Called to the Impossible

Good morning all,


Once again Michael Card has struck my imagination and shared words of wisdom that connect and inspire. For years I have talked about how God calls us to things that are beyond our own natural gifts, talents and abilities because when they come to pass our only possible response is "look what the Lord has done." When we accomplish things that we are capable of within our own strength, gifts and resources we face the very strong temptation to say, "look what I have done!" God doesn't want us lost to self pride but equally He wants to work through us to grow His kingdom so when He calls, He calls to things that are impossible without God.

In my own life I find this to be true when I compare preaching and counseling. I have always been a capable public speaker, so when I have a fortunate day of preaching a good sermon, while I know it is the work of God I could be tempted to think, "look at what a good preacher I AM!" but when I am fortunate enough to be able to help someone through counseling that temptation doesn't exist because I know I have no natural aptitude for counseling. In fact, that was one of my concerns about becoming a pastor. My background had stripped me of empathy and created a mindset towards counseling along the lines of "suck it up; get over it; and get back in the game!" While there are times that needs to be said in counseling, it cannot be the paradigm from which you do it all. When I see words of compassion and support and understanding come out of my "counseling" mouth, I cannot help but think, "look what the Lord has done!"

Today Michael Card shared the same sentiment but in the terms of us being slaves to Jesus specifically talking about Mary. Read his words as they are much more eloquent than anything I could type.

"Mary is a slave to an impossible demand, for the virgin to bear a Son. The call of God is always impossible. To impotent Abram and sterile Sarai he says, 'Make a son.' To the young virgin who sees herself simply as a slave kneeling at the feet of an angel he says, 'You will have a Son.' To become obedient to his call always means becoming a slave to the impossible. He asks us to do the impossible (like loving our enemies) knowing that the impossibility of the task will always drive us back to him, our Master, without whom even Jesus would say we can do nothing." from A Better Freedom: Finding Life as Slaves of Christ by Michael Card

God calls us to the impossible, because the impossible is only possible with Him. A call to the impossible forces us to expectantly depend upon Him to do something incredible and to give Him the glory when it comes to pass. What impossible thing is God calling you to today?

Your brother in Christ,
Faron