Impossible is the Norm Numbers 13:27,28

Numbers 13:27,28 (NASB95) ²⁷ Thus they [the 12 spies] told him [Moses] and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. ²⁸ “Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there.

Maybe the biggest challenge in life is to look at circumstances, or what you could call, life as it really is, and to know what circumstances should be accepted as they are and which ones should and can be changed.  And many of them will look impossible to change.

Our Bible text is Numbers 13:27,28.  God had promised His chosen people a land to live in, a land flowing with milk and honey.  They were slaves in a foreign country, and He brought them out through a series of miracles, culminating in an event which was a picture of Jesus’ death on our behalf to redeem us from sin and slavery and death.

But it wasn’t just enough to bring them out of their bondage.  He wanted them to live in a land of abundance, this land flowing with milk and honey.

When they arrived at this land, Moses, their leader, sent out 12 spies to look at the land and report back to them what they saw.  The verses at the top [we read] were the beginning of their report.  The descendants of Anak, a race of giants, were there.  Like Goliath, only a lot of them.  The cities were well-fortified, and though the land was everything they were told it was, taking the land would be impossible.

I venture to say that that is the norm, and we should get used to it.

Things that look impossible to us are not impossible with God.  Well, yes, we know all that.  God can do anything.  Our problem is believing that He will.  Or even wants to.

All things are possible to the one who believes.  Mark 9:23

Well, there are a lot of impossible things in the world.  Can we believe for any of them? 

The Bible contains stories about a lot of ‘impossible’ things happening, but they are not random wonders like a magician doing tricks.  God has a mission in the world, and we are not to judge its viability or the chances of its success by whether it seems plausible or not. 

We are to look to God and the Bible to see what God wants to do in the world and then look to God to make it happen without being sidetracked by how impossible it might be.  The classic example of this is Peter in Matthew 14:22-33, where Peter actually walked on water, albeit briefly, as long as he could keep his focus on Jesus and not on the impossibility of what he was doing. 

But I am saying, expect that a lot of the things that you will think God wants you to do will look impossible with no chance of success that you can see.  Now you need to keep your focus on God and not on the impossible thing that needs to be changed.