Dr. Charles Stanley
Read | Mark 9:14-24
The theme of faith permeated Christ’s ministry. Jesus highly esteemed complete trust like Abraham’s, and He commended strong confidence in God, such as the centurion’s. He also urged those with weak convictions to believe. Many of us fall into this last category—over and over, we wrestle with doubt and worry.
Five times in the book of Matthew, Jesus pointed out examples of little faith. First, He mentioned people who felt that their resources were insufficient (6:30). Like them, we can become anxious when we think we have too little time, energy, or money.
Then there was the terrible storm—Jesus slept through it, but the disciples were afraid (8:23-26). Constant fear shows lack of trust.
Next, Peter allowed doubt to take over. At Jesus’ command, he started to walk on water but then sank when unbelief set in (14:31).
Another incident involved the disciples’ failure to reach a correct conclusion about Jesus’ teachings and actions (16:5-12).
In the fifth example, the disciples—who’d previously cast out demons—were unable to do so in the current situation (17:14-21). Because their faith was so small, they lacked the divine power to carry out a harder task.
In order to grow stronger spiritually, we must take our eyes off our circumstances and look to the Lord. By trusting in His character and believing in His promises, we can overcome anxiety and develop greater faith. On whom or what are your eyes fixed?
