[The father said,] "If you can do anything, help us! Show us compassion!”
Jesus said to him, “‘If you can do anything’? All things are possible for the one who has faith.”
At that the boy’s father cried out,
“I have faith; help my lack of faith!”
--Mark 9:22b-24 (Common English Bible)
God's goodness just never quits, does it? And just in case, in your own life, you are struggling to see the Divine Hand in your life? Let me tell you another story:
Last week I received an email from a friend I will call Joy. Joy was requesting prayers for her husband Max.
Max had gone to the doctor for a somewhat routine examination and wound up getting called back: A PET scan revealed an abnormality on his lung, and Max would need to have a biopsy.
Joy outlined the possible diagnoses:
- Best possible outcome: the abnormality would be benign.
- Second-best diagnosis: "normal" lung cancer, treatable with a lobectomy.
- Not-so-hot-on-the-list: "small cell" cancer, which would require aggressive, IV chemo treatment begun as soon as possible.
Joy, obviously, asked us to join her in praying for "Option Number One." So we did.
I petitioned others, friends I have known who understand the power of prayer and the might of our God, who have witnessed healing in their own lives or the lives of someone they love. (see "Shout It Out" for an example.)
We joined Joy in praying for the Best Possible Outcome.
But I have a confession to make.
Even as I have witnessed so much, even as I know, at some deep level, that God is mighty and all-powerful yet loves each of us intimately-- I could not keep the "what ifs" completely at bay.
Like the father of the boy with an unclean spirit, I doubted. Lord God, if you can do anything. . . .
Lord, I have faith! Help my lack of faith. In the times of waiting and fearful questioning, Lord Jesus-- help my lack of faith.
Please, please tell me I am not alone here. (I know I am not.)
We prayed, we waited. The day before the biopsy, Joy emailed us that she and Max had been filled with a sense of unshakable peace in the face of the surgery, and in their hearts, they knew it could only be attributable to the power of prayer.
We prayed some more. We waited some more.
And then it came. The answer we had waited and prayed for:
"Not cancer! Words cannot express my relief!!! I can hardly breathe!!!"
(See why I named her "Joy"?)
Our ever-faithful Lord has taken our breath away again. God is mighty, God is good, and our God is mighty good.
All praise, all thanksgiving to you alone, infinitely immense and lovingly intimate Lord of all creation. In our hesitancy to believe, you continue to show us the love you have for your children. Help us, Almighty Father, to trust and believe, to have faith in your plan. In all things-- thank you. Amen, amen and amen!
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