January 18: Everything is possible…

A member of the crowd said to him, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that makes him mute. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to cast it out, but they were not able to do so.” He answered them, “You unbelieving generation! How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I endure you? Bring him to me.” So they brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw him, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell on the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. It has often thrown him into fire or water to destroy him. But if you are able to do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Then Jesus said to him, “‘If you are able?’ All things are possible for the one who believes.”  (Mark 9:17-23 — NET)

Here we see the two big problems in life: demons and people’s lack of faith (or ignorance of how to fight demons). This boy was being cruelly oppressed by demons, was scarred both physically and emotionally, and was incapable of living a normal life. We have not included the last part of the passage today, but Jesus solved this problem by simply casting out the demons in the boy. This is so crucial for us to understand: we live in a world where vicious, merciless demons also live, and if we don’t acknowledge their existence and respond to them in an equally vicious manner, we and our families will be their victims.

Jesus was not upset at the father, but he was at His disciples. The father had faith but was ignorant about how to go about helping his son in a spiritual way. Jesus even spoke a phrase to him that people all over the world should keep in mind: “All things are possible for the one who believes.” On the other hand, His disciples knew better than to let a demon win. They had seen Him do miracles and cast out demons, and for Jesus this was not a time for them to have doubt and fear. We can never allow the devil to intimidate us, we always have to be sure that we can overcome anything because the Lord Jesus is by our side.

Let’s get vicious with the work of the devil. Let’s cast him out whenever and wherever he raises his head.