There is a seemingly bizarre story recorded in the Bible within the book of Mark chapter 9, which describes a young boy who was possessed by a mute demonic spirit since he was a child. It was a highly dangerous form of demonic possession which had threatened his entire life. Based on the account of that young boy’s father, whenever the boy is seized by that unclean evil spirit, it throws him down in such a violent manner; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid as a consequence. Even worst, that same evil spirit threw him into fire along with water with the intent of destroying him. 

The most problematic aspect of demonic possession is the fact that the unclean spirit has the capability to take full control of the ability the possessed person has to control his/her body. In general, this type of possession always goes against that person’s will. Shockingly, the individual has absolutely no idea regarding what’s going on while behaving uncontrollably during that possession. In some instances, that person has such an incredible strength which then causes it very challenging to subdue that individual.

Being possessed is similar to a computer which has been hacked and hijacked by a malicious user, so that user has the ability to control that particular machine’s behaviors in a wide variety of ways. That’s what Satan does in the lives of these individuals in order to make their lives become a living hell. 

It quite interesting that Christ’s disciples had done all their best in order to drive out that spirit out of that young boy, but they just could not do so. When the issue started to reach its pinnacle, his father brought him to Jesus. Here’s what Christ said as a result in (Mark 9:19): “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.”

What’s fascinating about that story is the strange question that the boy’s father asked Christ out of sheer desperation to get the issue under control by saying “If you can do anything (Mark 9:22)”. Well, that’s the normal tendency of people who are so engulfed with the issues of life as a result of focusing too much on the severity of their problems rather than what God can do if they’re willing to trust Him. Christ being the Son of the most high God who has all authority in heaven and on earth, being God in the flesh, and being also filled by the Spirit of God exclaimed:

“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!” (Mark 9:23-24)

Since Christ’s power and authority were being questioned at that very instance, thus to add a sense of humor to His exclamation, Christ said “If I can do anything, what are you talking about?”. This powerful declaration made by Jesus about believing on God leads us to carefully examine this other Scripture found in (Matthew 19:26) in which He says that with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

Practical Application

So it’s really a matter of which kind of mindset that we hold unto when addressing a highly difficult situation, along with how we conceive such situation in the light of what God is able to do. Lot of times we treat God as someone who is powerless, or as a last resort while He should have been the very One that we should have consulted first.

As humans, we normally see life in the context of what can be done out of our own human ability and effort in order to get to a specific end. The message about these Scripture verses is very straightforward. Our ability to confront life’s problems that are way beyond the scope of our human ability is completely dependent on how much faith we’re willing to exercise in God.

Based on that declaration, believing on God is removing ourselves out of the way by letting God Himself tackle the problem with His infinite power and greatness. The truth is that we’ve already tried our own ways but failed miserably; therefore, it’s time to let the Creator of the universe work.

Christ made that mind-blowing statement that all things are possible to him who believes since that person isn’t the one who will be facing his challenges but God Himself. Another powerful thing that Christ said to His disciples regarding that situation which should draw our attention even further is that this type of evil spirit can be cast out only through prayer and fasting. 

So instead of us trying to figure out how to solve our problems, sometimes we keep on doing the same things over and over and expecting a different type of result, which is known as insanity. Why not inviting God to intervene on our behalf through the means of prayer and fasting. By doing that we give God almighty the opportunity for Him to work through His power which is exceedingly greater than the issue we’re struggling with, which apparently seems to be greater than us since it gets to control our way of thinking, our reaction, and our whole perspective about life itself in a big way. 

Conclusion

The great lesson we can learn about that story is the fact that it truly showcases why we need to step out of our own unbelief by trusting God as He wants us to trust Him, along with what He can do when we choose to believe Him, irrespective of how horrifying and desperate a particular situation may be.