Nothing Is Impossible

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

The gospel of Luke starts off by telling the story of an amazing miracle. Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, who was well into her nineties, became pregnant with the son they had been praying for for roughly seventy years. But when the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah to tell him the news, Zechariah didn’t have the most confident response.

Instead he said, “…How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years” (Luke 1:18). Think about this. Here is an angel of God telling him he is going to have a baby and he still doesn’t believe it. He says, “I am old, but my wife is well along in years.” In other words, he is saying, “I am old, and I still think I am up to it, but my wife is so old that Moses is in her high school yearbook.”

In reality, Zechariah does have a point. He said, “Look, the ground is no longer fertile. The seed is no longer fresh. The farmer is no longer full of energy, yet you are going to tell me that we can still expect a crop?” Listen to the angel’s response,

“…I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time” (Luke 1:19-20).

Listen to the last statement Gabriel said, “which will come true at their appointed time.” God had this day marked on His calendar before Elizabeth and Zechariah were even born. He had been listening to every prayer. He heard every word and He had been moving in the events of the world, in the hearts of the rulers in power to bring both Zechariah and Elizabeth and Israel to this point in time.

In other words, nothing is impossible with God. Regardless of the timing or the methods or the confines of our humanity, God can do anything in order to accomplish His will. He proved that in Zechariah’s case, and He can prove it again in your life as well. So don’t ever doubt God. Trust that even when all hope seems lost, God can still come through. Nothing is impossible with Him.

Dear Lord, thank you for the wonderful reminder that comes from Zechariah’s and Elizabeth’s story. Help me to never forget that nothing is impossible with you. You are not limited to what makes sense in my mind, for you can accomplish anything you want to. Give me the faith to believe that. Amen.