Heart Tracks - Impossible Life

"Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.' " Matthew 19:26

Not long ago at a prayer and study group, a friend made the statement, "We're not called to a hard life, but an impossible one. But all things are possible in Him." Think on that for a bit. Think as well on all the things we have a tendency to say. One of them that comes to mind is, "God will never allow more than we can handle." I don't think that's a true statement. If we can "handle" something, than why would we need Him? His grace, strength, wisdom, and understanding? The fact is that God will allow things far beyond our natural ability to "handle." He will lead us into impossible places. Places where there is literally no hope. Yet, if in those places, we are yielded and obedient, He will do the impossible there. To experience that however, we have to lay down our agendas, our expectations, even our deepest desires, and simply trust Him. If we are to trust with and in all things, than we have to be surrendered to ALL of the ways in which He may choose to work. Especially those which are most "impossible" to our way of thinking.

Our flesh will always seek the place of ease and comfort. The place where it can remain in control. God will lead us to the place where we have no control at all. The place where all our abilities are not enough. The place where we see no way forward, or back. That's where the old saying, "When we reach the end of ourselves, we find the beginning of God," comes into play. Not many of us want to come to the end of ourselves. It's too scary. Too impossible. At that place stands a cross. Christ's cross. Oswald Chambers said that when Christ calls a man, He bids him to come and die. That's why His ultimate destination for each of us is His cross. For the flesh, that's the impossible place. Yet at the cross, and in the resurrection to follow, we find out that all things are possible in Him.

The life He calls us to is impossible. If we're thinking that we can somehow make it through on our own ability, than we are defeated before we even begin. Our flesh can accept a hard life. It will always balk at the impossible one. The cross was always before Christ. It is always before us. The devil thought he'd won at the cross. Christ, in the impossibility of it all, won total victory through His resurrection. The enemy of our soul believes he has defeated us in the midst of our impossibilities. If we're relying upon ourselves, than he has. But if we, like our Lord Jesus, have come to His cross, our cross, we will not only experience the impossible, we will live lives that are impossible. Impossible from every standpoint but His. You and I are called to such a life. Are we living it right now?

Blessings,
Pastor O