I am wired for the impossible! Just try to tell me I can’t do something, and I will do my level best to prove you wrong!
I am naturally extremely tenacious and hate losing.
But what happens when you believe in the impossible, you put your faith in the words found in Luke, “What is impossible with man is possible with God,” (Luke 18:27 NIV), but then you hit that annoying little word…DELAY.
Delay can be the downfall of dreams for the impossible.
It’s hard to keep believing when answers don’t come the way we want them or when we want them.
But let me relate a story that should inspire you. At least it does me.
You’ve no doubt heard of Gideon, but if you’re anything like me, you may not have always known the complete story.
The story is found in Judges 6 and 7. It begins with Gideon being visited by an angel of the Lord, and the angel greeted him as a mighty warrior. Gideon thought this heavenly being had the wrong address in his GPS, especially since he was hiding out, beating wheat in a winepress, when it happened. Gideon’s response to this angelic greeting shows his feelings of weakness and inadequacy: “’Pardon me, my lord,’ Gideon replied, ‘but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” Judges 6:13 (NIV)
I love that, ah, pardon me, but you’ve got the wrong guy! Gideon knew the facts, and the facts weren’t those that supported him being viewed as a mighty warrior. He was from the weakest tribe and the least of the least, so Gideon seemed justified in thinking, “This is impossible! No way am I the guy for the job!”
If you read the story in Judges 6 and 7 (which I hope you do, because it’s fascinating!), you’ll discover some pretty crazy stuff happening with fleece and tearing down pagan altars and an offering being burnt up by a fire coming right out of a rock.
But the most impossible part of the story comes when Gideon leads the Israelite army against the Midianites, Amalekites, and the other eastern forces. God tells Gideon he has too many men and he should tell anyone who’s afraid to go home. 22,000 men do exactly that. The impossible now becomes even more impossible!
Then there’s this weird lapping water like a dog thing that reduces the army to a mere 300. Talk about having to trust God! There’s no way 300 men can defeat an army that’s described as being “as thick as locusts.”
But Gideon is about to witness the impossible become possible because that’s exactly what happened. This little band of 300 men of God, led by Gideon, made that big, huge army run away in fear. God did the impossible through someone who, frankly, didn’t appear very remarkable by worldly standards.
Yet as you read the story of Gideon, you will see one thing Gideon did possess…trust. And once he believed and trusted God, he acted very quickly and with zest.
Here’s a great lesson we can learn from Gideon: The impossible becomes possible when we simply surrender and say yes.
God doesn’t need our strength and our talent to get the job done. God uses our weaknesses, our insecurities, and our inadequacies to do impossible things because that’s when God gets all the glory.
It is through our weakness that God’s strength and power show up the most.
I have stories of God showing up in big ways in my life, and I bet you do as well. Many of you know my dream of building a chapel that will be called Sanctuary. I’ve shared this big calling in my life that has been downloaded by God at many retreats and conferences, and I absolutely believe it WILL happen. Someday. Somehow.
But in reality, it sounds completely impossible because I am no one from nowhere, at least it feels that way when I think about the magnitude of the project. I can relate to Gideon completely and his feelings of inadequacy.
And I’ve been stuck in delay for a while now. My tenaciousness is being put to the absolute hardest test of my entire life. When I focus on the delay, this God-given dream starts fading more and more.
But then God shines His light on my dream once again, and I choose once more to trust His call. And when I do that, I feel a renewed sense of excitement as I trust Him to make it happen….in His timing, according to His perfect plan, even when the waiting gets so incredibly hard.
I know God is merely asking me to continue to surrender my weakness, my insecurity, and my inadequacies at His throne and simply say yes.
What feels impossible in your life right now, my friend? Is it a relationship, your career, your family, your finances, your dream? Do you feel weak and inadequate and insecure?
Be encouraged, my friend! Your weakness is the perfect place for God’s power and might to be on display. Be encouraged by the story of Gideon!
And choose to surrender to God, trusting that the impossible is just waiting for you to say yes!
God makes the impossible possible!
Love and hugs
Jill