Delighting in the Impossible

"Come," He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"

A friend sent this quote to me today. Reading it, I found myself nearly in tears. Peter was overwhelmed with the impossibility of the situation which he found himself facing. Humans do not have the capacity to walk on water. It is an impossibility, not capable of being accomplished. Like Peter, I find myself with many things on my plate which feel overwhelming, impossible. The verb overwhelm can be defined as “to surge over and submerge, to engulf; to defeat completely and decisively; to affect deeply in mind or emotion.” Peter was in danger of being engulfed by the waves around him. I suddenly find myself confronted with many new things, the sum of which seems overwhelming. Some of these things are overwhelming simply in their novelty, others seem at times to be insurmountable obstacles, while yet others are tasks that I don’t feel I am capable of accomplishing, impossible. But then I noticed what caused Peter to attempt the impossible and face the overwhelming odds: it wasn’t his own motivation for glory, it was hardly an unhealthy sense of adventure, it certainly wasn’t because he lost his mind and forgot that people cannot stand on the water. No. When Peter stepped out of the safety of his boat, he was thinking of one thing: His Master’s call to come. Like Peter, it’s so easy to forgot why I stepped out of the boat and to focus instead on the impossibility of the situations in which I find myself. It’s tempting to let my mind and heart be engulfed and defeated by the overwhelming nature of my circumstances. But then I am reminded of the One who called me out of the boat, and I remember that the One who lives in me is One who delights in the impossible. Nothing is too hard for HIM. In the words of Lilias Trotter, “Let us dare to test God's resources...Let us ask Him to kindle in us and keep aflame that passion for the impossible that shall make us delight in it with Him, till the day when we shall see it transformed into a fact.” I love that - not only do we not despair in the face of the impossible, but we delight in it with Him!

“We step right out with recognition of God in some things, then self-consideration enters our lives and down we go. If you are truly recognizing your Lord, you have no business being concerned about how and where He engineers your circumstances…If you debate for even one second when God has spoken, it is all over for you…Be reckless immediately-totally unrestrained and willing to risk everything-by casting your all on Him…be determined to recklessly abandon yourself, surrendering everything to Him. It is only through abandonment of yourself and your circumstances that you will recognize Him…be willing to risk your all.” Oswald Chambers-

Help me see with eyes of faith
Give me strength to run this race

And I will go where there are no easy roads
Leave the comforts that I know
I will go and let this journey be my home
I will go