I don't know if you're like me, but one good night of sleep erases most of my perspective ... and each morning I need to "go find it again" by picking up my Bible and reading it. I need to continually refocus on the truths of Scripture, which teach me that nothing is impossible with God.
One of my favorite Bible verses (which I discovered on my own, while reading my new Bible in college) is Jeremiah 32:17, which reads:
"Ah, Sovereign Lord, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for Thee!"
Indeed, nothing is too difficult, too hard, for God to do. So, why do we live our lives like this isn't true?
The 100
A number of years ago, I decided to comb the Bible for evidence that God does so-called 'impossible' things, and I came up with a list of 100. Without further ado, what follows is that list. May the Lord use these 100 reminders of His peerless power to give you hope in the midst of our dark times.
- Creation ... Genesis 1-2
- The Flood ... Genesis 6-7
- Sarah births Isaac at age 90 ... Genesis 18
- God spares Isaac on Mt. Moriah ... Genesis 22
- Esau doesn’t kill Jacob ... Genesis 33
- Joseph’s rise to #2 in Egypt ... Genesis 41
- A bush burns, unconsumed ... Exodus 3
- Plague 1: Blood ... Exodus 7
- Plague 2: Frogs ... Exodus 8
- Plague 3: Gnats ... Exodus 8
- Plague 4: Flies ... Exodus 8
- Plague 5: Livestock ... Exodus 9
- Plague 6: Boils ... Exodus 9
- Plague 7: Hail ... Exodus 9
- Plague 8: Locusts ... Exodus 10
- Plague 9: Darkness ... Exodus 10
- Plague 10: Death of Firstborn/Passover ... Exodus 11
- Red Sea split in half ... Exodus 14
- Manna and Quail from nowhere ... Exodus 16
- Water from a dry rock ... Exodus 17
- Aaron’s staff buds ... Numbers 17
- Jordan river splits when crossed ... Joshua 3
- 7x around Jericho and walls fall ... Joshua 5
- Sun ‘stands still’: 24 hr illumination ... Joshua 10
- Gideon’s fleece/victory with only 300 ... Judges 6
- Ruth gets married (against all odds) ... Ruth 1-4
- Hannah (infertile) has baby Samuel ... 1 Samuel 1
- David gets picked to be king ... 1 Samuel 16
- David defeats Goliath ... 1 Samuel 17
- David escapes death repeatedly ... 1 Samuel 23, etc.
- God shows up for Elijah on Mt. Carmel ... 1 Kings 18
- Widow’s oil replenishes over and over ... 2 Kings 4
- Shunammite’s son raised from dead ... 2 Kings 4
- Naaman’s leprosy removed ... 2 Kings 5
- Shunammite, after 7 yr, gets land back ... 2 Kings 8
- Axhead floats ... 2 Kings 6
- Hezekiah’s prayer answered ... 2 Kings 18
- Jehoshaphat’s victory ... 2 Chronicles 20
- Nehemiah rebuilds wall in 52 days ... Nehemiah 6
- King’s dream humiliates Haman ... Esther 6
- Haman hung on own gallows ... Esther 7
- Daniel ok on just veggies and water ... Daniel 1
- Daniel told the dream & interpretation ... Daniel 2
- 3 friends escape burning furnace ... Daniel 3
- Hand writes on the wall ... Daniel 5
- Daniel escapes lions’ den ... Daniel 6
- Virgin birth of Jesus ... Matthew 1
- Cana water turned to wine ... John 2
- Lepers healed ... Mark 1
- Centurion’s paralyzed servant healed ... Matthew 8
- Storm instantly calmed ... Mark 4
- Gerasene demoniac healed ... Mark 5
- Another paralyzed man healed ... Mark 2
- 12 yr-old girl raised from dead ... Mark 5
- Old hemorrhaging woman healed ... Mark 5
- Blind man #1 healed ... Matthew 9:27-31
- Blind man #2 healed ... Mark 8:22-26
- Blind man #3 healed ... Matthew 12:22
- Blind man #4 healed ... Matthew 20:29-34
- Blind man #5 healed ... John 9
- Jesus feeds 5000 with almost nothing ... Luke 9
- Jesus does it again later with 4000 ... Mark 8
- Jesus walks on water ... Matthew 14
- Demon-possessed boy is made well ... Mark 9
- 2-person Tax- coin pulled from fish mouth ... Matthew 17
- Fig tree withers ... Matthew 21
- Resurrection ... All 4 Gospels
- Deaf/Mute man healed ... Mark 7
- Zechariah goes mute, then speaks ... Luke 1
- Angels speak to shepherds ... Luke 2
- Star comes up in the East to guide ... Matthew 2
- Huge catch of fish, #1 ... Luke 5
- Huge catch of fish, #2 ... John 21
- Widow’s dead son raised to life ... Luke 7
- Ten lepers are all healed simultaneously ... Luke 17
- 2 men on Emmaus Rd meet alive Jesus ... Luke 24
- Many resurrection appearances of Jesus ... All 4 Gospels
- Jesus knows Samaritan woman’s marital status ... John 4
- Invalid man (for 38 years) healed at Bethesda ... John 5
- Heals man with severed ear ... Luke 22:49-51
- Lazarus raised from dead ... John 11
- Soldiers fall to ground at Jesus’ words ... John 18
- Pentecost tongues & gospel proclamation ... Acts 2
- Crippled beggar healed ... Acts 3
- Ananias and Sapphira killed on the spot ... Acts 5
- Apostles heal many ... Acts 5
- Ethiopian Eunuch reading Isaiah 53 ... Acts 8
- Saul knocked down, converted ... Acts 9
- Paralyzed Aeneas healed ... Acts 9
- Tabitha raised from dead ... Acts 9
- Peter’s “Sheet vision” ... Acts 10
- Peter’s escape from prison ... Acts 12
- Paul recovers from stoning ... Acts 14
- Vision of the Macedonian man ... Acts 16
- Paul and Silas sprung from jail ... Acts 17
- Lord speaks to Paul in vision ... Acts 18
- Handkerchiefs and aprons heal sick ... Acts 19:11-12
- Eutychus raised from dead ... Acts 20
- Paul predicts shipwreck ... Acts 27
- Paul snake-bit, but lives ... Acts 28
Of course, the most "impossible" thing that God has done is sending His One and Only Son to literally die in the place of rebellious sinners like you and me. Someone put it like this: "God treated Jesus as though He were me; and in exchange, He treats me as though I were Him." Impossible! No, amazingly possible, because of our Hero and Elder Brother, the Lord Jesus.