“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!” Mark 9:23-24
He’d written a book about suffering—then his wife died, and the questions became painfully personal.
The author C. S. Lewis had helped others understand faith. But after his wife’s death, he struggled to trust God’s goodness. He still believed God existed. Yet when he most needed comfort, God seemed distant. How could he trust the God he felt abandoned by?
A father in the Bible knew that same tension. His son had suffered since childhood from what the Bible describes as an evil spirit. Jesus’s followers had already tried to help, but they couldn’t.
Then, Jesus arrives. The father pleads, “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 answers with an honest cry, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:22-24). His request for healing becomes a plea for faith too. Jesus doesn’t tell him to come back when he’s more certain. He helps the man’s son.
Sometimes we think faith means eliminating every question before approaching God. So we hide our doubts, manufacture certainty, or decide Christianity isn’t for people like us. But this father simply brings Jesus the faith he has and tells the truth about the faith he doesn’t.
Faith isn’t pretending to be certain. Often it’s deciding where to take your uncertainty. You can question God while still talking to Him: you can struggle to understand and keep seeking. You can even tell Jesus you’re struggling to believe Him. Don’t wait until all your doubts disappear before coming to God. “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief” is still a prayer Jesus welcomes.
