Readings for today: Nehemiah 1-5, Acts 2:1-41
I just returned home after 24 days in Africa. We hosted four training conferences in four different regions of Uganda and Ethiopia. We trained and interviewed and prayed over 743 indigenous church planters from South Sudan, Uganda, and Ethiopia. 351 of those are brand new church planters who were commissioned and sent out to villages where they have never heard the gospel. These men and women go out as sheep amidst wolves. They contend against very real spiritual forces of evil. They are often persecuted and beaten and imprisoned and threatened with death by witch doctors, Muslim imams, and other followers of pagan, tribal religions. Some even pay the ultimate price for their faithfulness. From a human perspective, the task they face is impossible. The challenges are insurmountable. There is no rational way they can possibly succeed. They have no political power. Very little in the way of worldly wealth. They lack education. And yet God is using them to change the world, one village at a time.
Our God specializes in doing the impossible. Our God loves to show up when the odds are stacked against us. He does His best work when all hope seems lost. Consider the dire straits of the people living in Jerusalem. They had been faithful. They had answered God’s call. They had left their lives in Babylon to return home to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. They had rededicated themselves to living according to God’s Law under the leadership of Ezra. But they were still oppressed. Still at the mercy of the enemies who surrounded them. They had no protection. No way of defending themselves. The lack of a city wall was an open invitation to marauders to come in and destroy all they had worked so hard to build. I am sure many requests had been made over the years to the Persian kings to rebuild the city. All had been turned aside. The rebellious reputation of their city was well-known. The Persians purposefully left it in ruins to serve as a deterrent to the region. Decades of royal precedent stood in their way. The sheer size and scope of a potential rebuilding project was overwhelming. The political opposition was powerful and well-connected. In short, a change seemed impossible.
But Nehemiah believed God could do the impossible. So he prayed for the impossible. For days he prayed and fasted and wept before the Lord. He cried out to God on behalf of his people. He cried out to God on behalf of his city. He cried out to God to be faithful to His promises. But Nehemiah didn’t just pray for the impossible, he also prepared for the impossible. He prepared for the day when he would be given the opportunity to present his request to the king. He put together a timeline for the project. Made a list of the materials he would need. When Artaxerxes asked him what he needed to make it all happen, he was ready and the king agreed. Finally, Nehemiah didn’t just pray for the impossible. He didn’t just prepare for the impossible. When the time came, he stepped out in faith to do the impossible. Like Noah building the ark before the rain or Moses stepping into the Red Sea before it parted or the widow of Zeraphath feeding Elijah her last cake before her jars of oil and flour refilled; Nehemiah went forward trusting the hand of the Lord to be upon him. He knew the project would be daunting. He knew the people would get discouraged. He knew the opposition would be fierce. But he never wavered in his faith. He knew God could do the impossible. “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build…” (Nehemiah 2:20)
Jesus once said, “Ask and you will receive.” James once said, “You have not because you ask not or you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions.” You see, the reason we do not see God do the impossible is often because we do not ask for it or we do not ask for it rightly. We are far too content with our lives. We settle for comfort and security when all the while Jesus is calling us to risk everything for Kingdom-greatness. The men and women I train have nothing so they rely on God for everything. They pray in expectation for miracles to take place and God answers their prayers. He does the impossible by healing the sick, delivering the demonic, and raising the dead. He does the impossible by converting witch doctors and Muslim imams. Sacred trees are cut down to build church buildings. Mosques become Christian houses of worship. Yes, they suffer. Yes, some of them even die. But they keep their eyes on Christ. They belong to a Kingdom that is not of this world. It’s simply incredible to witness. Nehemiah risked it all as well. He gave up the comfort and security of the king’s court to take on the impossible task of rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. He prayed in expectation that God would be faithful. He prepared in expectation that God would answer his prayers and change the heart of the king. He took action in expectation that the hand of God would be with him until the project was complete.
God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He’s the same over here as He is over in Africa. He’s the same today as He was back in Nehemiah’s time. He’s still the God of the impossible. So what impossible thing are you facing in your life today? What insurmountable challenge is confronting you right now? Are you willing to give it to God? Are you willing to surrender it to God? Are you willing to leave it in God’s hands and trust Him with the outcome? Will you commit to pray for the impossible? Prepare for the impossible? And when God calls, step out in faith to do the impossible?
Readings for tomorrow: Nehemiah 6-8, Acts 2:42-3:10