August 18

Failures

I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not heal him. — Matt 17:16 BSB

Many Sunday school teachers have had experiences like this. They’ve been entrusted with children who seem to be possessed by evil influences, and they’ve struggled to reach them. Despite their best efforts—praying, teaching, and even weeping—these children remain unmoved, and the evil spirits seem impossible to drive out. Teachers facing such challenges can learn some important lessons from this story.

First, it might be a little encouraging to know that even Christ’s apostles encountered at least one case they couldn’t handle. If the apostles had such moments of failure, it’s no surprise that we, as ordinary people, sometimes face similar struggles. In fact, it’s these failures that make the apostles seem more relatable. When we see them always victorious, it can feel discouraging, as if we can never measure up. But when we see them stumble and fail, we realize that they were human, just like us, and couldn’t accomplish anything without Christ’s help. Paul’s experience with his “thorn in the flesh” offers us more comfort than his glorious visions of heaven. We can’t follow him into those heavenly experiences, but we can relate to his struggles.

It’s also helpful to consider why the apostles failed in this case. First, Jesus was absent at the time. The disciples could do nothing without Him. This is a lesson for us as well—without Christ’s presence, all our efforts in Christian work will fail. We cannot change hearts on our own. Another reason for their failure was their lack of faith. Even though Jesus wasn’t physically present, His power would have been available to them if they had believed. Finally, some cases are simply harder than others. Some require more faith and spiritual power to overcome.