A guest post from Rich Dixon.

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“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

At face value, this father’s plea to Jesus seems a bit odd. It’s a simple choice…either you believe or you don’t, right?

My sense is this fellow wasn’t suffering a bout of spiritual schizophrenia. I think he expressed a common internal struggle, a wrestling match between sincere “belief” in his brain and “unbelief” rattling through his thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. In fact, I’ll bet many of us in the past few days have experienced a similar notion as we encounter circumstances that upend every aspect of life and challenge us to the core of our being?

Maybe it’s just me, but if we’re honest I suspect we’re all struggling right now.

I have plenty. What to do when many neighbors don’t have enough.

Where’s the line between my rights and what’s right?

How do I avoid the urge to post a clever, snarky response to that (obviously wrong) social media post?

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I suppose we could punish ourselves for this lack of consistency. Plenty of opportunity to feel guilty and wallow in self-condemnation. We might, if we’re not careful, be tempted to give up on following Jesus. What’s the point, if we’re just going to fail?

But – what if this is an opportunity to have a conversation? What if we talk to Jesus about the frustration? What if we acknowledge our weakness, our inability to meet the standard of our belief? What if we ask for help?

And then, what if we listen? What if we see some of this extra time as a gift, as an opportunity to see what He says in the stillness?

I absolutely believe Jesus is with me, that He’ll provide for my needs. But still I’m unsure.

Lord, help me overcome my unbelief.