And someone from the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able." And he answered them, "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me."
(Mark 9:17-19)
As Jesus declares the people faithless, I don't linger much on the power of the enemy, nor really the power of God that delivers us. It is not faith in that power. It is simple to believe God, and even Jesus, has the power. The faithlessness, in my opinion, that Jesus refers to here is much like that of his reproval of the Pharisees. It is an unrepentant heart and lack of knowledge of God's character in our hearts. God desires to be known for who He is, not only now but even in the time of the Law. What was happening behind the scenes with that father? Did he obey the Law? Did he teach his son God's statutes? Did he revere God as Lord and Savior even then? Even the Israelites had a Savior. David obviously saw God's redemptive desires and character well before Christ came in the flesh. Is not our humble adoration and trustful patience in affliction enough to see the hand of God move?
May you know your true standing as a child of God - not for acquiring power but receiving love; not for knowing the operating rules of the spiritual realm, but for the weapons of God which encompass love between and within us. The greatest of these is love. Faith and hope come second!
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