Take a few deep breaths to center your heart and your mind as you prepare to meet with God.

Meditation on God

One of the oldest stories in the Bible is the story of Job, a man who lost everything. When he is at his lowest point and questions God, God responds with a powerful, multi-chapter answer, beginning with this: “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone.” (Job 38:4-6) Take a moment and think about God’s power over even the biggest things facing our personal lives and our world today.

Teaching

When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and some teachers of religious law were arguing with them. When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to greet him. “What is all this arguing about?” Jesus asked. One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.” Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth. “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father. He replied, “Since he was a little boy. The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil spirit. “Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” he said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!” Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, “He’s dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up. Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out the evil spirit?” Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.” (Mark 9:14-29)

This is a common story we see throughout the gospels. Jesus comes into a place, people flock to him, Jesus interacts with them, Jesus heals them. At the end, there is always something to glean from these interactions, however. It is inevitable that we will find ourselves at the feet of Jesus needing his guidance, mercy, love, and healing at some point, very soon in our lives. However, how we come to him and how our hearts and minds are postured are just as important as the issue at hand. We see Jesus want to see the heart of who he is helping first. That is important, we see time and time again Jesus not get rushed or hurried by the problem, but usually upset at how we try to handle it ourselves and how we come to him in times of need. 

We need to realize that Jesus already knows what we need, he already knows what we are suffering from, he already cares for us, he already loves us, he knows us fully.  So why do we come to him with questions of “...help us, if you can?” 

Obviously, this is not the correct way to present any problem to the one offering the solution. Our doubts and fears can overwhelm us, make us rushed and our judgment impaired. We panic, cry out in fear, and lash out in anger. We are pretty terrible at handling moments of anguish, grief, suffering, or distress. But Jesus offers us solutions; he hears our cries and he knows our pain. We need to approach him knowing these things, praying in confidence, not in fear “Anything is possible if a person believes.” 

Examination

It may seem ridiculous to think or even question in your mind  “Can Jesus help us?” but I know we all do it at least subconsciously at some point. Take a moment and think about all that’s on your shoulders, asking yourself, “Do I believe that Jesus can help me with this?”

Memory Verse

Psalm 22 is a great example of how we should present ourselves to God in times of struggle. Find some time today to read this passage and compare it to how you would ask God to help you in your time of need. As you do, remind yourself of Jesus’ power over our present suffering:

“Everything is possible for one who believes.” (Mark 9:23)