God Is Not Limited by Our Fears

         

         

Over the past few days, I have been reflecting on the 2023 Christmas season. This past Christmas season, I claimed a verse that is part of the Biblical Christmas narrative. It’s a verse you rarely, if ever, find on Christmas cards or in carols. The verse I repeated to myself (I even put it on the letter board in my kitchen so I wouldn’t forget to rehearse it) was Luke 1:37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Did you realize that is part of the Biblical Christmas narrative? I am not sure that I did. I had heard and memorized that verse (it is nice and short!), but I was unsure of the context.

Here is how this verse was brought to my attention in a fresh way this past December.

If you were at church on Christmas Eve for the morning service, you witnessed a never-seen-before event. I was part of the Christmas drama and musical. The musical part is not unusual for me. I play instruments and sing, and I am excited to worship God with the gifts He has given me. When asked to be an angel in the summer months, I said yes, assuming I was a singing angel. Lo and behold, this angel would be part of the drama.

Oh no, this is not my gift. Whoa – this is way too much. Perhaps I will be sick. Maybe I will contract laryngitis. People! I was not expecting this and was obviously a little freaked out by this finding.

Once I calmed down, I went to God with this. He already knew my protests and why I thought this was a seemingly impossible situation. But He lovingly listens to the cries of His children’s hearts.

I started reading the lines from my scene derived from Luke 1. And, yes, this is where I landed on Luke 1:37. It was as if God was shining these words in a neon sign.

“Nothing will be impossible with God.”

These words are spoken by the angel Gabriel after he tells Mary that she will conceive and bear a son. Now, in Mary’s situation, this indeed was an impossible turn of events, humanly speaking. She was a virgin. There is no way she could be expecting a child! The angel tells her that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and the power of the Most High will overshadow her. The child to be born would be holy.

I must admit, the situation I felt to be impossible seems pretty minor in light of what Mary was asked to do! Mary’s response displays her faith in God’s plan. In Luke 1:38, Mary says, “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Mary could have said – whoa, whoa, whoa, this plan is way too hard and ran. Instead, she chose to trust the plan of the Most High even though it stretched her way out of her comfort zone. Her life’s plans, her reputation in her village, and her engagement to Joseph all stood to be radically changed and potentially marred! Mary was a young girl (perhaps in her early teen years), but she knew who her God was, and she chose to obey Him regardless of how stretching the situation seemed at that moment.

Truly, my so-called dilemma was quite petty, considering Mary’s. However, God taught me much about my faith in the past few months. I often limit God and get in such a frenzy when I don’t understand His ways. Rehearsing that verse and remembering its context has been a valuable meditation for me through the Christmas season and into the beginning of 2024.

Update about the drama – I rehearsed my lines often. I fumbled through them at rehearsals. I kept reciting Luke 1:37 to myself (out loud and sometimes in my head). And, by the grace of God, I made it through the lines! He is a good God. Nothing is impossible with Him! There is no problem that is too insignificant or too large that you can’t bring to Him in prayer. He desires relationship with His children and loves to hear our prayers (Prov.15:8).

There are many other ways that I have seen God work in incredible ways despite seemingly impossible odds in my life. How quickly I forget that my God is ultimate in power and wisdom! The baby born in Bethlehem is The King; He rules over all situations and circumstances!

How have you witnessed God do the “impossible” in your life? Perhaps this week, you could share with a friend, family member or someone in your growth group how God has done the impossible for you.

Job 42:2 “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.”