October 10, 2018

God of the Impossible

“Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

– 2 Chronicles 20:12

I love this passage in 2 Chronicles. God’s people were facing an army they had no chance of defeating. It was an impossible situation. But, then, that’s where God shines the brightest.

Jehoshaphat inquired of the LORD and He answered them with a powerful victory. God turned a hopeless situation into a triumph.

As I write this, Hurricane Michael batters our area. It is the worst hurricane to strike the Gulf Coast in more than a century. We have no idea yet how bad the destruction is but we know the area we love is destroyed. It will never be the same.

Hurricane Eloise hit just below Panama City in 1975. It was a Category 3. Hurricane Michael is a Category 4. Eloise forever changed the area, destroying so much. Michael, too, has destroyed many homes and businesses, landmarks and roads. A hospital has received major damage. And the unrelenting rain and wind continues.

Life is like that sometimes. We are weary and weakened by the continual onslaught of illness, financial troubles, family issues, job stress and all the other issues that come at us every day. We want relief. We want peace. We want a break from it all.

We focus on all we face instead of the God who can save us.

In recent days, we’ve seen people panicked over what was coming and what they could not change. Some of the nervousness is understandable. It’s been awhile since we’ve faced a major hurricane. Some in our area have never faced one.

But, really, what can we do? We can prepare with water and flashlights and plenty of food that doesn’t need refrigeration or reheating. We can heed the warnings of officials and stay off the roads. We can pray and trust God to keep us safe.

There’s good that comes from storms like this. We tend to focus on what’s important. We tend to reach out and help others. We look beyond ourselves. We see others. We become a little kinder as we realize how fragile life can be.

I wish we could take those lessons into the days that will come when we’re headed toward recovery. We never do. But we can enjoy the time we have when people remember what’s important.

Tomorrow we expect the sun to come out. I’ll be out clearing the driveway and checking fences and being thankful for what didn’t happen. Others will let the shock of loss settle in, facing an uncertain future after the loss of all their material possessions. We will reach out. We will help them as we can.

And we will remember on the hard days that God is there in the impossible. When the days are long and hard, He takes our hands and guides us. All we have to do is cry out to Him. That’s it. God is right there waiting for us to ask Him into our impossible situation.