Jesus' Disciples That Couldn't Do Anything...

"And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him." - Matthew 17:16 [ESV]

Is there anything more painful to hear? Whether you're a disciple of Jesus, or Jesus himself hears it, isn't the sentence above one of the most painful things to hear? For Jesus, it means that his disciples could not do that which Jesus had empowered them to do before.  They couldn't help.  To the disciples, they couldn't do anything to help the boy.

I don't know about you, but I'm so scared of falling into the mediocre and predictable of Jesus.  I want the stuff that leaves me speechless.  I want the stuff that makes me wonder how in the world that ever happened.  And the thing is, the amount of faith that I need to see the miraculous happen is the faith the size of a mustard seed.

FAITH: "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." - Hebrews 11:1 [ESV]

What does faith look like your our lives? I'm guessing that a life half-lived doesn't require a faith that is absolutely necessary.  A life half-lived is a life that can be "controlled" - or at least maintained enough to be working.  However, a life that is committed to following Jesus NEEDS faith.  It is not an option; it is a necessity.

So what do we do? We ask Jesus to help us in our unbelief.  We ask him to increase our faith.  However, be prepared.  The method and tactics used in increasing one's faith have nothing to do with comfort.  Comfort does not lead me to need Jesus.  Struggle does.  Just make sure you know what you're asking for when you ask for Jesus to increase your faith.  But also, please know that the life that he will give you will leave you in awe and amazed, unable to explain in word the miraculous that you see happening around you.

May we always strive to live lives for Jesus that resemble him so much that we are able to accomplish the same things for him and by him that he accomplished while he was here.  May we never hear anyone ever say of us, "I brought him to your disciples and they could not heal him."  Remember: our inability to do anything is a direct reflection of what others think about Jesus.  If Jesus wants to do the impossible, we better be prepared to be led to the impossible only to see it become possible.  Enjoy the ride.