Gabe said it to a shaking, trembly young teen named Mary:
“Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.” – Luke 1:36
She turned out to be a good mom, having taught it to her sons. However, a grown Jesus instinctively knew it from deep within the part of Him synced with God. He said it to the frustrated, puzzled disciples: “With God all things are possible.” – Matthew 19:26
Huh. Maybe there’s something to this, after all . . .
Good thing. There’s a whole bunch of strange things taking place in the world and in the Church. Some seem okay, but the vast majority are ulcer country if we allow it. Ideas, thoughts, theories all crisscross the media spectrum like laser lights flickering from every compass point.
Things we believe to be bedrock are being questioned and even denied.
Nothing new. There’s always been a steep price for trying to be an honest man in a dishonest world. Remember, the twelve original disciples of Jesus had Him right there with them. Watched Him do sense- and logic-defying things. SAW it.
They still stumbled over whether to believe or not.
Some think these days between Christmas and New Year’s Day are ‘lame duck’ time. I do not. Here’s a little bit of encouragement I’d like you to consider as we slow down a bit to think about the real impact of this huge truth from God, through Gabriel and then through Jesus Himself.
Nothing Is Impossible With God
You’ve heard the Creation story and the “no-belly-button” jokes And those Old Testament stories? Aw, those are for ‘simple’ folks Who go on and on about Abram, the patriarchs and prophets of old The parting of the sea, Elijah on the mountain and Joseph getting sold That “miraculous” New Testament stuff with even the dead living again All that does is strain credibility and just raises more questions in the end Come on, man, let’s get real—don’t you find all that just a little odd? Well, I don’t because you see, my friend, NOTHING’s impossible with God. Okay—that was then, this is now and I don’t want to be alarming But people now are street-wise though their smiles can be disarming Folks now ask more questions, for they’re looking for realistic value They’re not impressed by toothy sales types loudly trying to corral you The truth of it is that they’re sneering and jeering at things I’ve long believed They show no appreciation for or honor the sacred lessons I’ve received In fact, things most precious to my heart they’re trying hard to get outlawed Oh, yeah – they’re trying but you better face it—NOTHING’s impossible with God. It may look like they’re getting their way; from this end it feels eerie They replace millenia of faithful teaching with some other – any other – theory Substituting this or that popular thought for anything we have to say Laughing at ideas of black and white, preferring infinite shades of gray It can seem convincing and the way they speak is often intimidating And you can feel all alone, faced with the wall of doubt they’re creating It’s enough to make even weak believers cave and give their theories the nod Until you stop to remember, friend: NOTHING is impossible with God. See, God doesn’t need a great big crowd or even an eloquent preacher For Mary, all it took was one angel for God’s sovereign will to reach her And to make what He was doing in our world to publicly be known Why, it had EV’rybody rattling and tattling and yelling, “Hold the phone!” So remember her lesson and that she never let all this get her Even though it seems the Straight and Narrow’s been switched for something better And you feel all alone since it looks like all prefer the Winding and the Broad Don’t you believe it, just keep watching because NOTHING is impossible with God.Oh, hey–nobody’s forcing you to believe the Bible’s word for anything. Fact is, they’re working real hard to do the opposite. Your choice.
For me, I think a lawn chair, shades and some fresh joe might be great. This is just getting interesting. Can’t wait to see what God’s going to do NEXT that all the brilliant people say can’t be done!
© D. Dean Boone, December 2013