I Can Do It Myself
Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:19-20 (NIV)
Sometimes we act so childish!
The message in church last Sunday was unique and worth pondering. Pastor Liz shared how the greatest words from a young child are: “I can do it myself!” With that statement, however, comes the inner knowledge that it will probably mean there are big messes up ahead. But the independence is more important.
She spoke about how the disciples could not heal the demoniac due to not even having the faith of a mustard seed. Or perhaps they were more focused on trying out their powers of faith. Could it have been a pride issue that did not allow the expected healing? They probably experienced some emotional entanglement when they returned with their questions. Jesus did let them know rather bluntly.
The mountains Jesus refers to are problems and before we go any further, we need to know that we will never, ever move the mounds of dirt kind of mountains. That is not what scripture is talking about.
The healing they wanted was faith based and Christ focused. It was not about their skill set or abilities. They had this idea, “I can do this myself!” and we all know what happened. These Jesus’s disciples used the wrong pronoun. Nothing will be impossible with You was a little out of their grasp because Jesus went on to say that this special type of healing comes with prayer and fasting (of which the disciples were unaware).
We want to be able to do all these things but sometimes we just are not ready to go out independently. Is it ever wise to go out without the Holy Spirit’s guidance? Our mantra should be, “I cannot do it myself!”
It is okay to be dependent!
Father God, You are our source of strength and our refuge and we are grateful people. Remind us there are no lone-rangers in our faith walk. Draw us closer to You. AMEN.