Thanksgiving Day--2007

Thursday morning, November 22, 2007—THANKSGIVING DAY
Earlier today, I was reading the story of the frustrated disciples; you remember it, I feel sure. A father had asked Jesus’ disciples to cast the demon out of his lunatic son, and try as they might, they could not get the job done. Now that I think more about the story, I would guess that the father was more frustrated than the disciples; after all, he had to deal with his son every day, and from his perspective, things just continued to worsen—regardless of what he did to get the boy healed. I have to believe that he saw this encounter with Jesus’ disciples, as his last real opportunity to see his son healed and, when they failed to produce his desired results (and theirs, for that matter), he was probably overcome with that dreaded and all-too-familiar sense of hopelessness.
Well, he was until Jesus approached them and the disciples told Him of their dilemma and He responded with such incredibly powerful words, words that, obviously, overcame the power of evil and released the power of God. Listen to them: O unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me. And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once (Matthew 17:17-18). As you are probably already realizing, this father’s sense of hopelessness immediately turned into a most incredible sense of joy and thanksgiving! I mean this is good, as in very good; it is the kind of good that everyone of us longs to see.
It does leave me with a question or two (which is not unusual for me): (1) What would this father’s response have been had Jesus been unable to cast out the demon (or had He simply chosen not to cast out the demon); (2) Why do we so seldom see this kind of instant healing (I guess I should have put that in the first person singular, since I have never seen it, not even one time!)?
I would like to think that this father would have been able to say something similar this (and really believe it): “Jesus knows what is best for me and for my son and I am content, simply, resting in His best for us. I know that He always causes all things to work together for good for those of us who love Him, and that is enough for me.” The truth, however, is this: I think he would have been very, very disappointed and walked away very frustrated with the entire notion that Jesus and His disciples were pushing—Christianity, for lack of a better word.
Jesus’ probably answered my second question, but something is still lacking, at least for me. Listen to what He said in response to the disciples asking him, virtually, the same question I have just raised: “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you. But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (vss. 20-21). I could be incorrect, but I have the strong feeling that, even though they were elated at the boy’s healing and the father’s joy, they walked away very, very frustrated, not only with their own lack of power, but also with their lack of understanding, especially regarding what Jesus said to them. I mean, a grain of mustard seed IS small, for Pete’s sake! How small was their (and my) faith? And His “nothing shall be impossible to you” line is really hard, as in HARD—DIFFICULT!
Yes, I do know that good Christians, especially preachers, are not supposed to be frustrated, especially with understanding the Scriptures (they surely should never admit it), but this one is—often—and, ironically, he really wants to “get it” because I know some folk (me, for example), who need “instant” healing, at least from my vantage point!