Several weeks ago a friend I met through blogging asked me to be on her book launch team. I am a big fan of Shauna Letellier’s writing style, and I couldn’t wait to see how she made the Bible come to life. In her book Remarkable Faith, Shauna explores the stories of “eight nameless examples of faith.” Each person she writes about is “identified not by their names but by their afflictions.”
The story of a father and his demon-possessed son in Mark 9:17-27 caught my attention. Until now I haven’t studied the story in much detail. However, Shauna writes about this story in such an amazing way that I found myself consumed by it!
Imagine that you are the parent of a boy who is demon-possessed. The demon inside your son tries to kill him by drowning or throwing him into a fire. As a parent, your heart breaks when no one wants to talk with you or your son. You are helpless. You are tired. You love your son deeply and grieve over his condition, but no amount of love or medical intervention can heal him. You are desperate for an answer and longing for a cure, however all you can do is wish for a normal day – a day where you don’t fear the fire, the water, or the demon.
I imagine the father was desperate. Desperate for hope.
There was one person who had the answer to the problem – that person was Jesus. He alone could transform the boy with one touch or one word. In their desperation, the father and son brave the crowds to find Him. They first encounter Jesus’s disciples who are unable to cast out the demon, but the father doesn’t give up. He then finds Jesus and asks for compassion. Jesus then questions the father about his lack of faith.
However, as Shauna writes so beautifully in her book, “Jesus was not offended by the father’s weakness. After Jesus drove out the demon and rescued the boy, the crowd was no longer gasping about the horrors of demonization, nor at the weakness of faith. They were amazed at the greatness of God.”
Shauna so wisely writes, “He {the father} didn’t offer Jesus a prescription to fill, as if he had it all figured out. He came without suggestions and asked for mercy. Spiritually rattled, he bared the truth of his shattered spirit.”
The story has a beautiful ending. Jesus delivered the boy from the demon. Imagine the joy and peace he experienced watching his radically changed son! They were both set free that day – the boy from his demon and the father from his unbelief. Can you picture the walk home and the radiant glow on their faces? I am sure the father couldn’t stop staring at his new son! What a testimony the boy had for the rest of his life all because his father brought him to Jesus. What if the father would have feared what people might say to him for bringing his son to Jesus? He could have chosen to hide in his home, accepting defeat.
Maybe you can identify with the father in this story. Maybe you are desperate for hope or perhaps you have grown tired and weary, unable to see how your situation can change. Do what this father did. Give it all to Jesus. We live in a world where thoughts of trying harder, getting the latest 5 step solution, and worrying more drive us. The idea of giving the problem to Jesus can feel foolish or like you are qiutting! Yet, recognizing that we have reached the end of ourselves is where God wants us. That is where He can begin His work, and what a beautiful work He does!
To find out more about Shauna’s book check out her website:
http://shaunaletellier.com/books/remarkable-faith/
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