When Faced with the Impossible What Do You Do?
The other day, my kids had some homework that was “impossible.” After looking at the problem, I asked, “Have you tried this?" The exasperated response was, “Yes, I’ve worked on it for two hours. I’ve tried everything!" A few minutes later, the homework was miraculously finished. What changed that made the impossible possible? In this case, my children had resources available to them that they didn’t realize they had. Could the same thing be true in other areas of life, in things that seem much more difficult than math problems?
During a crisis of faith, in an “impossible” moment, when the prophet Jeremiah was filled with doubt about what God had asked him to do, the Lord asks him a question: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27). To ask the question is to provide the answer. The thought itself is absurd and contradicts the very character of God. If this is so obvious, why does the Lord speak to Jeremiah this way? Surely Jeremiah was not unaware of the God who can do anything.
He wasn’t at all. Just a few verses earlier Jeremiah prefaced his prayer with this very same acknowledgment, almost in the same language: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heaven and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you.” (Jeremiah 32:17) Jeremiah knew that nothing was too hard for the Lord and yet he still wrestled with applying this truth in daily living.
Jeremiah’s problem wasn’t an information problem, it was a faith problem. The Lord had told Jeremiah to do something that didn’t make any sense. Jeremiah was in prison at the time. The city of Jerusalem was surrounded by the Babylonian army and would soon fall to the enemy. Typically this would not be the best time to purchase a piece of property. Yet, that is exactly what God instructs Jeremiah to do. Jeremiah obeys the Lord and buys the property but after the transaction is complete, Jeremiah has his doubts. Did he act foolishly? Did he just waste his money?
From a purely human standpoint, Jeremiah’s purchase was foolish. However, when we consider the power of God, Jeremiah’s action not only makes sense but it is the best move he could have made. God’s question to Jeremiah is a reorienting question we need to regularly consider, probably daily.
Is anything too hard for the Lord? Too often we evaluate the problems and difficulties of life based upon our resources and our abilities. Whenever we do this we will always fall short. We will regularly encounter things that are too hard for us. But we will never encounter anything that is too hard for the Lord! Here’s what this means: We will never have a need God is not able to provide. We will never have a hurt that God is not able to heal. We will never face a situation that God is not able to redeem. We will never meet a person whom God is not able to save.