Jesus taught, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matt 19:26 (ESV) .
In the immediate context, Jesus was talking about eternal life, but the biblical principle holds up in all situations. What appears impossible to man can be possible with God. We so often see the task ahead of us and don’t realize it is attainable one step at a time. I was listening to someone talk about how to run a marathon. You have to view it as one mile at a time rather than the whole 26.2 miles. If you’re five miles in and think of how much you have left, you’ll never accomplish it. But if you just view it as one mile at a time it is attainable.
I’m more of a writer than I am a runner, but the principle is the same. If I told you to write over 1000 blog posts, it would seem insurmountable. But if you do it just one post at a time like I have been doing over the last six years, it can be done.
So when God calls and the task seems too big to get done, you are just responsible for taking the next step, followed by the next step, and the next thousands steps after that. After being faithful in a thousand little steps, one step at a time, you will be living the impossible right where God destined for you to be.
Jesus told the story:
“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Matt 25:14-30 (ESV)
Don’t let anything stop you once you know that you have been called. Keep heading in the direction God has called you to even if you feel like it is insurmountable. God might have called you to something that needs a miracle. One step at a time. Eventually, we will have achieved far more than we ever thought possible. Things will fall into place that we did not even foresee. Because the same God that called us in a specific direction works our path out for us.
Paul didn’t let shipwrecks, beatings, getting lost, robbers, persecution, hunger, thirst, or exposure to the elements stop Him (2 Corinthians 11:23-28). We also should not let anything stop us.
Mark Evanier shares the following story:
There's a famous story they used to tell around the Marvel offices about the great New York blackout of 1965 when power was off everywhere for about twelve hours one evening. Most everyone showed up at the Marvel office the next morning without their homework, figuring they couldn't be expected to write or draw by candlelight. Stan Lee, however, came in with all his pages done, having labored by candlelight. And the point of the story was that Stan was amazed that everyone else hadn't done that. It had simply not occurred to him not to write even though he had a perfect excuse. Which is one of the reasons he's Stan Lee and you and I are not.We need to not let any obstacles stop us from doing what we know God wants us to do, one step at a time, and we need to never forget to enjoy God on the journey. Sometimes we get so hung up on where we are going and what we are doing that we forget to enjoy the presence of God in the now. Being a Christian is not about the destination; it’s about experiencing God day in and day out on the journey. Part of the greatest experience is being used by Him to bring about His will in the here and now.
Paul wrote:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Col 3:12-17 (ESV)One thing we can be certain of is that His general will is the same for each of us: He wants each one of us to surrender our lives to Him through accepting Jesus as our Lord and to allow Him to use us to bring about His will in the world. But when it comes to specifics for your life, He’s not telling me. I can’t give you a formula or a practical answer. That is something that has to be discovered through your relationship with God. It is my prayer that some of you reading this will be prompted concerning what His will is for you. Go after it no matter what the cost or how insurmountable it appears. May we be people whose eyes are open to see the direction God wants us to go. May we be courageous to go after it no matter what the cost or how great the challenge. And may we learn to enjoy God more along the way.
