He Can

"...All things are possible to him who believes" (Mark 9:23).

The conduit for God's work is a believing kind of faith. In Mark 9, a father brought his son, possessed by a demon, to Jesus and the disciples in order that he may be healed. The demon had caused his son to be deaf and mute. When the father brought his son to the disciples, they were unable to cast the demon out of the boy.

The life this family had lived must have been horrific. From childhood this boy had been this way. Oftentimes the demon would cause the boy to convulse, throwing him to the ground where he would gnash his teeth and foam at the mouth. The father also reported that on a few occasions the demon had caused the boy to be cast into water to drown the boy or into a fire to burn him or kill him. Yet when the father asked the disciples to heal his son they were unable.

So many things in life are beyond our ability. But we still try. We'll spend hours, days, years and sometimes even a lifetime seeking to accomplish that which only the Lord can do. The disciples may have been a bit discouraged at the realization that they could not do for this family what had been asked of them. Then came Jesus...

When Jesus arrived, he inquired about the discussion taking place and learned of the situation regarding the boy. At Jesus' command, they brought the boy to him. When the child laid eyes upon Jesus, the demon threw him into a convulsion and once again he began to roll on the ground, gnash his teeth and foam at the mouth. The father said to Jesus, "But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us!"

I love the way Jesus answers the father. "If you can? All things are possible to him who believes." If you can... Jesus is the only One who can! The disciples couldn't. The father and the mother couldn't. The religious leaders couldn't. The sorcerers and doctors of the day
couldn't. But Jesus could! Regardless of what it was, what is or what comes, I pray I always remember that all things are possible to him who believes. Can I be so bold as to expand that a little further (for it is implied)? May I always remember that even when others cannot, all things are possible to him who believes in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who can do ALL THINGS.

Micah is continuing to be a "new" little boy. Rolling over, eating well, gaining weight, laughing and smiling and almost to a point of being able to sit in the floor by himself. We will return to Duke tomorrow for our weekly visit. Dr. Berman has a couple items of concern right now. The first concern is that Micah's FK506 level, even with the increase in dosage, has remained too low in his body. Also, Micah's liver levels have elevated and remained high. Both could be because the bile flow is restricted in the bile duct (which shows to be a little abnormal on the last ultrasound). At some point in the near future, the radiologist will likely perform a test where they inject contrast into the liver and look to see if this is taking place. From there, if it is believed the duct is narrow or restricting the flow, a procedure would likely be performed to open it up much like angioplasty.

The second concern is that the place of urine collection just outside one of Micah's kidneys is enlarged. The reason for this at this time is unknown. For now, the doctor is simply intent on keeping an eye on it.

All that said, our hearts were somewhat comforted when Dr. Berman said, "The big things look good. It's some of the small details we need to work on."

Please continue to pray for wisdom for doctors as they attempt to diagnose the problem and perform procedures to correct what is happening. Pray for Micah continue to grow strong, healthy and that the Lord would continue to have His hand upon Micah's life. Praise the Lord for the development taking place and what He has done in our family and in Micah's life.

Thank you for praying! Jesus is Lord...and He can do all things.