96 | "Help My Unbelief!" How To Strengthen Your Faith As A Christian Mom

Hey Girlfriend!

How many times have you wondered how you fit into God's plan? How often have you read scripture and wondered how it relates to you?

Today, we'll be reading from Mark 9:14-29, where Jesus heals a boy with an unclean spirit. As we dive into this passage, I pray you're encouraged to spend time with the Lord, learning to hear from Him in a deeper way. Take this moment to reflect on the powerful cry of the father in the story, "I believe; help my unbelief!" It's a raw and honest prayer that speaks to the struggle we all face in growing our faith. Together, let's increase our faith, Mama, so you can develop a lasting confidence that will carry you through every season of life.

Merry Christmas from my family to yours. I am incredibly thankful that you have taken the time to listen on a day like today.

 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." 
Romans 15:13

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I'm excited to connect with you! Remember, you can do hard things!
"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me"- Philippians 4:13

Transcript

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You believe in the power of God, you believe that he can work miracles, but somehow. That doesn't seem to connect with you. You struggle to believe that he is speaking to you through his words and the Bible. And maybe sometimes it seems like it doesn't feel personal because he doesn't use your name specifically like he did with Moses. Or how Jesus spoke to his disciples and how he led his disciples as well. So it makes you feel like maybe what you're reading doesn't necessarily pertain to you. But we see this father crying out with tears and asking Jesus to help his unbelief. Hey girlfriend, welcome to the restored mind. What you just heard is a sneak peek of today's episode. I'm super excited to dive in with you. We are learning how to get confidence that last that's right. Sustainable confidence. I'm your host, Caroline Tao, a Christian life and mindset coach. If you are a mom struggling to find yourself again. Or have ever wandered if you're enough, this podcast is for you. So grab your Bible, break out that journal and get something to write with because we're doing this ready. Let's go. Did you know that I have a free community full of women, just like you, moms who are working hard to grow their faith so they can find their purpose and pour into their kids. They are grinding to overcome self-doubt and get that lasting confidence that doesn't rely on compliments or even their very own accomplishments. there are so many things we do in the group each week, like journal prompts, connecting with one another, encouraging one another, and I also share tips on how you can begin building your faith even more. And honestly, it's been incredible. friend. I want to take this opportunity to invite you, to join my free community search, building confidence through scripture for Christian moms on Facebook. And I know that was a mouthful. So what I did is I linked it in the show notes. That way you can just go into the show notes, click it, and it'll lead you directly into my free community. I know that you're not meant to do this alone and I can't wait to see you there. So my friend come and join us. I remember as a new believer, I was always so wowed, by all the great things. Someone would do for the kingdom of God, as I would sit in Sunday service. Just listen to these amazing stories. I thought how cool that God chose them to do that amazing thing. And how it was even more awesome that now they get to talk about it in front of the church. It always seemed like they were invited to share this great news. I always wondered when I would be chosen for the next amazing thing that God has going on. It's almost like I was waving my arms around, saying, God, I want to be that person use me. I want to have this great and amazing story And I didn't even really know what that meant. I know it sounds silly to talk about, but I think this is going to be so fitting for a lot of us because I think that we have all, at some point asked how we fit into God's plan. And I remember wishing I was like those people, on the stages that would come and talk about this great and amazing things that they did to the church, because they just seemingly knew what the purpose was and went straight for it. And I want it to be like that. I want it to confidently say, yes, God put my name, on this task. And so I'm going to go for it. But it did turn off that way because for a long time, I questioned how the stories that I heard. And the bits and pieces that I read would relate to me. And I know that you've probably had that thought too, right. Because I know my name was not on any of the special projects. And I didn't hear from God, like how Moses heard from God when God spoke to him directly through a burning Bush, telling him this is what I want you to do. And this is how I want you to do it. So I thought. Why not on this Christmas day. Share the love of God by digging into scripture so that you can increase your faith and start overcome self-doubt today. I know you're tired of feeling stuck and uncertain about your calling or purpose, especially as a mom who has ambitions to raise your kids in a godly home and still go after your personal goals. I know that you have faith, but we're going to dive into mark nine and it's going to talk about. The unbelief that we all have. So mark chapter nine, verse 14 to 29. That's where we're going to be in today is about a man. Who is a father and he has a son who has an unclean spirit. And the disciples are trying to cast out this unclean spirit, but they weren't able to, so Jesus comes in and he's asking them a question. So they have a conversation and something awesome happens. So what we're going to do is we're going to read this entire passage together because this is going to set the stage for our conversation. Today is also a great way to have God's word begin to take root in your mind and in your heart, as you're working on growing your faith. And I want you to read along with me. So if you're able bring out that Bible and open up to mark nine, I'm going to read with you from the English standard version, but my friend, you feel free to follow along with whatever version of the Bible that you have. I'm also going to let you know where I've go to insert some footnotes according to scripture here. So that way we can have the full context of what's being said, Mark chapter nine, Jesus heals a boy with an unclean spirit starting at verse 14. And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them. And the scribes arguing with them. And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him and he asked them, what are you arguing about with them? and someone from the crowd answered him teacher, I brought my son to you for, he has a spirit. That makes him mute. And 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 and he answered them. Oh, faithless generation. How long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me. And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him immediately, it convulsed the boy and he fell on the ground and rolled around foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, how long has this been happening to him? And he said from childhood and it has often cast him into fire and into water to destroy him. But if you could do anything, have compassion on us and help us. And Jesus said to him, if you can, all things are possible for the one who believes. Immediately the father of the child cried out. And the footnotes here. Say some manuscripts. Add with tears. And said, I believe help my unbelief. And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirits, saying to it. You mute and deaf spirit. I command you come out of him and never enter him again. And after crying out, convulsing him terribly, it came out and the boy was like a corpse. So that most of them said. He is dead. but Jesus took him by the hand, lifted him up and he arose. And what he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately. Why could we not cast it out? And he said to them, this kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer. And here the footnotes also say some manuscripts ad and fasting. So after reading this, what comes to mind or a few things, but I want to focus on the father who cried out. I believe. Help my unbelief, because it is a direct reflection of many of us as Christian moms. You believe in the power of God, you believe that he can work miracles, but somehow. That doesn't seem to connect with you. You struggle to believe that he is speaking to you through his words and the Bible. And maybe sometimes it seems like it doesn't feel personal because he doesn't use your name specifically like he did with Moses. Or how Jesus spoke to his disciples and how he led his disciples as well. So it makes you feel like maybe what you're reading doesn't necessarily pertain to you. But we see this father crying out with tears and asking Jesus to help his unbelief. He is asking for an increase in faith because he realizes in this moment, his weakness of faith, which is so pivotal. And so I often wonder how many times are we realizing where we are falling short in our faith? Are we asking for an increase in our faith? I looked up the word unbelief and found out that it means unfaithfulness disbelief, lack. Of Christian faith or the want of Christian faith. It also means disobedience, which is caused by sin. i mean a lot of this is cause by sin, it's also caused by Satan and evil heart and judicial blindness. mind you I'm giving you a really brief summary here of what I've learned. I do highly, highly encourage you. To look the word up for yourself and to really dig into what these words mean. I was reading out of the strong concordance And this is where I got this definition from. But if you don't have access to the strong accordance, my friend, I would highly recommend that you check out a free resource it's blue letter, bible.org, and they do such an amazing job of breaking down these words. what I really like about this website is that they also pull from the strong's concordance too it is what I used for a long time to help me. Understand the meaning of these words and why it is so important that we continue to ask ourselves questions. Like, what does this mean? you know, what is the root word, meaning of this? Where does it come from? Because all of these questions that you have, they're going to help you engage more in scripture and help you build a more solid foundation of your understanding in scripture. It can be hard to make the connections when you are. Like the father here And we don't necessarily think that there are times where we do need to ask for an increase in faith or to acknowledge that we need to increase our faith because we sometimes get comfortable. To be really honest with you. and think that the kind of faith that we have is enough to sustain us, but my friend as this father displays here, as he cried out with tears, saying, I believe help my unbelief. I truly think that in that moment he realized his lack of faith. And it broke him. That's why he was crying because it was a realization of self. But let me just clarify by say that I'm not telling you that you can never be doubtful or have disbelief, because life happens and it is incredibly hard not to let those doubtful thoughts creep in But I want to encourage you to take a stand against the unbelief that could be in your mind and in your heart. So, how are you going to start increasing your faith as you work on removing your own disbelief? My friend, I would encourage you to continue to read scripture on a regular basis because it's going to help you learn who God is and help you be more rooted in his truth. A lot of the times I believe that we get caught up in looking at all the blessings and gifts that God gives us. And not necessarily who he is. So when these gifts are not the way that we hoped they would be we end up didn't getting frustrated. And we ended up losing hope and we get into this comfort and we start moving into the state of unbelief, but I, again, I love how the father acknowledged that he was lacking faith. And so he was asking for an increase in faith. So as you continue to read, I hope that there's an exponential amounts of increase in faith for you. That only is it going to help you learn who God is, But it's also going to help you reflect. On your heart posture towards him as well. And even the things that are happening around you, the Bible is a great way to help you see where you fall short. That's so that you can continue to stay in condemnation of where you messed up or whatever is holding you back. But so that you could be filled with confidence and peace as Jesus fills in the gap for you, It is so important that you are. Spending time in God's true with trustworthy words because he reveals to you who he is in the Bible. And the second thing is also to pray. Right. You can start to remove this unbelief in your thoughts. When you begin praying, it is incredibly important that you do this often. Jesus made it possible for us to have a direct line of communication to God. Whereas before they had to go to the tabernacle And only a certain person can talk to God or be in his presence. But we don't have to do that anymore. We don't have to go into a tabernacle. We have a direct line of communication to God. Because of Jesus. And you see it in the gospel a lot. Jesus. He often withdrew to pray and he even taught his disciples how to pray. It's called the Lord's prayer. So if you're new to praying or you feel uncomfortable, praying, I encourage you to start with the Lord's prayer. You could find that at Matthew chapter six, verses nine through 13, and my friend prayers, a great way for you to uproot unbelief, because it will focus your heart and mind all the source of your faith, which is God, what he chose you to be his, which is. Amazing. He chose you to be his, and I also really liked that the Lord's prayer. Lays out in a way that we ought to pray acknowledging God first, our father who are in heaven. Hallowed be your name. Holy is your name. Right. It's about God's will. Because it says your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So it starts with praise and acknowledging God first. And it's such a beautiful way for you to lay out your prayer. So if you're new to praying, if you're just unsure, what's your pray at any given time?. I would point you to the Lord's prayer. Because this is such an awesome way to focus your mind. refocus your heart and reset basically. And the last thing I want you to do is to start working on placing your identity in Christ and not in what you do or what you want to do or hope to do a lot of the time, these things are serving as a distraction. It could keep your eyes off. God. Jesus tells us at Matthew what the greatest commandment is, which is to love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, and mind. It is easy to read and easy to say, but definitely harder to do or put into action because naturally. You want to put so much of your time in different areas of your life so that you can achieve. These amazing successes, which there's nothing wrong with that, but placing your identity in Christ. My friend is going to serve you well, because it will remind you of where you need to place your treasures, which Jesus also talks about in Matthew. If you need to get accountability or wanting community to help you along the way, join our free community. Building confidence through scripture for Christian moms. It's a great place for you to connect with other moms to grow and also receive weekly encouragement. Now I know we talked about a lot today in the short amount of time. So I go to quickly recap for you so you can go and enjoy the rest of your Christmas. We were in mark chapter nine, verse 14 to 29. Today we were talking about the father who is crying out to Jesus saying, I believe. But help my unbelief. And it was such a pivotal moment in the father's life and journey, because this is what he recognizes his own lack of faith. And so the reason why it's such important for you to reflect on as well is because no matter where you are, whether it be in your career, your business and your motherhood journey, whatever that looks like, there's unbelief there. And I'm want you to challenge yourself by reflecting on what that looks like and asking Jesus to increase your faith exponentially. Because my friend, it's going to take so much work and you, my friend. Are going to be able to do that when you are reading scripture on a regular basis. Reflecting on the words and really spending time with it. Praying without ceasing is another good one. Right? We just talked about that. It is so important that you pray. And it's amazing too, that because of Jesus. We have a direct line to God. And then working on placing your identity in Christ is going to be so important because now you're focused, you know, who you are in Christ. And the thing that you do does not define you or where you made a mistake does not define you. And so my friend with that, I hope that you have such a wonderful Christmas. I hope that you get to relax with your family and just really be in the moment and that we are reflecting on the gift of Jesus because of his birth. We have what we have today. It is such a beautiful gift from God. The act of love that came from him first and forgiveness and mercy of our heavenly father. So good. Now I know life can get so hard at times, and it can be hard to sit down and read scripture and pray. But my friend, I encourage you. Even two to five minutes is so much better than none at all. All right. I know it can be hard, but you can do hard things. Hey girlfriend, if this episode encourages you to show up in confidence and finally start making moves to kick down to the curb, share this podcast and leave a five star written review on Apple podcast. It brings me so much joy hearing from you and allows the show to be seen by other mamas just like you. Thank you so much for being here today. I had a lot of fun. Sadly, this is where we part ways, but I look forward to seeing you again on Wednesday as we dive into another juicy topic. Go in peace.