“Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.“
Luke 1:34-37

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NOVEMBER 28, 2024

The angel’s message sent Mary into a turbulent sea of betrothal, familial, and social unknowns. She would need anchors to hold her steady in the storms ahead. An anchor was immediately provided in her elderly relative Elizabeth. She was pregnant too, though well beyond child-bearing years. God had already done the impossible for her.

Who was there to encourage and support Mary in her dilemma? No one in Nazareth could understand the message she had received. She needed someone who would listen and believe her. Now she learned that her cousin had also experienced the impossible. Mary realized Elizabeth was a person in whom she could confide.

People who have experienced the impossible with God have a hope that is irrepressible. They have seen the hand of God at work.

One of the blessings of MissionsFest is hearing amazing stories about people who have seen firsthand that “nothing is impossible with God.” To really believe that “nothing is impossible with God” is to live in hope. Do we live like in this posture of trust and hope? What is our expectation of God? Have we conveniently assigned Him a role in which He blesses our endeavors and keeps us comfortable? When have I looked for Him to do the impossible? When have you?

If God is God, then to set limits on His actions is nonsensical. If He created the universe, is there anything He cannot do? If He entered our human existence through the womb of a virgin to redeem sinful men, hasn’t He done the impossible for mankind? If He has done the impossible for you, will He not do so for others? This is the gospel, the impossible transaction that exchanges our broken sinfulness for the perfect righteousness of Christ, merely through faith in Him.

Gabriel told Mary that “nothing is impossible with God,” and her life testified to the truth of the angel’s words. We need to hear the same message and live accordingly.

Questions for reflection and discussion:

  • What would it look like for you to trust God for the impossible?
  • When have you seen God do the impossible?
  • How have you communicated your observation to others?

 

Church Reading Plan: Micah 3; Luke 12