If you are unfamiliar with this passage of scripture, I’ve previously shared about it in my journal It’ll Never Happen Again. In summary, there’s a commotion because an unhappy father was venting about the disciples’ inability to cure his son.
Human expectations and disappointments
How often we take our needs to folk who can do nothing about them. We place undue expectations on parents, siblings, mentors, pastors, prophets, friends, and consultants. I am a strong proponent of doing the needful, so if you must, consult a specialist but place your hope in God. Edward Mote is noted to have penned this profound revelation in song:
“On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand”
A Neurologist could have easily and rightly diagnosed the boy’s condition as epilepsy; however, scripture reveals there was an underlying demonic cause. I’m glad the disciples’ attempts were unsuccessful so the man would connect with Jesus for a permanent fix.
Herein is hope for someone who’s recently had disappointing news – perhaps you’ve contracted COVID, or the fertility treatment failed, or it might be that you’ve miscarried yet again. Maybe you were refused credit or the re-mortgage application fell through, and your house’s about to be foreclosed. It could be that your job interview was unsuccessful, on top of that, you’re facing eviction, and to make matters worse, a special someone has walked out on you.
Help us if you can!
I suspect it was such compounding issues that drove the man to plead “please have pity and help us if you can!” What do you mean if I can, Jesus retorted! I have a feeling He was wroth, and this is observable by the tone of his response. In other words, how dare you place a ‘cap’ on my ability by asking for pity and mere help? Do you recognize you are right before The Almighty who makes something out of nothing and calls those things that be not as though they are? You may not know this but I’m about to show you that I AM the ultimate healer and the Son of God who has come mainly to undo the works of the devil. Bring the boy to me!
Fill in the blank
Jesus meant it when he said “Anything is possible”. Anything is a blank cheque. Everything is inclusive. Nothing is out of scope. This means God is able to heal you, connect you with the perfect spouse, align the right job or business opportunity, restore your finances, make you a joyful parent, sort out your accommodation problems, and enable you to buy a home debt-free. Anything is possible! Would you release those words into the atmosphere – Anything is possible! Anything is possible!! Anything is possible!!!
Don’t limit God
Sometime later, having traveled everywhere doing good, healing the oppressed, and setting the captives free; Jesus decided to hold a revival in a synagogue at his hometown, Nazareth. Whatever the issues or the magnitude, He could and would have sorted them, but Matthew recorded:
And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief. Matthew 13:58
The degree to which you believe determines what and how much you receive. Could it be your lack of faith is the reason you’ve experienced little or no miracles? Selah! God wants to show himself strong and mighty on your behalf, quit limiting him. Stop preventing him!!
A long while in history, the Israelites cried out for meat and Moses was trying to analyze how God would come through.
The Lord asked Moses, “Is there a limit to the Lord’s power? Now you will see whether or not my words come true.” Numbers 11:23
Now you will see! And they saw! God showed up and showed off in his capacity as Elshaddai piling up Quails about three feet high for miles, as far as a day’s walk in any direction. He went over and above the call of duty! He knocked their socks off!! He blew their minds!!! Why? Because anything is possible!
So having established the diagnosis and cause, Jesus enquired about the history before eventually providing the cure. He wants to do the same and more for you. I hear Him say “Take the limits off me, Child! Others may have failed you but I will never fail you! What do you mean if I can? I am willing, be clean, be healed, and be restored!