Making the morning coffee, I heard a news story about two intrepid climbers who successfully scaled the face of El Capitan, a 3000-foot rock face in Yosemite National Park. El Capitan, in Spanish, means The Chief. I got the impression that this was the first "free climb" of this daunting, perilous mountain face, that it had never been done before (at least in modern times). A couple of the pictures they showed were completely frightening! The first was of the climbers bloody, swollen hands. Wounds to their hands were so bad that they needed to take rest days to allow for healing. They even used superglue to speed the process. The second was of the tents they slept in. Those tents clung to the rock face like barnacles on a ship. I tried to paste in a picture, but pasting in the link was the most I could do. Check it out, friends:
http://instagram.com/p/x2PFErFiSq/
Last night I was thinking about "the impossible" as I got ready for bed. I was looking at a drawing my niece made and gave to me at Christmas. It is now framed and hanging on my bathroom wall. The drawing is an example of her remarkable penmanship and calligraphy skills. It is of a scripture passage: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Here are those verses, in the Message version, through verse 24:
16-18 Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.
19-22 Don’t suppress the Spirit, and don’t stifle those who have a word from the Master. On the other hand, don’t be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what’s good. Throw out anything tainted with evil.
23-24 May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it!
The commands expressed in these verses seem impossible to me at times. Especially the ones about being cheerful (rejoicing!) at all times and thanking God no matter what happens. The keys to being able to to do those are surrounding them: living in a constant state of prayer and not suppressing the Holy Spirit who lives inside of each and every Christian.
Last night, we had a time of prayer with some friends. Heavy on our hearts were our children, who are far from the Lord. The situations we prayed over seem "impossible", in human terms. As I went to bed, that song from the Rodgers-Hammerstein musical, "Cinderella", was running through my head:
"Impossible! For a plain, yellow pumpkin to become a golden carriage..."
But, many, many would have said that doing what the El Capitan climbers did was "impossible" too.
The truth is that we serve a sovereign, always-in-control God, "El Capitan"!, who is able to do the impossible, not only in our lives, but even in the lives of unbelievers, as He sees fit, according to His purposes. The Bible is full of stories of His "impossible" deeds.
In Matthew 19 there is a story of a wealthy, young man, who comes to Jesus to find out how to become a disciple of His. Jesus tells him what he needs to do. After the young man leaves, Jesus makes the comment that it is easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a wealthy person to enter the kingdom of Heaven, to become His disciple. The temptation to worship money instead is just too great. (This statement by the Lord is worthy of at least one entire blog post. However, I will not digress.) The disciples are astonished at this statement and ask, "How then can anyone become Your disciple, be "saved"?" Jesus goes on to affirm, in verse 26:
"With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
With God, ALL things are possible! What "impossible" situations are present in your life today? Do you think that God allowed them there to frustrate and discourage you? No, He did not! He put them there to increase your faith! If you are an unbeliever, He put them there to draw you, call you to belief in Him. Jesus told his disciples that if they had sufficient faith that they could command a mountain to move from its place. (Matthew 17:20)
Wrap your heart around this promise, made to you, Christian! Whatever it is you are facing today, let go. ALLOW God to work in that situation as He sees fit. Have faith in His eternal goodness and never-failing love for you! And, as you allow Him to grow your faith, do as Paul said in encouragement to the Thessalonians:
Rejoice always!
Pray without ceasing!
Give thanks in all situations!
Allow God to do "the impossible".
Dear Father, You are the One who flung the stars into existence and Who, yet, cares about each and every one of Your children. How "impossible" is that? And, You know everything, from beginning to the end. When You spoke the universe into existence, You already knew the precise time Your Son would be born, for example. The stars record it. How "impossible"is that? Your Son was born of a virgin girl. How "impossible is that?" Thank you for teaching me about "the impossible", which is the same as teaching me about faith, trust and Your incomparable greatness. Please forgive me for my own pointless striving, and remind me to rely on You, in those situations that look impossible but which truly are opportunities for you to show Yourself mighty! To YOU be all the honor, and glory and praise! In Jesus' name, amen.
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