January Storyteller: Overcoming Our Unbelief

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Dear Reader,

I read a humorous story about trust several years back that seems very pertinent today.*  The story goes like this (I have paraphrased a bit):

“A mountain climber slipped and fell some distance down the sheer face of a mountainside. His hand suddenly grasped a small bush tenaciously rooted in the granite wall. Looking down, the valley floor was far below. For the first time in his life, he closed his eyes and prayed. After a few moments, an angel appeared on the scene, suspended on luminous wings.

"Dost thou believe that I can firmly lift thee to the mountaintop?" asked the angel. "I believe, I believe," whispered the climber.

"Dost thou believe that I can lower thee gently to the valley floor?" continued the angel. "I believe, I believe," answered the climber.

"Then let go of the bush," came the angelic voice. "Oh, no, Oh no!" cried the climber.”

Isn’t it funny that we can pray to God for answers and healing, with all our hearts, but when the answers come, and they are not what we expected, our faith can disappear, and our trust can dissipate?  How do we develop a sense of trust that holds us up, even when we can’t see where we are going to land?  Where does faith come in when we don’t trust the answers that come to us as a result of our prayers?  

We live in a time where our faith and trust are challenged every day.  We are witnessing school shootings where innocent children and teachers are murdered, terrorist attacks where celebrating revelers are run down by an ISIS-driven truck, out-of-control wildfires that are consuming lives, homes, and livelihoods, because of a spate of severe weather conditions that are popping up in unprecedented numbers across the world, and a political divide that threatens the peace neighbor to neighbor, colleague to colleague, in our own country. 

What used to be extremes have now become commonplace.  They result in a fear for our future and especially the futures of our children. What do we do when evil seems to be popping up all around us?  How far will our faith carry us?  Is it possible to “let go” and trust that our landing will be soft and secure?

Whenever I am confronted with life’s adversities I pause in my tracks and look around for the good.  I do this because I know that good is going on everywhere, all around me, and speaking to me as the angel did for the climber.  Good is always there and seeking our attention. That angel message is always knocking at the door of our thought and offering healing messages, even when it is leading us in a path we didn’t expect.

The following passage from an article titled, God’s Law of Adjustment, bolsters my thoughts when challenges seem overwhelming.  It reminds me that there is a power beyond my own:

“When we in our helplessness reach the point where we see we are unable of ourselves to do anything and then call upon God to aid us; when we are ready to show our willingness to abandon our own plans, our own opinions, our own sense of what ought to be done under the circumstances, and have no fear as to the consequences,—then God's law will take possession of and govern the whole situation.”*

I remain fully committed to the understanding that God is in control of our lives; guarding, guiding, and governing.  Perhaps, instead of wondering if God is paying attention, we need to turn our thoughts to the example in the book of Mark in the Bible, where a father is begging Jesus to heal his son.  As the story goes:

A father approached Jesus to heal his son, “ I brought my son to you. He has a spirit from the devil in him. This spirit stops him from talking.  The spirit attacks him and throws him on the ground. My son foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes very stiff. I asked your followers to force the evil spirit out, but they couldn’t.”

Jesus answered, “You people don’t believe!  So the man brought his son to Jesus. As soon as the evil spirit in the boy saw Jesus, it attacked the boy. He fell down and rolled on the ground, foaming from his mouth.

Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been happening?” The father answered, “Since he was very young. The spirit often throws him into a fire or into water to kill him. If you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us!” Jesus said to the father, “You said, ‘If you can!’ All things are possible for him who believes.”

Immediately the father cried out, “I do believe! Help my unbelief!” Jesus rebuked the demon and immediately it came out of the boy and the boy was healed.  The rest of the story is left to our imaginations.  I believe in my heart that the father grew deeply that day,  in his faith and trust. It’s our “unbelief” that needs adjusting, more than the situation that presents itself.  

These two stories, the climber hanging on to a branch and praying, and the father, seeking to let go of his unbelief so his son could be healed, give us answers and assurance that faith and trust are the key elements in healing and that God’s loving messages are there for us to grab hold of and hang on to.  Once we commit to trusting God, beyond what we can see, new vistas of possibility are opened up to us.

So it is with, dangerous winds, political divides, terrorist attacks, and every seemingly impossible situation that confronts us. God is right here, speaking to us through angel messages, to adjust, heal, and meet all of our needs. 

I hope you've enjoyed this month's Storyteller. If you did, please like share, and follow to help our community of friends to continuing connecting through faith, family, life, and learning.

Until next time!

Merry

*Let Go of the Bush by Murray Lawrence Jayne

December 14, 1963 Sentinel

*The International Children’s Bible Mark 9:24 

*God’s Law of Adjustment by Adam H Dickey

From the January 1916 issue of The Christian Science Journal

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Coming soon! New Storyteller LIVE with special guest The Reverend Dr. Michael Kuhn. In this episode, we'll discuss two stories, The Truce, December 2025 and Divine Love Can Always Find Us, 2024. This conversation is intended to provide hope and assurance that God is with us despite the pain and suffering we might be experiencing. Incorporating these two stories in particular provides avenues of thought that help and heal.

Fr. Michael is legendary in New Orleans; having spent over three decades leading Episcopal schools and serving in churches in New Orleans, New York, Boston, and Maine, Fr. Michael is well known for his incredible wit, wisdom, and humor, and his very own way of spreading the Word. 

Storyteller LIVE is more than a podcast, it's a community of friends connecting over faith, family, life, and learning. It's to bring my monthly Storyteller digital series to life. Each episode includes a discussion about a story featured in Storyteller and a special guest with unique life experiences that make them particularly qualified to discuss the topic.  I hope you'll join me for the next one!

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