jesus that he believed, there, that should have been it, it should have been enough, he didn't have to say more. I can exclaim I BELIEVE! And truly, I believe that I believe. Yet is it enough? I need for it to be more than enough, I need my Savior to know that if my weak belief, the believe that stems from the most imperfect of human beings is lacking at all, that He alone can make that belief all it needs to be. My belief needs HIS belief, all the glory, all the honor, all the praise is HIS! He is my CREATOR, I am but a creation of His! He is the Master of all that I am! I do believe! And forever, my Lord, help THOU my unbelief!
(Excerpt Ro. 11 E.J. Waggoner) 1800's)
Faith a Gift of God.
That faith which God deals to man is indicated in Revelation 14:12: "Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."
God does not give faith to the saints only, any more than he gives the commandments to them alone; but the saints keep the faith, and others do not.
The faith which they keep is the faith of Jesus; therefore it is the faith of Jesus that is given to men.
Faith Given to Every Man.
Every man is exhorted to think soberly, because God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Many people have a notion that they are so constituted that it is impossible for them to believe.
That is a grave error.
Faith is just as easy, and just as natural, as breathing. It is the common inheritance of all men, and the one thing wherein all are equal. It is as natural for the child of the infidel to believe as it is for the child of the saint.
It is only when men build up a barrier of pride about themselves (Ps. 73:6) that they find it difficult to believe.
Psa 73:6 Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain
And even then they ill believe; for when men disbelieve God, they believe Satan; when they disbelieve the truth, they greedily swallow the most egregious falsehoods.
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