Life in the Lowlands
Mountain-top experiences may be exhilarating, but most of life is lived in the lowlands.
That truth becomes especially clear in the story of a desperate father, his demonized son, and the many others drawn into their crisis. Mark 9:14–29 gives us the full account:
When they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and 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, “O 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 about, 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 can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” And 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 arose.
And when 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.”
(Mark 9:14–29, ESV)
Woven throughout this story are striking reflections of our own experience:
There’s strife—the disciples and religious leaders arguing instead of helping.
There’s despair—a father who can no longer protect or help his son.
There’s destruction—a demon determined to harm, even to kill, a child.
There’s brokenness and injustice—a young boy caught in suffering he did not cause.
There’s disillusionment—the father’s fragile faith shaken by the disciples’ failure.
There’s confusion and helplessness—even among the disciples, who had walked with Jesus.
Strife, despair, pain, brokenness, injustice, disillusionment, confusion, helplessness, failure—this is the world we know. The lowlands of life are real.
But with Jesus, all things are possible.
Without hesitation, he confronted the demon and commanded it to leave. The boy was set free. And though the text doesn’t say so explicitly, we can easily imagine the father overwhelmed with unspeakable joy.
This dramatic turn invites several takeaways:
We must not underestimate the destructive determination of Satan and his forces. Evil is real—and dangerous.
We must never dismiss God’s ability to do the impossible. Never.
Experience, title, and position are no substitute for dependency upon God.
Even fragile faith can move the heart of God. The father’s cry—“I believe; help my unbelief!”—is the essence of dependent faith.
A lifestyle of humble, dependent prayer is essential. It’s how we stay close to the beating heart of God.
As ambassadors of Christ, this kind of prayerful dependency is the key to any real success.
