← The Wake-Up Call
The Wake-Up Call
The Problem with Lazy Faith and the Way Beyond It
00:18:23
Most of us live in a space between belief and unbelief, unsure if we’re fully trusting or still doubting. But what if embracing that messy middle—that honest, raw honesty about our doubts—could actually deepen our faith? JD Walt explores the radical truth that faith isn’t about perfect belief but about bringing our doubts into the light and surrendering fully to Jesus. In this episode, you’ll discover how Jesus responds not to perfect faith, but to authentic honesty—like the father in Mark 9: “I believe, help my unbelief.” We break down why living in that tension is crucial and how prayer isn’t just a practice, but a radical way of living that disrupts cycles of dependency and doubt. JD shares insights about divine revelation, how the Holy Spirit convinces us of truth we can’t grasp on our own, and why prayer stands at the heart of genuine faith. You’ll also hear inspiring stories of those who have wrestled with disappointment and disbelief, yet found hope in abandoning perfection ...
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Sower Nation J.D. walt, here it is, Wednesday, July 22nd in the year of our Lord 2026. And I just. I've been just thinking about. I haven't said thank you yet for the. I got so many cards and letters from you over these last few weeks. I mean like real encouragement notes. I could feel it. Not obligatory, not, you know, sentimental, but like love. I felt it. And I just want to say thank you to you who wrote me. I'll thank even you who meant to write me because I felt that too. So lets go. It's Wednesday. It's time for meeting with Jesus. It's time to win the day by winning the morning. So wake up sleeper, Rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. Jesus, I belong to you. I lift up my heart to you. I set my mind on you. I fix my eyes on you. I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice. Jesus, we belong to you. And we're praying in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Today's entry is entitled the Problem with Lazy Faith and the Way Beyond It. Our text is Mark, chapter 9, verses 21 to 29. I'm asking you to read the whole chapter with me. We're gonna. We're gonna get all the way through this book in 16 days. But hear now the Word of the Lord. Jesus asked the Father, how long has this been happening to him? And he said, from childhood it has often cast him into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us. Jesus said to him, if you are able, all things can be done for the one who believes. Immediately the Father of the child cried out, I believe. Help my unbelief. When Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, you spirit that keeps this boy from speaking and hearing, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again. After crying out and 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 and lifted him up, and he was able to stand. When he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, why could we not cast it out? He said to them, this kind can come out only through prayer. The Word of the Lord. Now consider this how long has this been happening to him? The question reveals the nature of God, who cares deeply about human brokenness. It's not something he needed to know in order to heal the boy. He wanted to know because he cared. But if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us. We know the man had faith because he brought his son to Jesus disciples for help. As we discussed earlier, they failed in their efforts. It's perhaps an obvious observation, but definitely worth noting here that because of the failure of Jesus disciples, the man had lost faith in Jesus. Of all the things one might say to Jesus, it's hard to imagine speaking these four words. If you are able, don't you love Jesus? Response if you are able, all things can be done for the one who believes. It's sort of like he's saying, you got to be kidding me. Did you really just question if I was able to cast out this spirit? Jesus seems to be growing weary of the lack of faith he finds among the race of men. Remember his lament from the previous text O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? This would not be a good thing to hear from the Son of God. I suspect, though he might say a similar thing to our generation. Sadly, it probably characterizes most generations. The last thing I want to hear Jesus say about me would be this one word. Unbelieving. The good news is the gospel word. Jesus speaks into every person of every generation. All things can be done for the one who believes. Faith is the fruit of divine revelation wherein the Holy Spirit works in the human heart to convince one of a reality that could not otherwise be wholeheartedly embraced. Let me just say that one again. Faith is the fruit of divine revelation, wherein the Holy Spirit works in the human heart to convince one of a reality that could not otherwise be wholeheartedly embraced. The Father responds with one of the most classic lines in the New Testament, I believe. Help my unbelief with this prayer. The Father gave us the gift of piercing honesty, and if we are honest, we know exactly what he meant. We are all a messy mixture of belief and unbelief, of faith and doubt. It's all too easy to simply accept this reality and resign ourselves to it. After all, we're human, right? And Jesus was human. Jesus waits for a generation who will not be content to live out their lives in the lazy place between belief and unbelief. Sure, it's an unreasonable expectation given the immensity of impossibility constantly surrounding us. Still, he longs to see it in us. We know what happened next. Jesus cast out the evil spirit, and if that weren't enough, he raised the boy from the dead immediately following. We need scenes like this emblazoned on our imagination. In fact, this is one of the reasons for reading the Gospels over and over and over again. So these stories will become infused with and fused in our memory. My keen interest, however, is in the exchange between Jesus and his disciples. Later that day, when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, why could we not cast it out? He said to them, this kind can come out only through prayer. So did the disciples forget to pray before they tried casting out the evil spirit? I don't think so. I'm sure they prayed. They probably prayed in Jesus name. I think the problem is the disciples lived in the same place as the boy's father, somewhere between belief and unbelief. I don't think Jesus was talking about prayer as a practice or technique here. I think he meant something much larger than a simple act of speaking to God on behalf of people in need. In my humble opinion, when Jesus references prayer here, he's talking about a totalizing way of life, a way of living in the kind of faith that excludes unbelief. It reminds me of something Henri Nouwen wrote years ago that I've never forgotten. The word prayer stands for a radical interruption of the vicious chain of interlocking dependencies leading to violence and war, and for an entering into a totally new dwelling place. Prayer. It points to a new way of speaking, a new way of breathing, a new way of being together, a new way of knowing. Yes, a whole new way of living. Prayer is the center of the Christian life. It is the only necessary thing. And he cites Luke 10:42. Wow. How about we. How about we pray through our song? We've been praying every day right now. Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me
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the living God, fall afresh on me. The journal prompts for us today. What will it take for you to become brutally honest about your unbelief? Just cutting right to it. I mean, we all carry it, but what if we became brutally honest about it? What would that take? And then the second question. What is underneath this unbelief for you? I think maybe that might be a good one for us to pitch over to Jesus and say, jesus, what do you want me to know about my unbelief? About where it comes from? About how I'm harboring it? About what it would mean to let it go and lean back in? You Know, we talked before about wilderness wounds and disappointment with God that will so keep us somewhere in between belief and unbelief. It's not that we don't believe, but we're just not really anchored in faith. We kind of have it, but we're leaning out and we're leaning in. And faith is the invitation to go headlong. Surrender all in. I believe you, Jesus. I believe you. I just sense there's a lot of people out there listening. Maybe I'm talking to you who have been disappointed by God in the past. I get it. I'm one of those people. And it can just be very hard to completely trust again. And all I'm saying is that's real and that's. There's no shame in that game. Just. Just. Just be honest about it. Just talk to him about that. Just tell him that. Exactly. Plainly, simply, humbly. Jesus, I'm struggling. I'm struggling to lean all in again. He'll hear it and he'll help you. All right. Well, today I was remembering, even as I was going through this devotion, I was remembering back about a year ago when we met up with Chris Tomlin and did some songs of his recent record, the King is Still the King.
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He has a song called Unbelief, I Believe it's called. And we sang it that day. He led us. He and I talked about the story of it. It's about this story of the boy who. His father said, I believe Help my unbelief. And Chris wrote a song about it, really identified deeply with people. I'm going to see if we can pull that back out and let that be our song today. So here we go.
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When my heart and my flesh feels cold when these prayers that I pray feel oh, when I'm far you still hold me close. All the things I don't understand all the questions inside my head I bring it all to you once again I believe God help my unbelief God, I'm down on my knees God, free my soul and break this heart of stone oh, I believe God, help my unbelief God when my eyes can't see God light my way Give be the faith to say I believe. Anything can be possible A little faith is unstoppable Even the mountains are movable I believe God help my unbelief God, I'm down on my knees God, free my soul and break this heart of stone oh, I believe God, help my unbelief God when my eyes can't see God light my way Give me the faith to say I believe. I believe? Oh, it is well, it is well it's well with my soul it is well, it is well it is well with my soul Lord, help me know? It is well, it is well it is well with my soul it is well, it is well it is well with my soul I believe? God help my unbelief? God, I'm down on my knees? God free my soul and break this heart of stone? Oh, I believe? God help my unbelief? God when my eyes can see? God light my way? Give me the faith to say I believe? I believe. Yes, I believe? It is well, it is well it is well with my soul.