When God Does the Impossible

What is impossible

In our human minds, we decide what is possible and what is probable. We also decide what is impossible. The problem with this is that in deciding what is or isn’t possible, we limit God. We limit what He can do, and many times we limit Him by giving Him a time frame.

When It is Possible

→ Sometimes He wants us to get up out of our doldrums and stand still. He told the Children of Israel to do that the day they were at an impasse. The situation was impossible – except for God. There they stood, the Red Sea in front of them and Pharoah’s army coming behind. There was no place to go – and no time to come up with a plan. The people said to Moses, “Weren’t there enough graves in Egypt that you had to bring us here to die?”

That is when God said to Moses, “Tell the people to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.”  They did (there was no place else to go) and God parted those waters. They moved forward on dry land, crossing safely to the other side. Just when things became impossible, God did the impossible.

→ Sometimes God wants us to obey and let Him take care of the consequences. Daniel continued to pray against the king’s edict. Three times a day he prayed, facing east. He landed in a den of lions. There wasn’t a thing he could do to save himself from becoming dead meat to those hungry lions. But God did the impossible. He shut the mouths of those lions, and spared Daniel’s life.

→ Sometimes He expects us to ask for deliverance for ourselves or for others because He wants to say “Yes” to our requests. Peter spent a night in prison while his church family met in the home of one of their members. They prayed for Peter’s deliverance. Chained to two guards, it was impossible for Peter to escape. But God did the impossible. He sent an angel who loosened the chains from Peter while the guards continued to sleep. Peter walked out of that prison a free man. Even the church members who were praying found it hard to believe! Left to his own devices, Peter had no Get Out of Jail Free card. But God did the impossible. He made it possible.

→ Sometimes He saves us from shipwreck. He did that for Paul. The sailers battled a storm for fourteen days. The story tells us, “All hope that we would be saved was finally given up.” I’d call that hopeless, wouldn’t you? I’d call that an impossible situation. Yet that night God sent an angel to tell Paul that not one of the 276 persons on the ship would lose his life. God took an impossible situation and made it possible.

He Still Does the Impossible

→ Sometimes He shows up when we’re not expecting it – before we even have time to pray. Our friend Lee crashed a helicopter on April 6, 2019. There is little left of the chopper, yet he survived. How did he get out of that chopper before it burned completely? No one knows. As Lee says, “When I get to Heaven, I’m going to ask Jesus what happened that night because there is no way I should have gotten out of there alive.” Yes, on his own, it was imposible. But God did the impossible.

God uses His people to give hope to the impossible

→ Sometimes God expects us to bring a message of hope to an “impossible” situation. We all have opportunities in which to plant a seed of hope and then let God do the rest.

My friend was approached by a couple whose marriage was failing. The couple thought the only thing to do was visit an attorney and file for a separation. Neither couple had placed their faith and trust with God, and their marriage was failing.

My friend planted that seed of encouragement for the couple to seek counseling and go to church. The marriage was in shreds, and she knew enough about the details that restoration seemed impossible. Instead of thinking the marriage was hopeless (and humanly, it was), she allowed God to show up in her that day. Instead of agreeing with them that the marriage was hopeless, she told the couple to start going to church. At first, one of the parties was resistant to that suggestion. God heard the cry for help and heard the prayers.

In less than a year, both of them became Christians, and their marriage was restored. God came in and changed their hearts. What seemed impossible became more than possible – because God is God. Never doubt the power of prayer even when situations are impossible. Never shun away from an opportunity to share God’s Word and plant the seed for salvation – and the impossible becoming possible.

God Changes Impossible

God specializes in doing the impossible. He doesn’t follow our timeline. Nor does He follow our blueprint of how things should be fixed. Why should He? He is God!

If you’re feeling discouraged, remember this: When things are impossible, that is when God steps in and makes possible the impossible. All He asks of us is that we cooperate with Him. He wants us to quit fussing about the army behind us. He expects us to keep praying even when it is illegal. In our prisons, He wants us to wait quietly, not fighting the chains. He expects us to wait and let Him move in His own timing. When we are spared from death, He wants us to give Him the credit for doing the impossible. When a marriage is restored, He wants recognition for taking an impossible situation and, with our cooperation, making it whole. 

Nothing is Too Hard for God, So All Things are Possible

He wants us to remember that there is nothing, ever, too hard for Him. He wants us to expect the impossible from Him, then stand back, cooperate, and see the salvation of the Lord.  Changing impossible to possible is His specialty. 

This is a repost from five years ago. Our God is still the God of the impossible. I’d love to hear you your stories!