The God of Impossible Things

May 5, 2020 Pastor Clay

Our God is the God of impossible things! It is expressed a number of times in the Bible, “nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). It is expressed different ways, “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14); “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). Jesus said it five times! It is always attached to God actually doing something that is impossible. And He does it effortlessly. He is the God of impossible things.

An event in the Old Testament history of Israel confirms this truth to us. It is the whole story of Nehemiah. I would like to share with you who he was, what He asked God to do, and what God made happen. God did things that seemed impossible and I want you to know that He is still the God of impossible things.

Cupbearer to the King

Nehemiah had a rather good job, considering he was a slave and did not have much choice in the matter. He was enslaved because his nation was in captivity, a long way from home, speaking a different language, living in a different culture. His job was the cupbearer to the king. He was a waiter of sorts, but only of the things the king drank. There was an element of risk, he had to drink out of it first to see that it was not poisoned, but that was just a precaution and he lived in court, always in the presence of the king, well dressed, well fed. Not a highly skilled job except for the social graces.

There were passions that fueled the soul of this cupbearer. Not that he was in much of a position to follow them, but still they burned inside. One was his faith in the Lord, the God of Israel. Yet another was his enslaved people getting to return to their homeland. Still another was for the City of Jerusalem, to return it to its former glory.

God of impossible things - Jerusalem — **Jerusalem**

The Wall of Jerusalem is Broken Down

Some people in the empire came and went there, and his brother Hanani was one of them. Nehemiah asked them about the Jews who had escaped and were living there, as well as the condition of Jerusalem. They reported, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire” (Nehemiah 1:3).

Nehemiah was Heartbroken

This broke his heart to where he cried, mourned, fasted, and prayed for days before God. He wanted to do something. But what could he do? Taking a drink, handing the cup to the king, and looking good doing it were not much background to rebuild a city. He was no engineer. Furthermore, he did not have the freedom to go anywhere at any time. He had no money, he had no help, no building materials. And if the king saw him crying or even sad, he would get the death penalty, you didn’t do that in front of the king.

Nehemiah didn’t feel like he could even ask God for something

Not only that, he had to be honest with himself, he couldn’t even in good conscience ask God to bless Israel. He confessed the sins of his nation, “We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the ordinances which You commanded your servant Moses” (Nehemiah 1:7). That was why God let them be enslaved in the first place, as a judgment. He had warned them it would happen if they turned away from Him and they did not listen. So Nehemiah’s tears were also because he didn’t feel like he could even ask God for something. Ever feel like that?

Nehemiah’s faith was in the God of the Impossible

But still He prayed. “Make your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man” (Nehemiah 1:11). He was going to not only ask the king to let him go rebuild Jerusalem, he was going to ask him for the money, and the materials. How audacious is that? How impossible is that? Why should the king let him go, much less spend money on it? Rebuild a defeated foe’s city? It would be a laugh to think that a guy in an Armani robe with a gold wineglass could be a construction foreman. But Nehemiah’s faith was in the God of the impossible.

The risk came when Nehemiah went in his customary way, and he had a face on. The king asked why he was sad even though he wasn’t sick. Nehemiah was shaking in his sandals. So he spilled it out, how he was hurt that “the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs lies desolate and its gates have been consumed with fire” (Nehemiah 2:3). The king was nice, “what would you request” (Nehemiah 2:4). Nehemiah was praying fast and furious inside.

Not only did the king give it all to him, he sent troops along to protect him!

He laid it all out, he had thought it through. He gave him a plan, a definite time, and asked for letters to pass through the territories and to the keeper of the king’s forest for materials to build it with. Not only did the king give it all to him, he sent troops along to protect him! Why did the king do this? “The king granted them to me because the good hand of my God was on me” (Nehemiah 2:8). Our God is the God of the impossible.

No skill, no money, no freedom, only a passion to make it happen, and faith that God could do the impossible. The wall was completed in fifty two days (Nehemiah 6:15).

Can we believe God for the impossible?

Do you have something in your life that seems completely impossible? Something that you have a deep passion for? Something that is broken that needs fixed? Or something you really want to happen? Know that our God is the God of the impossible, the same God to whom Nehemiah prayed. Maybe you don’t have the resources or the skill to fix it? Neither did Nehemiah. Can we believe God for the impossible?

You might say, “my faith is not that strong”. Let me share a story in closing that might help you along. A man had a son, longtime demon possessed, entirely insane. He asked Jesus “‘If You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!’ And Jesus said to him, ‘If You can? All things are possible to him who believes’”. Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, ‘I do believe; help my unbelief’” (Mark 9:22-24). That was enough faith. Could we go with “I do believe; help my unbelief”?