This is both a beautiful and a dangerous story about Jesus casting out a demon. Jesus both challenges the boy’s father to believe in him, and Jesus rebukes his disciples for not believing enough.

The beauty of the story is that Jesus demonstrated his power over demonic influence and sickness to heal someone. We believe the same power of Christ lives in us! The danger with this story, though, is that some people interpret it to say that when a person is not healed of a serious illness, they do not have enough faith. But that is not the truth.

We believe that God is all-powerful. We believe that Jesus still does miraculous healings. We also believe that—on this side of eternity—sickness can lead to physical death. Jesus did not heal everyone while he walked the earth; Jesus doesn’t heal everyone today. But Jesus does promise eternal life for all who believe in his name (John 3:16). This is the truth.

My daughter got a tattoo that says “Believe” when both her father and I were battling cancer at the same time. Rather than succumb to worry, she chose to believe that God was in control, no matter the outcome. Sometimes when our circumstances feel overwhelming, our prayer can simply be “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”