2009 – Day 166.June 16 – The God of Impossibilities

2009 – Day 166.June 16 – The God of Impossibilities

Passage of the Day: 1st Kings 17: 24 … 23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives!” 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth.”

My Journal for Today: Almost every day when I come here to journal my devotional thoughts, God, the Holy Spirit, helps me to use Chuck Swindoll’s devotional to come up with my own, more personalized journal entries. However, today his words are so pertinent, … so personal, that I simply must quote them as my journal entry for today. Therefore, here is what Swindoll writes on page 173 of his book, Great Days with the Great Lives …

“All over the world, around us every day, are people who are looking for the truth to be lived out in the lives of those who claim it. Just as the widow watched Elijah, there are people watching you. They hear what you say you believe; but they are watching to see what you do.
Remember, you are here by God’s appointment, you are in His keeping, you are under His training, for His time. Give Him the corpse of your life, and ask Him to revive those lifeless areas that need to be revived. If the situation calls for it, trust Him for a miracle, in His time, if it be His will for your life.
On the bed of your life place the remains of your broken and scarred past; the emptiness of your poor character traits; the habits, even the addictions that have so long controlled you; the limited vision that continues to characterize you; the slight irritation that nags or the large one that looms; the anger or violence or lust or greed or discontentment or selfishness or the ugliness of pride. Lay any of these before the Father, and stretch yourself out under His shadow as you ask Him to bring about remarkable, even miraculous changes in your life?”

And I also agree with Swindoll’s inquiry of his readers at this point, the question being, “Do we really believe that we serve, in Swindoll’s words, a … God of impossibilities, the One Who has limitless power, Who has never – and will never – meet an intimidating obstacle He cannot overcome, an aggressive enemy He cannot overwhelm, a final decision He cannot override, or a powerful person He cannot overshadow?”

What we see in Elijah, my dear one, is what we should see in us. This very week I had the opportunity to pray for a young 17 old boy who had sustained a brain hemorrhage and “flat-lined.” In reality, the doctors had pronounced him dead, save the resuscitation equipment keeping his lungs pumping and his heart beating. He had no measureable brain function. So, I prayed, along with my fellow church Elders that the boy be brought back to life. However, within seconds after the machines were shut down, the boy took two last breaths and all life ceased, not to be brought back as was the boy from Elijah’s prayer. So, the question becomes, “Was our faith not as strong as Elijah’s or was it God’s will to take this boy home to be with Christ?”

My brother or sister believers, it is not faith which I believe in. I believe in the God Who gives me the faith. He is God; and if He chooses to take life from someone, even a 17 year old boy or a babe with cancer, who am I to question God’s motives? In Elijah’s case, God was glorified by the boy being resurrected to life. In the case of the 17 year old Christian boy this week who died, He was glorified by the boy being taken home to be with Jesus. God is God; and I am not. He has His ways in His timing; and all I am called to do is to believe in Him and to pray to Him without questioning His ways. I may wonder why or when God does something. But my faith is in God, not in faith.

Therefore, once again I declare for this journal record, God is God, ... the God of impossibilities and the God of possibilities, ... and I am not.

My Prayer for Today: My Lord, you are my Lord! I question not your sovereignty. I simply know that I can trust You … no matter what! Amen