Building Faith

The man with a demon possessed son had tried doctors and teachers and even the disciples of Jesus to care for and heal his son. All had failed to liberate his son. In desperation when he sees Jesus and His three closest disciples descend from Mt. Hermon the morning after His transfiguration, the man pleads with Jesus, “if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” (Mark 9:22). To which Jesus responds, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.”

And the suffering father responds with faith and lament, “I do believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). He had faith in Christ but in his and his son’s persistent suffering, the father struggled to hold on to the truth that God was both gracious and powerful to help him. 

Mark 9:24 may well be the life verse for many people.

Many counselees (and their counselors) struggle to believe that God will do what God has promised. They know and comprehend that God is great and powerful. But can and will He act in their favor in a timely manner? They believe that he will, but they also struggle with doubt. The struggle of the father in Mark 9 is often our counselee’s struggle. And it is also often our own struggle. 

For our doubts, the Lord not only provides a remarkable story of healing in Mark 9, but He also provides a lengthy chapter recounting tales of people who struggled and suffered and yet they also tenaciously held on to faith in the Lord—and ultimately were rewarded for that faith (Hebrews 11:6).

For counselees who struggle to believe that God is good and gracious and competent, we have been given dozens of stories of men and women who were full of faith when they were troubled. The stories of Hebrews 11 are designed to remind us all that while our suffering is great, it is not unique. And those same stories are also given to show us that it is possible to remain faithful to God in our trouble—they are given to stimulate our faith.

Consider the similarities of the biblical stories and the stories of your counselees:

Consider the common condition of all men who have to live in this world, understanding that though they may not see or experience a particular reality, it is still true—like the worlds that were created by God from nothing, from things that are not visible (Hebrews 11:3). The test of faith is common for all; it is not unique. 

Consider one of the first men on earth, Abel, who was hated and killed by his own brother (Hebrews 11:4). He suffered tremendously in his own home and family, yet he remained faithfully obedient to worship and serve the Lord.

Consider Enoch, surrounded by rebels who resisted God and died in their sins (read Genesis 5), Enoch walked with God (Genesis 5:22) and “was taken up so that he would not see death” (Hebrews 11:5). Rather than delighting in the pressures of the world around him, Enoch lived a singular life of faith in God. And after 365 years (!!) of faithful living in perverse times, God took him to Heaven.

Consider Noah (Hebrews 11:7) who was warned about an unusual judgment and given a prophecy that would be fulfilled a long way off (120 years) and told to do something that had never been done (build a large boat even though there never had been rain at that time). And in the face of certain ridicule, Noah heeded the warning of God and persisted in obedience—doing every single thing God said to do.

Consider Abraham and Sarah (Hebrews 11:8–12) who were told they would conceive a child when they were long past child-bearing years. And that the child would be the means of fulfilling the promise God had made to him (Genesis 12:1–3). They even lived in tents (non-permanent structures) as “aliens in the land of promise” never owning any land except a burial plot. Their possessions paled in comparison to the promise. Yet they (and Abel and Enoch and Noah) remained faithful to the Lord even when they did not immediately receive what they had been promised by God (Hebrews 11:13).

Consider Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph who also received the promises given to Abraham and trusted God for the fulfillment of those promises though they also did not immediately receive them (Hebrews 11:20–22). Even to the day of his death, Joseph remained faithful to God. Having been criticized, mocked, and betrayed by his own family, he was faithful. Then being falsely accused, imprisoned, and forgotten, he remained faithful. Then in prosperity and achievement, he remained faithful.

Consider Moses who refused the adulation of the world and political achievement (Hebrews 11:23–24) or even the pleasures of sin that pass away (v. 25) so that he could be associated with people of suffering and hardship.

And consider Joshua and Jericho (Hebrews 11:30). And consider a young Gentile convert, Rahab (v. 31). And Gideon. And Barak. And Samson. And Jephthah. And David. And Samuel (v. 32). And a host of unnamed faithful men and women (vv. 33–40).

These verses are all reminders that God is doing more than just working in the lives of individual people. Abraham’s story was about God’s faithfulness to a nation, not just about Abraham’s faithfulness. And so it was with Abel, Noah, Moses, David, and all the others mentioned in this chapter. Their stories may have ended in apparent failure or apparent victory, but the real meaning of their stories was what they revealed about the faithfulness of God.

Your counselees have suffered. They have sinned and been sinned against. Their stories may resonate with the echoes of the same pain as the stories in this chapter. And you can use this chapter to remind them not only of the commonality of their troubles, but the unchangingness of the faithful God. And as others persisted in following God, they can also.