The Impass of the Impossible

My mind raced through the text in Mark on the Feeding of the Five Thousand and my fingers tapped across the keyboard. Finally, after weeks of research, thought and prayer, I was getting to my final truth that transforms – finally.

“Jesus equips. The impossible becomes the possible in His hands, and He allows us to be involved in the distribution of His grace. He is willing and able to take a little and use it to feed a multitude.”

Why am I such a slow learner? Have I not seen this truth in my own life over the past year, in a hundred ways big and small? And although I have not witnessed loaves upon loaves of bread being served up, I have witnessed the impossible becoming the possible; how many times would it take for me to believe it though?

These next six weeks are going to be a lot for me. Coming off of the last year, I know that God has grown me in incredible ways, and now He has given me an opportunity to teach and share the truths about Jesus that I know to be real in our Women’s Bible Study at church So, why do I feel so inadequate? So weary? So discouraged? I guess, because I am. I am face-to-face aware of my dependence on Him, and feeling the impass of the impossible.

God does give us opportunities in the midst of all sorts of details of life, dear reader. I am sure you experience the same, perhaps different ones, but opportunities for compassion, for truth and for grace.

And again and again, I think God brings us to a place of seeing and believing that when He asks us to do the impossible, it is so that we learn that He intends to do the work. It is only in His hands that the work to feed the multitude is accomplished. We are dependent on Him. Only He can make the impossible, possible.

Sure, we need to do our part – get out of bed, brush our teeth, be sensitive to the needs of others, spend time with the Lord, seek out the resources (even if meager), do the research – whatever it may be – but then we are to place it in His hands, not hold on to it, or bury it, or forget it – but trust Him for it.

If you are so led, pray for me these next 6 weeks. I may be gone more than usual on my blog – or maybe not – I’ll have to see what the Lord does and how He leads. Maybe you’ll just hear a lot about what Mark shares about Jesus as I teach through “Remarkable Moments with the Savior,” looking at Jesus as He comes face-to-face with people like you and me.

In the meanwhile, trust whatever you have in the hands of our remarkable God today. While we may feel that our contribution is small and of little value, whatever we give Him of our resources – time and treasure – is multiplied according to His will, in His perfect timing. Be strengthened by this in your weariness and woundedness. Just continue to be willing to give whenever He calls.

(Yes, Lord, I am trying to listen to my own advice – trying. Thanks for the reminder, again.)

Nothing is Impossible With God

The sun was shining, but all I seemed to be able to see where piles of dirt encased snow on the sides of the road and the outline of leafless branches reaching high up in to the sky. It was cold. The cars were covered in coats of flaked on salt. Bright outside, but frigid and dead looking all around.

Suddenly, this picture on the left flashed in to my mind. I had to hunt through my photos to find it, and was surprised to see that it had been almost 5 years since I had discovered this little flower.

One spring day, I was walking in my backyard and looked down to find one small purplish blue flower thriving amidst the patio of bricks. I was struck by the contrast of its delicate beauty against the harsh, flat hardness of its surroundings. Clearly, a seed had been wedged between the bricks, where it began to take root and grow. It survived rains and winds and the tromping of feet that had ran in the place where it was growing. It survived assaults and a cold winter and despite adversity and perhaps, even more so, its beauty blossomed. Somehow, the right amount of sun and water and soil had nurtured the sweet little flower, and it grew. Now it reflected the glory of God, to me.

God is reminding me that even though I may look around and all seems dark and cold and lifeless, not just in my physical surroundings of winter, but in the current reality of my life circumstances, that there is hope.

Luke 1:37 says, "For nothing is impossible with God." He can take the bleakest, hardest, most harsh of circumstances, and place His seed of love and grace amidst that, and grow a beautiful flower. And this is what He does for us. He plants us between the crags of our despair and our pain and creates beauty beyond description. We may not see it now, but we are growing, and with the proper amount of tears and Sonlight and Living Water, out will sprout the evidence of His glory in our lives, and we, in turn, will bring beauty to our surroundings.

So, dear reader, think about this little flower. It's seed endured a long winter and then it grew, not in a garden where the soil was well tilled and sun light was abundant, but in an unlikely spot where it was tight and dark and lonely. Take hope in the fact that it may seem impossible to us that a seed could grow in such a circumstance, but as with this seed, so is it with our lives, nothing is impossible with God.

My Creator God

"By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible" (Hebrews 11:3).

I take the creation story for granted. I know that I do. I believe that God created the world out of absolutely nothing, and I just don't give it another thought.

But I need to. Right now.

If we look at the book of Genesis we read the familiar story of the creation of the world. We learn of how in the beginning the earth was formless and empty and darkness was everywhere, and here is where the Spirit of God hovered.

And then God began to create. On days 1 -3 God separated and gathered and gave our world form. He separated the light from the darkness. He separated the waters below from the sky. He gathered the waters and formed the seas and gathered the land and formed dry ground. On days 4 - 6 God made and filled the earth, removing the emptiness. He produced plants and trees. He produced the sun and the moon and the stars. He produced the living creatures - animals and man.

God called in to existence the things that did not exist.

As I stand in rubble of my current situation, it feels like everywhere I look I see devastation. There seems to be emptiness, little form and darkness, much like the beginning.

The God who gave form and who filled the emptiness can do, may I be so bold and trusting to say will do, the same thing in our lives. He comes in and gives our life purpose and shape and He fills the emptiness with Himself and life.

Let me say it again, God calls in to existence the things that did not exist. It is hard to imagine what God is doing. We can look around and say, "Lord, how are you going to use all of this? How can you take this rubble and do anything with it?" However, God not only can take things and make them new, He can take nothing and make it in to something. God does not just recycle, He creates.

Lord, as we look at our lives today, help us to remember that you created the world out of nothing. Help us to believe that You can do the same thing in our own lives, more than we could have ever hoped for or imagined. And we can hope that it will be as lovely as the natural creation that You brought in to existence. Maybe even lovelier.