"I am the Lord , the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me? -- Jeremiah 32: 27 (NLT)
No. Let's cut to the chase today and answer the question up front. No. There is nothing too hard for the Lord. I know the medical report came back bad but there is nothing too hard for the Lord. I understand that your kid has not come home for days but nothing is too hard for the Lord. I see that sometimes we keep circling the same mountain over and over again with seemingly no chance to defeat the enemy but nothing is too hard for the Lord. Nothing.
I am sure that when Joseph's life started that downward spiral he had cause to doubt. Sold into slavery by his brothers Joseph saw God prosper him in the house of Potiphar because nothing is too hard for the Lord. When he was just a 17 year old boy he was tempted by his master's wife and yet he had the strength through God to make the righteous stand. For that he was summarily thrown into prison. Realize today that doing the right thing does not always result in immediate benefit in a world gone mad. Also realize though that Potiphar did not choose to kill Joseph. He certainly could have. He was powerful enough a person in Egypt. It is not like the Egyptian culture was the touchy-feely type. Why then?
The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. -- Genesis 39: 4-5 (NLT)
Potiphar noticed and realized the Lord was with Joseph. People will be paying attention to us beloved and how we react under pressure. Nothing is too hard for the Lord -- even saving a 17 year old boy from certain death. Yet I am sure that Joseph wondered as he sat in prison for ten years for following the law of the Lord. I am sure he wondered if this situation was just too hard for God. Night after night with seemingly no end in sight. The Bible says that God even prospered Joseph in prison! And when the exact moment was right -- God delivered Joseph from that prison to the palace in one day. A lot is preached about those 12 long years but people fail to mention that from that point forward God prospered Joseph for 80 years, spanning the rest of his life. He also used the calamity to reunite him with his family and save the fledgling nation of Israel. Nothing beloved is too hard for the Lord!
The Bible asks if Jesus will find faith on the earth when He returns but I ask if there is any faith left today. With what eyes do we look at our lives and this world? The devil has the church chasing its tail in the last days instead of preaching the Gospel. Chasing a political system that is irrelevant. Chasing the winds of false doctrine to tickle their ears. Watering down Christ in some lame attempt to be relevant or be considered contemporary. Why in the world would the church want to be relevant to a dying culture? The result of a watered down Gospel is a watered down Christ. A watered down faith. The Bible warned us specifically about this during the last days:
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. -- 2Timothy 3: 1-5 (NIV)
Having a form of godliness but denying the real power! That is what we see now across the landscape of churchianity. Plenty of the appearance of religion but a little light on actual relationship. Plenty of hallelujah hop but not so much daily power of Christ. The result is predictable. When the things of this world come against us our faith falters. We act like the fighting men of Israel staring at Goliath. He is too big! He is too tall! He is too mean!
Wait a minute? What God do you serve again? Is it the same God that parted the Red Sea? Is it the same God that allowed Gideon to defeat an army of 120,000 men with only 3,000 of his own? Is it the same God that tore down the indestructible walls of Jericho with a mere shout? What God do you serve? Here was the God as David understood Him:
David asked the men standing near him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" -- 1Samuel 17: 26 (NIV)
David saw Goliath through a God sized lens. The fighting men and even the king of Israel however only saw him through the lens of the world:
Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth." -- 1Samuel 17: 33 (NIV)
The report of the world says that the giant was undefeatable. The report of the enemy will also tell us that what we face is undefeatable. The enemy will constantly try and convince us that the giant is just too big. You'll never overcome. You read the medical report and saw what the doctors said! You read the police report about your kid! You read the pink slip that ended your employment! You saw what happened in Newtown! You see what is going on in DC! What are you going to believe? Your own lying eyes or the Word of our God, who never changes? Nothing is too difficult for the Lord!
Do you think your pink slip caught God by surprise? Do you think that God didn't see your medical report coming? What God do you serve again? I do not know where this writing finds you. I understand that sometimes the answer to our prayers is "no" and that might be the biggest test of our faith yet. But realize this today -- nearly every time in the ministry of Jesus someone received something He always said it was done to them according to their faith. We are not casual passer-bys in this life. We are meant to play an active role in our own salvation! The Bible says we are to "work out" our salvation with fear and trembling.
God is not some cartoon cut out that we sing songs about on Sunday. He is the maker of the heavens and spoke the entire universe into existence with a single word. He sees us exactly where we are and knows exactly what we need. He is working all things out for our good because we love Him and are called according to His purpose. He is the God of all the peoples of the world. Is there anything -- anything at all -- too hard for Him?
NO.
Rev. Anthony.
