June 3, 2026
Wednesday, June 3
Here’s a good experiment: Use a search engine to look up how many times the words “endurance” and “steadfastness” are mentioned in Scripture. These terms come up again and again because God knows we’ll be tempted to quit when the light seems to go out. How can we be ready to walk in the dark, so that when we can’t see what God is up to, we don’t lose our faith? In Mark 9, Jesus has just come down from the mountain, where He has met with His Father. Peter, James and John have seen Him transfigured, and have witnessed Him speaking with Moses and Elijah. But you can’t live on the mountaintop. Here’s what happens when they come back to the real world:
14And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. 18And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” 19And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.”
The first habit we need in order to walk in the dark is to forgive Jesus for the failures of His people. This man was desperate enough to approach Jesus, even though it was likely the religious authorities would punish him for it. So imagine his extreme disappointment when he arrived and found Jesus missing, and nine of His disciples first confidently assuring him that they could heal his boy (I imagine them saying, “We’ve done it before. Lots of times!”), only to fail. The scribes kept a close eye on everything Jesus did, and they jumped on this failure as proof that it was all a scam. I wonder if this poor father thought about going home. Thank God, he decided to wait for Jesus to return. He didn’t hold the Lord responsible for the frailties of His closest followers.
If you’ve ever been burned by a church, disappointed in a pastor, or hurt by one of God’s people, then this ought to encourage you: When Jesus heard that His disciples failed to help this poor man, He was angry with them: “How long do I have to put up with you people?” I wonder how often our God in Heaven is frustrated with us.
If you’ve never been hurt by one of God’s people, you haven’t been in church long enough. It will happen. But think about this for a moment: Imagine a person tours a hospital, then says, “Apparently modern medicine doesn’t work. Everyone in that place was sick.” In the same way, when Christians fail, it doesn’t prove the Gospel is untrue. It just proves that God loves sinful people. Churches are hospitals for sinners. We’re all in the process of getting well, but in the meantime, we tend to spread a few bugs.
That’s not an excuse, by the way. We Christians should do a better job holding one another accountable, especially our leaders. But if you want to be ready to walk in the dark, you have to expect that sometimes, you will need to forgive people who know better, and not hold their failures against the God who loves you both.
“Lord, I pray that my church would not frustrate you, but bless you. When we don’t live up to your standards, make us courageous enough to confront one another, so that we can represent you well. And when I am disappointed in one of my fellow believers, remind me that you are perfect. In your name, amen.”
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Conroe
More from Pastor Jeff at his website: jeffbergerwriting.com
