Nothing Is Impossible

The words of this song popped into my mind as I woke up this morning. Some of you may be familiar with them:

Nothing is impossible when you put your trust in God,
Nothing is impossible when you're trusting in His Word 
La la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la
So put your trust in God alone 
And stand upon His word,
For everything, yes everything, 
EVERY THING is possible with God

You can tell I don't remember all the words, but the catchy melody stuck with me all morning as I got ready for church. The song reminded me of some seemingly impossible situations I, and others known to me, had been through. And God brought us through every one of them.

When the angel told Sarah, Abraham's wife, that she was going to have a child, she laughed. She was ninety years old! But the angel said, " Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son” (Genesis 18: 14).

And if you've read the story, you know that she did have a son the next year, exactly as the angel said.

Nothing is impossible when you put your trust in God.

Whatever you are praying about, whether it is about a family member or a national crisis - and we ought to pray about that - do not doubt. Only believe.

Here's a video on the same theme for you to enjoy:

 

Sarah - A Woman For All Seasons

This month marks the fifth year since the publication of my book Women For All Seasons, featuring twelve women of the Bible.Their stories are written creatively so you can easily relate to them. At the end of each chapter, there is a section called "Insight" where I give my views on the story, and where you can write answers to questions. To give you a better introduction to the book, I will write a short post on one of the characters each week for this month.

This week's character is Sarah. I included Sarah in the book because she depicts the season of winter. A time when the landscape looks dry and infertile. The weather is cold and nothing grows. There is very little activity as people hurry to get before a warm fire or turn on the heat to make themselves comfortable. Such is the situation of Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman in the winter of her life, long past child-bearing age, and been barren all her life.

When the angel told her she would have a child, she didn't believe it. She said,  "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?" (Genesis 18: 12).

But the Lord said,  "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" (v 14)

If you have ever read the story, you will know that Sarah did have a child and she called him Isaac. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead thousands of years later quickened Sarah's infertile womb, and she was able to give birth.

Are you in the winter of your years? Do you feel useless, infertile, unproductive? God doesn't say that. Psalm 92: 14 says, "They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing."

God had made a promise to Sarah and Abraham and, even though it was long in coming, He kept His promise. He has also made promises to you. Stand on His promises, and don't be discouraged. It is never too late.

To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the publication of Women For All Seasons, I'm giving away five copies randomly from now until the end of the month when you subscribe to this blog. You'll also receive my monthly newsletter with articles and Christian news from around the world. So don't miss out on your chance. Sign up today.   

Lessons From My Orchid

The orchid you see in this picture was once as beautiful as it is now, then after a while, it became withered,

the blooms fell off, and it looked pretty sad. I had two options: keep it and try to restore it, or throw it away. After considering for a few weeks, I decided to take the uncertain route. I would repot the thing and see what happened. I went down to the garden store, bought a nice terra cotta pot and some orchid potting soil. Armed with these, I faced the poor, unsuspecting plant.

Now this orchid had sent out a lot of leaves and roots, and not being a horticulturist by any means, I wasn't sure how to separate them, but I did my best, and the result is what you see in the picture. As I looked at my lovely orchid this morning, I thought about the way God restores us when we are burnt out, tired and no longer feel capable of bearing fruit. 

Sarah was a woman like that. Well past her child-bearing years, she thought she could no longer fulfill the promise God had made to her and her husband Abraham. God had told her she would have a son, but here she was, already ninety years old. Impossible dream, right? Wrong! Nothing is impossible with God. If I, a novice where orchids are concerned, could transplant an orchid and make it produce beautiful blooms, think what God, the Master Creator can do with us if we would only entrust our broken lives to Him. 

 The Bible says, "Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings" (Isaiah 58: 12).
You don't have to go about feeling like a dried-up plant. God has promised, "Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up" Psalm 71: 20). 
 
"God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill" (Numbers 23: 19).

You can learn more about Sarah and how she received God's promise of a son even though she had been barren most of her life. Just go to Amazon Kindle where you can purchase my book Women For All Seasons for just $2. 99.  

Where Is God?

Have you ever asked yourself that question? If you are like most of us, you have.  But

you are not alone. Other great men and women of the Bible felt that way, and later events proved them wrong.When weeks grow into months and months grow into years and your prayers are not answered, you may despair and think that
God has forgotten you.

Abram wanted an heir, but as he and his wife Sarai grew older and they did not have a child, Abram thought he would have to leave his inheritance to his servant's child. But the Lord said to Abram, "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir" (Genesis 15: 4). 

Abram believed what God told him, but he did not hear from God again, and his wife remained barren. If you know the story, you know what followed. Abram and Sarai became tired of waiting and took matters into their own hands. Sarai gave her maid Hagar to Abram so she could have a child through her. Hagar does become pregnant and has a son whom they call Ishmael. And after all this, God reappears when Abram is ninety-nine years old and his wife, now Sarah, almost ninety and once more tells him that he will have a son,

There are so many lessons in this story about Abraham and Sarah (God changed their names.) During those twenty odd years that they waited for God's promise to be fulfilled they must have asked themselves many times, "Where is God? Why doesn't He answer us?" Abraham and Sarah had a difficult wait, but for many of us, waiting can be painful. If you are ill, in need of a job or have some other pressing problem that doesn't seem to be going away, you may be tempted to give up. Or give in, as Abraham and Sarah did. 

Listen to the complaint of the prophet Habakkuk: "How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save?" And he went on and on to complain about the injustices of his day. But what did the Lord say? "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.  For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. -- but the righteous will live by his faith-- (2: 2 - 4).

Let's live by faith. Don't give up and don't give in.

Related articles

• Whose voice are you hearkening to?
• Grace in the Wilderness (Part One)
• God Keeps His Promises!