A Catalyst of a Question ~ Bob Coy

So He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" Mark 9:21 (NKJV)

When Jesus came down from the Mount of Transfiguration, the father of a young man who was demon-possessed approached Him. Imagine the mosaic of emotions this dad must have been feeling: compassion for the son he once held in his arms as an infant, trepidation about the supernatural forces now at work in him, and frustration over his inability to do anything about it.

All this compelled the dad to bring his boy to the Lord for help. Amidst a crowd that had gathered, the enemy flexed its muscles by causing the son to convulse, moan, and foam at the mouth. What could be more pathetic and heart wrenching for this father? "All these people-strangers-watching my poor son act like this. How humiliating!"

Surveying the situation, Christ asks the father, "How long has this been happening to him?" Why did Jesus ask that? It wasn't because He didn't know the answer. Jesus already knew the answer. He knew this was a condition the son had suffered from since childhood, just as He knew every intricate twist and turn of his entire existence. So why did He ask how long this had been going on?

This question was a catalyst for reflection. It caused the dad to stop and recount the sad history behind his son's condition, the years of pain and powerlessness. "From childhood." It was more than just an answer but an admission of absolute weakness and inability. He had nothing to boast or brag about at that moment in that place, and that's exactly when and where Christ's power is unleashed.

In our own lives, there are things that require His healing touch, things that have afflicted us "from childhood." God wants to do that work in us, but at the same time we need to be in that place of having nothing to boast or brag. We need to confess our utter brokenness and nothingness before He can mend and make us whole.

Discuss with your group how brokenness can open the door to healing. Share an example from your own life.

Dig into Mark 9:14–29. What does the passage show you about the heart of this dad? How does the Heavenly Father use an earthly father in this situation? What spiritual lessons is the Master teaching in this situation? Decide as a group to lift up faithful fathers. Pray for the dads in your church and community.

Decide as a group to lift up faithful fathers. Pray for the dads in your church and community