“But with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26
What is the “impossibility” in your life right now? Do you have something that seems totally beyond your ability to handle? If so, then congratulations! You are on the verge of learning more about the depths of God’s grace.
We regularly encounter impossible situations, events and conditions that are completely beyond our ability to solve, control, or sometimes even comprehend. We can count on those things coming our way. We live in a world that regularly disregards our preferences and demands.
Your situation may be one of a thousand things, but it is your impossible situation, and it hurts and bothers you. I say this because I often hear something along the lines of “I was sad because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.” That’s always sounded to me like the way to feel better is to find someone worse off than you.
That kind of thinking diminishes the seriousness and reality of our challenges, and I’m not at all sure that’s what God wants us to do. He doesn’t want us to act as if we have no problems. He just wants us to take all problems to Him.
I remember when Emily Grace was nearly 3 years old and running up against an impossible situation in her life. While I was keeping her I heard her keening frustrations and moaning, verging on crying (all the equivalent of toddler cussing). The problem? She couldn’t make her little scissors work.
My response? I didn’t mock her and tell her she has nothing to complain about. I didn’t say “You cry because you can’t work the scissors. But just wait until you meet a toddler with no hands!” No, in the context of her little world, this was a frustrating, impossible situation. I simply helped her with the scissors.
I take this little digression, because we need to acknowledge our impossibilities. In the grand scheme, my daily frustration is certainly not of the same degree as a man facing cancer, for example. But I don’t make any progress if I either act like it shouldn’t be a problem or feel better at his expense. Frankly, I want a theology that applies equally to the man that has no feet or the man who stubbed his toe.
So, what is your impossible situation? A pet died? A stupid boss? A lost job? A health crisis? Sitting in an airport with a flight delay as I am now? (Another aside here: If asked to get off my flight I will run down the aisle in cooperation). What is your impossible situation? Don’t worry about the degree, or how petty it may seem. What is the situation in your life that is beyond your ability to control or manage or solve?
Here’s what you can do with your impossibility. Take it to God. Ask Him to help. Then patiently wait.
From opening to closing, the scripture shows us that God is truly loving and very interested in everything that goes on in our lives. He really does care. He wants you to face every impossibility with Him.
Beware of dividing your life between things that you believe you can handle by yourself and things that you think only God can handle. He is the God of every impossible AND pleasant situation. He can enrich and infuse every moment with eternity.
And just to be clear, the answer God provides rarely has anything to do with changing the situation. Your mind is the intersection of heaven and earth, and it's there that God does almost all of His work. The knowledge of His peace and presence is the solution to every impossibility.
Once again, we face the collision between obstinate situations and eternal promises. The temptation is great to focus only on the impossibility, our lack of control, and our resulting frustrations. Let’s focus instead on the solution. Face everything with God. Then nothing is impossible.
Grace,
Dr. Terry Ellis
May 21, 2017