I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.

Steve Brown:
I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up. Let’s talk about it on this edition of Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
If you’ve suffered too long under a do more, try harder religion, Key Life is here to proclaim that Jesus sets the captives free. Steve invited Jerry Parries to teach us this week. Jerry is an author and the pastor of Christian Family Worship Center House of Grace.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. Jerry Parries is here with me, and if you were listening yesterday, that was so good. I felt better about the world after your teaching. We learned yesterday that Dr. Parries is going through some really difficult stuff. A lot of people he loved has died recently, and then he was just at the doctor’s, and they’ve given him a kind of bad diagnosis about cancer. They’re going to operate, and they think they’re going to get it all. And I’m going to trust you’re going to be fine cause the Lord knows I can’t do without you, so you don’t die on me. And the doctor’s pretty sure, but pray for Jerry, that’s a good thing.

Jerry Parries:
Amen.

Steve Brown:
Yesterday we learned that you can trust God in difficult times. And we looked at, among some other places, Proverbs 3:5.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.

Now, we’re going to talk about when you’ve fallen and you can’t get up. You’ll remember in Mark 9 that a man had a son who had an evil spirit. And this is what Mark says.

So he asked his father, How long has this been happening to him? And he said, From childhood. And often he is thrown him both in the fire and into the water to destroy him, but if you can do anything, have compassion and help us. Jesus said to him, If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes. Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.

Jerry Parries:
Wow.

Steve Brown:
Wow.

Jerry Parries:
That’s incredible. And what this is talking about today, Dr. Steve, is that my faith has fallen and I’m having a difficult time getting back up, you know, because I’ve trusted God to do something and he did it a different way. There’s times when we believe God is going to come through with our, with what we’re asking him to do and then we get a different outcome and it causes sometimes our faith to fall. And this Scripture here helps us because there are times in your life when you are not the strong Christian. There are times in your life when you’re not batting a hundred that you can’t muster up enough, but you can do the same prayer that this guy prayed about his son. God said, man, if you believe all things as possible. He says, well, if I could believe I wouldn’t be in this situation. You know, I don’t have the faith. I don’t. And he says to the Lord, very compassionately, God, I do believe, but help thy my unbelief. And I want to talk to somebody who faith have fallen. They still believe, but they need a little help from God to help their unbelief.

Steve Brown:
Do you think that sometimes, Christians expect perfection from themselves and from others in their faith. And they think when their faith falters and when they’ve fallen and they’re having trouble getting up, when things didn’t happen the way they thought God was going to cause them to happen, that when that happens, they may not even be saved.

Jerry Parries:
Oh, yeah.

Steve Brown:
That’s crazy.

Jerry Parries:
Yeah, yeah. We, we all believe that. You know, one of the bad teachings and the doctrine that we used to teach you, most churches don’t teach it. If you come to Jesus, everything is going to be well, everything is going to be fine. And what we don’t realize is that coming to Jesus does not exempt us from the crosses of life. It doesn’t exempt us from problems, but what it does do, we have a helper, a Holy Spirit that will help us through these moments. I’m reminded of first Peter 4 and 12. I love this Scripture, it says.

Beloved, do not think it’s strange concerning the fiery trials, which is there to try you as though some strange thing has happened to you. When you get trouble in your life, it’s a part of life.

Life be lifeing. You know, it’s a part of life. And Peter says.

Don’t think it’s strange concerning the fiery trials that are there sometimes to try you. But here’s what you do, but rejoice to the extent that you are partakers of Christ’s suffering, that when his glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

And here’s what I want to tell you is that suffering is just a part of life. All of us go through things. So, don’t allow your faith to become that. You’re not been praying enough, you’re not fasting enough, God doesn’t love you enough because you’re going through something. All of us go, Jesus himself went through something. I talked about that yesterday. He was in Gethsemane and he was saying, Lord, I don’t want to go through this. That’s the human way. And when you know that everybody goes through it, you don’t feel like you’re the lone ranger, but here’s the good news. God will bring you out, just trust him with all of your heart.

Steve Brown:
Yeah. And when you pray the prayer that the father of the little boy prayed, which I love. God answers that prayer, doesn’t he?

Jerry Parries:
Yeah. Because God doesn’t answer your prayer based on your faith. He answers your prayer based upon Jesus faith that he has for you. God doesn’t come because of your faith, God comes because he loves you. And so, when you know that God loves you, it’s just like your children. When you look at your babies, when you look at your children and you know they don’t have the capacity to do what you want them to do, but you love them anyway. You look at a child who’s five years old, he doesn’t have a capacity to drive a car. And so, sometimes in our faith, our faith walks baby steps. We don’t have the capacity because of the hurt, because of the pain, because of the maturity to believe God on that level. So you just bring him what you have, bring the little faith that you have. Take the little bit that you’ve got, little becomes much when you place it in the master’s hand. And that’s what this guy did, he understood, God, I believe, but Lord, please just help my unbelief. And that will help you to get back up in your faith.

Steve Brown:
We’re so human, aren’t we?

Jerry Parries:
Yeah, yeah.

Steve Brown:
We really are. And sometimes, some of the teaching that is sometimes called, given in Christian places, would suggest that we’re superhuman once we’re Christian, but we still bleed when we’re struck with a needle. We still go with periods of doubt, periods of, as you said, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up. There’s an old prayer, and I don’t even know where it came from, but I love it.

Oh Lord, the ocean is so big, and my boat is so little. Have mercy on me.

Jerry Parries:
Yeah.

Steve Brown:
That’s kind of a version of the prayer that father prayed.

Jerry Parries:
Absolutely, and so, I want to encourage everybody that’s listening to us. Just take a moment and say, Father, I believe, but help thy my unbelief. And watch him do it. Give him room to help you see the glory of God in your life.

Steve Brown:
You know, John Wesley, early in his ministry went to one of the Moravians and said.

He couldn’t preach faith until he had faith.

And Zinzendorf I think was the man, anyway, he said to Wesley.

Preach faith until you have faith, and then because you have faith, you’ll preach faith.

Jerry Parries:
Yeah.

Steve Brown:
And that’s kind of what you’re suggesting here too, aren’t you?

Jerry Parries:
Yeah, yeah.

Steve Brown:
That if we don’t have the faith, if we’ve fallen and we can’t get up, then we tell him. I still believe I’m not going anywhere, I belong to you, I know that you’re in charge of this mess, even if I don’t like it. So, I do believe, but help my unbelief.

Jerry Parries:
Yeah. Just the very fact that you are praying, just the very fact that you’re listening to this broadcast, that you’re on this station, just the very fact that you are tuned in to us right now says that I have the faith to still trust God. So, that’s that little faith, that’s all you need, size of a mustard seed. Believe him and say, God, I believe, but help thy unbelief. When I got my diagnosis from the doctor, it hit me. I’m not a super Christian. I said, What? Oh my goodness. You know, this is, this is crazy. You know, God, what are you doing? What’s, what’s happening here? And, you know, and then I had to come to say, okay, now if God is allowing this to happen, let me kind of horn into what God is saying so that I can get my health together, I can do what I need to do to make this right. And I’m going to trust you, God, because I’m going to do everything I can. I’m not going to be one of those super Christians that say, well, I’m believing God, I ain’t got to go to the doctor, he going to heal me. No God.

Steve Brown:
That’s heresy.

Jerry Parries:
Yeah, that’s crazy. No, you trust God and go to the doctor and get everything taken care of, but once you do everything you can do, then you put it in the hands of the Lord and you just trust that all is going to be well.

Steve Brown:
And if you do all you can do is enough.

Jerry Parries:
That’s all you can do.

Steve Brown:
I mean, that’s when he steps in.

Jerry Parries:
And then when the enemies start bringing all of this crazy stuff to your mind, you say, Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief.

Steve Brown:
Oh, Jerry, that is so good, I can’t tell you. So, if you don’t have enough faith, but you’ve got some. And you do, or you wouldn’t be listening to this.

Jerry Parries:
That’s correct.

Steve Brown:
Then listen to what Dr. Parries talked about, and taught us from the Scripture. Pray that prayer that was prayed by the father of the little boy. He loved that little boy a lot, and he said, Lord, I do believe, help my unbelief. It’s a prayer that the God of the universe always answers. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Lord, I believe, help me overcome my unbelief. Truly one of the most moving exclamations in all of the Bible. Thank you Steve and Jerry for this powerful teaching. We’re in the middle of an important series called How to Trust God in Difficult Times. And I trust it’s blessing you the way it is me. More from Steve and Jerry tomorrow, don’t miss it. Do you know what really ticked off Paul? He got angry when he saw people taking the good news of the gospel and making it into bad news, that’s largely what his letter to the Galatians is all about. Well, that’s an excerpt from an article by Steve called Perverting the Gospel. You’ll find it in the new 2025 edition of Key Life magazine, along with great pieces from Alex Early, Matt Johnson, and Jenni Young, To claim your free copy of the new Key Life magazine, call us right now at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to order the magazine. Or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses. Again, just ask for your free copy of Key Life magazine. And finally, if you’re blessed by the work of Key Life, would you help share that blessing with others through your financial support? Just charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or you can simply text Key Life to 28950 that’s Key Life, one word or two, It doesn’t matter. Just text that to 28950. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And Key Life is a listener supported production of Key Life Network.