A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”
“You unbelieving
generation,” Jesus replied, “How long shall I stay with you? How long shall I
put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” So they brought him. When the spirit saw
Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground
and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
Jesus asked the boy’s
father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. “It
has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do
anything, take pity on us and help us.” “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything
is possible for one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I
do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
March 9:17-24
I have read this story many times over my lifetime, yet until recently God had not revealed to me
the connection of this story to caregiving.
The father mentioned here had suffered for years taking care of his
demon possessed son. After receiving no
help or relief, has come to his last resort which was Jesus. Let me stop here and ask, “How often as
caregivers do we look to all other sources of help before we, out of
desperation, turn to our last resort of Jesus Christ?” I know I have done this and have to continue
to remind myself to turn to Jesus as my first source of assistance, so don’t
beat yourself up!
This father addresses Jesus and explains his situation and
circumstances to him. He explains to
Jesus that he went to other people for help, which were Jesus’ disciples, yet
they were of no help. I like that this
caregiver father was real with Jesus.
Many times we approach the thrown sounding good and looking good when
all the time Jesus knows our hearts and knows what’s really going on, so why
aren’t we truthful?
Jesus responds to this caregiver by commanding him to bring
his son to Him. I want to shout when I
read this for God still wants us to bring the ones we care for to Him. He wants us to not only trust Him but trust
the care of our loved ones to Him. Jesus
also asked the caregiver some very serious questions. First was, “How long has he been like this?”
which shows us that Jesus has an interest in what is happening in our personal
situations and in our suffering. It
causes me to think that Jesus could read the eyes of this caregiver and sense
the years of despair and frustration that lied within. Our God has a heart of compassion for His
children. The father replies by
explaining how bad things are and begs Jesus to take pity on them and help them
if He can do anything. I stopped with
conviction when I reread this for I know many times I used to pray, “God, if
you can do anything, please do it now.”
How silly and insulting that must be to our Father God. The words “if” and “God” don’t belong
together at all! We must approach our Savior
and Healer with confidence and assurance instead of doubt and half hearted
hope.
Second, our Savior tells the caregiver that if he only
believes his son can be healed.
Thankfully the father realized the power he is before and openly admits
that he believes Jesus can do anything and we read of his son’s healing. Wow! I
love the power of Jesus Christ and the way in which He uses it graciously and
amazingly in this caregiver’s life and in ours, too.
This healing was immediate, which all of us would like if
given the choice. For me, I have been
praying for my husband’s healing over seven years, now. I will tell you that healing is taking place
yet it happens over time and didn’t happen all at once. In fact, my husband is still not completely
healed in the natural realm but we have already claimed his full healing and
thank God for it daily. We also have set
backs when Brian is feeling bad or has slow days and still fear can creep back in. During those times, we remind ourselves of
where we were and how far God has carried us in order to stay focused on Him.
I love this caregiver father for he not only accepted the
call to care for his son, but also loved his son enough to carry him to
Jesus. Caregiver, don’t ever
underestimate the power you hold in bringing your loved one to the throne of
Jesus Christ daily. Jesus cares and He
is waiting for you just like He was that day when this desperate father brought
his demon possessed son to the healer.
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