God of the Impossible

READ: LUKE 8:22-56

Who doesn’t love a good superhero movie? It’s fun to imagine someone “somewhere out there” who’s not bound by the laws of nature like we are—someone who comes to the rescue when weak earthlings find themselves in trouble they can’t escape. While many of us daydream of being a superhero, I think many of us also have a craving to be rescued by a superhero.

And those dreams of a rescuer are not that far off. If you’re familiar with the true stories found in the Bible, you know that unpredictable, unexplainable, unimaginable rescue stories appear quite frequently in both the Old and New Testaments. Think about it: a boy defeating a giant with one stone, a man kept alive in a pit of hungry lions, a raging storm stilled in an instant, thousands upon thousands of people crossing the Red Sea on dry ground, a man healed from lifelong blindness, a twelve-year-old girl brought back from the dead…and the God of the universe becoming human to defeat the devil in the most unexpected way—by dying and rising again. The angel Gabriel was right: “nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).

The beautiful thing is that the God who performed all these wonders is the same God who loves us today. He is always doing wonderful things, we just have to open our eyes to see. A friend once told me, “God does His best work in the impossible.” In fact, the cross is how we know that nothing is impossible for God. On the cross, Jesus accomplished the impossible—and He did it for you.

What impossible things are you facing in your life? Give them to the Lord. Be like Jairus, a man who came to Jesus in his darkest hour. Jesus told Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe…” (Luke 8:50). Then Jesus raised his daughter from the dead. In the same way, we can go to Jesus with any need, trusting Him to work in every situation for our good and to right every wrong in His perfect timing. Life in God’s kingdom is better than any story Hollywood can create—because we can always count on the God who calls Himself our Rescuer. • Emily Rudolph

• Why do you think there are so many movies about superheroes? Which is your favorite?

• Read Ephesians 3:14-21. What does this passage reveal about God’s power?

• What impossible but wonderful things does God promise His people, either now or when Jesus returns? (If you want to dig deeper, read Matthew 28:20; John 5:17; 14:15-31; Romans 8:18-39; Philippians 4:11-13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Peter 3:8-13; 1 John 5:11-15; Revelation 21:1-5)

“For nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 1:37 (CSB)