When Impossible Becomes Possible

Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

Today we will take a look at Mark 9:14-29 where Jesus heals a demon-possessed boy. Here’s a quick overview of the story. 

Jesus had been on the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John. When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and some teachers of religious law were arguing with them. When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to greet him.

Jesus inquires as to the cause of the argument and discovers that a man had brought his demon-possessed son to the disciples to be healed and they could not cast the demon out. 

Mark 9:21-24 “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!”

Jesus then commands the demons to leave the boy and never to enter him again.  The boy is totally freed! 

Two issues/questions we are faced with in this story as it relates to us today are: How might others react when we step out in faith?  How does the impossible become possible in our lives? 

      1. When we step out in faith, there may be some (even in the church) who will discourage us from believing God for the answer.  In the story above we see the religious leaders arguing with the disciples over their inability to cast out the demon.  They took delight in the “failure” of the disciples.  The disciples took the steps they knew how to take. It was not the absence of faith on their part that prevented the boy from being delivered. They had cast out demons before. I believe the problem was that they did not hear from God in that moment because of the accusing voices of the enemy (religious leaders in this case) in their ear. 

  

      Later Jesus told them that that kind could only come out by prayer and fasting. It is important to note that the prayer and fasting don’t cause the miracle; they open up our hearts to hear the leading of the Holy Spirit more clearly.  We should never fast to gain more spiritual power or authority.  We fast to hear from God.  Once we hear our faith is increased and we will see greater power flow from our lives. 

      We can see from the struggle of the disciples in this lesson that we must not allow the voice of the enemy to drown out the voice of the Spirit.  We cannot allow discouragement or doubt to cloud our vision and decrease our faith in the promises of God!

      2. When the father asked Jesus to “help us if you can,” Jesus told him “Anything is possible if a person believes.”  The key to the impossible becoming possible is belief in Jesus’ ability and willingness to answer our prayers. 

The father’s next statement resonates with me! The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”  How often does our heart want to believe, but our mind struggles to?  How often does logic say that what we are facing is impossible? Or that God has more important things to worry about than our problems.  Or that we don’t deserve to have our prayers answered?

The reality is that we don’t deserve to have our prayers answered, but our God loves us and desires our best. He will answer our prayers and meet our needs not because we are good but because he is good!

Isaiah 64:6 “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.”  Praise God!  We don't stand in our own righteousness but in the righteousness of Christ!! 

We are made right with God and thus recipients of his blessings and favor through the righteousness of Christ.  Romans 3:22 “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.” 

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”

We must never allow doubt or discouragement to keep us from stepping out in faith for our needs or those of others.  When our faith is weak we need to fast and ask God to speak to us about our situation so our faith will increase. 

Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.” This can also mean hearing the Word of/from Christ.  When we fast and hear the Spirit speak to our hearts, this increases our faith as well. 

Father we believe you for the impossible!  Please help our faith to grow as we hear your Word!  Help us not to give in to doubt and discouragement spoken over/to us by the enemy.  We know we have whatever we ask when we ask in faith believing we will receive (Mark 11:24 “I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours.”)  Thank you for your Word which never changes because you never change (Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”)  

All Scripture is NLT unless otherwise stated.