Imperfectly perfect faith - Part 3

A great crowd has gathered to see Jesus, who overhears an argument that has broken out between the teachers of religious law:

‘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 that evil spirit?’ (Luke 9:14–28)

Why, Lord?

The disciples ask a great question, but before I tell you Jesus’ answer, it may be helpful to know that this story appears in three of the four gospels. Matthew, Mark and Luke all record this incident, so it must have been a poignant moment in their ministry. A concerned father comes to them asking for healing for his son, but they are unable to do this. And so they take the boy to Jesus, who not only heals the boy, but rebukes them for their inability to cast out the demon.

But although all three gospel writers retell this story with incredible similarity, they remain at odds with Jesus’ response to their question: ‘Why couldn’t we cast out the evil spirit?’ Matthew’s version of events is probably the most recited of all three endings: Jesus answered: You don’t have enough faith, I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’, and it would move. Nothing would be impossible. (Matthew 17:20).

Luke seems to evade the question all together, concluding with, Awe gripped the people as they saw this majestic display of God’s power (Luke 9:42). According to Mark, it was not a lack of faith that stopped the disciples from healing the boy, but a lack of prayer. Jesus says, This can be cast out only by prayer! (Luke 9:29).

How will it turn out?

I recently overheard one person saying to another, ‘Maybe God didn’t heal you because you lack faith.’ The comment was not meant as a rebuke; it was meant to bring comfort. The person had asked why God had not dealt with an unresolved issue in their life. So, like a sporting coach wanting more from the team, the challenge was set: ‘You can win this, but it will require you to lift your game.’

The call to try harder may work on the sporting field, but I don’t believe it offers much to the one in search of healing or hope. That’s because faith is not an extreme sport. It’s not about trying harder, or working harder, or outdoing the person next to you.

After all, the mark of great faith is not evidenced in the moment when everything turns out right for you. The mark of great faith is given to the one who is right with God—or to put it another way,  the one who keeps turning to God despite how things turn out.

And I think this principle is best illustrated in the life of Joseph, the second youngest son of the patriarch Jacob.

Where is God?

Jacob loved Joseph more than his other sons. This caused Joseph’s brothers to be jealous of him. They plot to kill him, but instead sell him into slavery. Joseph was taken to Egypt, where he became a trusted servant of his new master, until his master’s wife falsely accused Joseph of trying to molest her. Joseph was thrown into prison where he stayed for many years.

Sometimes we can look at our situation or our circumstances, and if things are not going well or going our way, we wrongly assume that it must be because God is absent, or because God doesn’t care, or because God is sleeping on the job. But this story helps us to see otherwise. Despite things not going well for Joseph, the Bible records that ‘the Lord was with Joseph’.

In my experience, sometimes that’s all we have to hold onto. And certainly it was all that Joseph had (the promise that ‘the Lord was with Joseph’ appears several times throughout his story). Even so, I wonder if Joseph ever thought, ‘Hey, Lord, I think it’s time you were with someone else. Since you have been with me, I’ve been sold into slavery, accused of a crime I did not commit, and now here I am, in prison. Please be with someone else—please go and be with my brothers.’

And maybe you, too, have said (or thought) at different times in your life: ‘Thanks, Lord, that I feel your presence during this time of illness, but I don’t want to be ill’; or ‘Thanks, Lord, for carrying me through the funeral of my partner, but seriously, Lord, I miss them’; or ‘Thanks, Lord, for helping me through this time of uncertainty, but seriously, Lord, I don’t know why I had to face such adversary.’

Being honest in times of turmoil does not equate to a lack of faith. Neither can we conclude that it hinders God’s care for us.

The answer to our questions

After spending a long time in prison, Joseph was eventually brought to Pharaoh, the King of Egypt. The king was greatly troubled by a series of dreams and it was Joseph who was able to interpret these for him. In doing so, he ended up as a loyal confident to the king. And it’s at this point of the story where Joseph was once again united with his brothers.

But unlike the early years, it was Joseph who now held all the power. And his brothers knew it. They were worried that he would take revenge on them. So they went to Joseph seeking forgiveness.  Joseph’s reply is one of the most remarkable statements of faith in the entire Bible. ‘Don’t be afraid of me,’ he said. ‘You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.’ (Genesis 50:20)

This is  a remarkable comment to make! Despite the painful experiences Joseph endured over many years, he remained confident that God would one day, strangely, produce good out of the bad.

And so I rejoice

Fast forward a few thousand years, and the apostle Paul is in prison. He is unsure what the outcome of his imprisonment will be. Will he one day be released? Or will he spend the rest of his life in chains?  He does not know. Furthermore, there were some who spoke against Paul and his imprisonment. Preaching with selfish ambition, their message weighed heavily upon Paul, making ‘the chains more painful’ (Philippians 1:17).

But even so, Paul seems to have something of the same robust confidence in God’s overriding power. Despite the fragility he is facing, he is able to write, ... but that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached … so I rejoice. (Philippians 1:18)

Joseph said what he said with the benefit of hindsight, but Paul does not. Paul is saying this while his story is still going on. You have seen my struggle in the past, he explains, and you know that I am still in the midst of it. Even so, my focus remains on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.

Writing to the church in Corinth, Paul explains that we are like fragile clay jars containing a great treasure (2 Corinthians 4:7). The imagery of ‘fragile clay jars’ reinforces his next point: This makes it clear that the great power is not from ourselves, but from God.

And it’s from this point of fragility that Paul is able to reason, We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

The big but

For me, the most powerful word that Paul uses here is the word ‘but’. It has me reasoning that your ‘but’ may be big, but God’s ‘but’ is bigger!

Let me explain: Do you remember what Joseph said to his brothers? ‘You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.’ Focusing in on your circumstances, your challenges or your pain may knock you down, drive you to despair or make you feel as if you are being hunted. But even so, Paul offers us a great hope—the ‘but’ of God:

• I am facing … but God
• I keep coming up against … but God
• I do not know where to turn … but God

God is always with you. Even when you doubt or lack faith. Because, more importantly, God is within you (remember, we are like fragile clay jars containing a great treasure).

This ought to be a great encouragement to us. How often are we tempted to feel discouraged when our plans are badly thwarted? We need to learn from Paul (and long before Paul, from Joseph) the art of seeing God’s purposes working out through problems and difficulties. ‘But God meant it for good.’

* Bible quotes from the New Living Translation

Major Darren Elkington is Corps Officer (pastor) of Whangarei Salvation Army