Four-Calendar Café

“Alice laughed. ‘There’s no use trying,’ she said. ‘One can’t believe impossible things.’

I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. There goes the shawl again!”

Lewis Carroll

As a Christian, you are called to believe in the impossible. Indeed, not only are you called to believe in the impossible but you will be given impossible tasks in your life. When I read about the feeding of the 5,000, and the 4,000, in the Gospel of Matthew today, I thought about the impossible things I believe every day.

Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

Matthew 14:16 (NIV)

Jesus is telling His disciples to do the impossible. Feed over 5,000 people with only five loaves of bread and two fish. In this first encounter of feeding so many people with so little, the disciples couldn’t be expected to expect Jesus to get it done. After all, they still didn’t grasp who He was. Later on, when they face a similar impossible hurdle of feeding over 4,000 people, they are still looking to the seen instead of what they could believe. Finally, when they are later warned, “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees,” they think “it’s because we didn’t bring any bread” (Matthew 16:6-7 NIV).

Like the disciples whose minds were on the carnal, we can find ourselves thinking only about our daily bread, when God has so many impossible things in store for us. We need only to believe and trust God.

Sometimes we only see little things in our lives because we don’t think of bigger things. Like the Christians James wrote to, many of us “do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives” (James 4:2-3 NIV) The “big things” of the world aren’t the big things to God. Do you want money, power, and fame? Those temporary things mean nothing to God in comparison to something like your eternal soul.

What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

Matthew 16:26 (NIV)

This verse tells us how God sees everything in this world compared to our souls.

If you’re asking God for ten million dollars because you want to be rich, and you promise Him that if He does it, then you’ll “spread it around.” You’ll tithe on it, take care of your family, and maybe even donate some of it to charity, then I wouldn’t suggest that you hold your breath waiting for it. On the other hand, if God has given you the heart to help the homeless and you ask Him to help, He can give you enough favor to make those ten million dollars look like spare change. This is one difference between the right and wrong motives that James wrote about.

If you’re wondering when you’re going to see those impossible things in your life, then take a look in the mirror. If you know Jesus, and the pardon of your sins, then you’re seeing the impossible staring at you in the mirror. We can’t save ourselves, and without the death and resurrection of Jesus, we’d be eternally lost.

When I think about who I was before I knew Christ, and who I am becoming, I see the impossible. God took my messed-up life of depression, angst, anger, and carnality and turned it around. I’m sure He did the same for you if you’re saved.

Sometimes the impossible is just getting through the day. Before I knew Christ, almost every day was a day like that. The impossible roads we walk don’t look the same for everyone. Perhaps you’re thinking about that bottle or calling that friend. You’re looking for relief. You’re hoping for deliverance. You may feel lost and don’t know where to turn. Maybe you had a great day, and you believe tomorrow’s going to be just as good. I can tell you now that no one is promised tomorrow. The only time any of us has is right now.

Do you know God? God knows you, and He loves you. He sees you as significant because you are. No one is insignificant to Him. He’s with you today, right now, and He wants you to know Him. Jesus died for your sins and mine so we could be free of guilt, be freed from death, and live eternally with Him. Eternal salvation is just a prayer away.

Pray this prayer with me to accept the gift of salvation today:

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, then congratulations! You are on the first step of a brand new life. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to my family, the family of God. There are abundant resources available online for new Christians. You can visit here for more information on what to do next. You can also leave me a comment, and I’ll do my best to help you on the next step of this incredible journey.