3 Ways to Do the Impossible
Overcoming what can’t be overcome
1. Focus on the Finish
Have you ever ridden a motorcycle? Ask anyone experienced with riding how to avoid hitting walls when you approach the turn fast and they will tell you this, “keep looking on where you want to go, do not look at the wall or you will go right into it.”
If you stare at a semi beside you, you will start drifting that way.
If you look at your friend while walking, you might bump into them.
If you walk and text you might… never mind just don’t do that.
If you keep your eyes straight ahead, you will go straight ahead.
Before you start, you have to know what you’re going after.
If you’re going to start dating someone and are thinking about marriage, I really hope that you have marriage in mind and in your focus when you are dating that special someone. And, then you’ll know that when the actions don’t consistently align with where you want to be, you have to make a change.
But, without a clear picture of where you’re trying to get to, you’ll have an incredibly difficult time knowing if you’re making proper progress.
Just because your boss is rude for a week or two does not mean that you are excluded from the promotion that you want, maybe their child is misbehaving and they’re more stressed than typically.
To do the impossible, you have to be laser-focused on where you re trying to go.
“If you stop doing the things that you did to get you here, you’ll damage and destroy the foundation needed to get you where you want to go next.”
2. Discern who you’re listening to
I wrote about this previously, here: One Question I Always Ask Today
When you get into troubling situations, you need somewhere to look.
Do you call your mom every time you get lost to ask for directions? Probably not. You probably learned how to drive and then she sent you off on your own.
If you are leaving work and can’t remember how to get to the restaurant your mom is meeting you at, you’d have much greater success by asking her rather than your 5-year-old baby brother.
There are voices everywhere and depending on what you are seeking, you can quite easily be led astray.
It’s essential that we know on the front end what we are looking for. Who do we trust? Who do we lean on? Who is going to tell us what we need to hear rather than just what we want to hear?
Before we do the work and get into the weeds, we have to know who is around us and set the proper foundation.
3. Go into battle with the Holy One
One more important thing than all others is to walk in step with God. Our Lord and Father is a masterful warrior. He is not a God of violence yet a God of justness and peace. He conquered evil. He conquered death. He provided for us, sanctification. Eternal sanctification.
The third way to do the impossible is to put on our spiritual armor and go into battle with our Creator.
He has already defeated the evil one. The Bible declares that the evil one comes only to kill, steal, and destroy. But, that doesn’t have to be your story.
We must lean on God in times of trouble and in times of triumph.
Do you know what it means to put on your spiritual armor? Maybe it’s a new concept for you so I’d challenge you to read the following verses very slowly and prayerfully.
Putting on your spiritual armor:
The Armor of God
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” — Ephesians 6:10–18 NIV
I won’t spend time in this piece breaking down everything granularly but I will say this, spend time visually examining each item. The belt of truth, buckle it with me. The breastplate of righteousness, fasten it carefully. The shield of faith, hold is steady. The helmet of salvation, set it carefully so your eyes are on that straight and narrow path with your eyes on Jesus. The sword of the Spirit, learn it and practice it.
Pray.
Pray.
Pray some more.
There are so many great books about prayer, I again, won’t spend thousands of words talking about that now but here are a few resources:
The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson
Drawing the Circle both by Mark Batterson
Transforming Prayer by Daniel Henderson
Crazy Love by Francis Chan
“If you seek answers you won’t find them, but if you seek God, the answers will find you.” — Mark Batterson
“Leaders in God’s work would do well to remember that principle. Prayer is primary — but not theoretical prayer. Prayer that gets the job done includes the conviction, ‘I’m available, Lord — ready and willing.’” — Francis Chan
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