Expect the Impossible
Matthew 17:20 Holman Christian Standard Bible
“I am looking for a miracle and expect the impossible…As my prayer life is growing, I have learned that I must respond in the natural and the spiritual. The natural process involves doing all that I know to do and following the orders of the physicians to take care of myself. Spiritually, the process is to believe and trust God, along with prayer and fasting while waiting for the miracle.” Taken from Twelve Women: Inspirational Journey of Faith, Hope and Love by C. Westmoreland.
The impossible is something that we say but many of us do not really believe it. It is defined as “not able to occur, exist, or be done; very difficult to deal with; very unreasonable; and incapable of being or of occurring.” These words to define the impossible open the door for spiritual and supernatural phrases like – make room for God; do not put God in a box; God is not asking you to be perfect. Our thoughts now remove us from the equation and render the work of the impossible to our Father, God Almighty.
In the Bible, Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon and it provides for us some steps to help us to begin to expect the impossible. This passage has three steps that I want to look at for help in moving us closer to fulfilling the Christ-likeness that God expects from us in our Christian walk.
Step #1: Requires at least faith as small as a mustard seed. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. Our faith is key to expecting the impossible. It does not require a certain about of faith, it can be as small as a grain of mustard seed but you have to have faith. In addition, faith is complete trust, confidence, and strong belief in God. A firm persuasion, assurance, firm conviction, faithfulness. Faith knows that no matter what the situation, in our lives that the Lord is working in it.
Step #2: Speak with authority that God has given us. A Christian possesses some measure of authority that enables them to do what God wants them to do. This authority is a shared authority from the Lord Jesus because we as Christians are His commissioned representative here on earth, acting as His mouth, hands, and feet. Thurs, we must learn to follow Him and exercise the authority He has given us to enable us to succeed in the task He has entrusted to us. Our authority is only effective for the noble and all-consuming task given to us by God. The authority that God has given us is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5:15-21 talks about the joy of being Christ’s ambassadors.
Step #3: Believe that nothing is impossible with God. Scripture tells us numerous times that “Nothing is impossible with God.” The Bible encourages us to believe in God and that all things are possible with Him. Jesus was a great example of this, performing miracles in His time that many would have considered impossible. These verses promise that you have the privilege of serving a God who can literally do anything, and there is nothing that is impossible for him. The verses remind us that there is nothing too hard for God.
The 3 steps presented to you can be seen in a checklist of 4 questions to help solidify your position to “Expect the Impossible.” These 4 questions answered reconcile that nothing is impossible with God when it feels like God is not working in our situation.
Checklist Item #1 – Do you believe it? God moves in response to your faith.
Checklist Item #2 – Are your motives, right? Searching your motives is to make sure you rule out any selfish or ungodly thinking.
Checklist Item #3 – How does it align with God’s will? Prayer is not to get God to line up with your will but to get you to line up with his.
Checklist Item #4- Are you willing to trust God? Trust is understanding that he will but that he will do it at the moment when it’s best for you. This is the hard part of trusting God.
Expect the Impossible:
Have faith, speak with God’s authority, and trust God to do what is best for you.