Impossible Odds

I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but God likes to show off when a situation looks impossible.  Take David and Goliath for example, a young shepherd boy against a giant Philistine. When Goliath repeatedly comes out taunting the Israelites, and David steps up to the challenge.  A young man with a sling and a stone, against a giant who trained from his youth with sword and javelin.  But David knows a little something about the God he serves.

 

And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Samuel 37). 

Or the showdown of altars in the book of Kings.  Elijah challenges those who are following Baal.  The challenge was to prepare an altar with a bull on it without any flame.  Then call out to their god and the one who answers is God.  As they called out all morning with no avail, Elijah instigates, “call louder, maybe he’s away, or perhaps sleeping.”  When Elijah’s turn came to call on God, he saturated his altar, not once but twice with water.  Then he calls on God,

“Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood, stones, and dust.  When the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God” (1 Kings 18:37-40). 

Or when the disciples watched Jesus’ death on the cross.  Even though He repeatedly told them about His death and resurrection, they were slow to catch on.  In that moment when Jesus cried out, it is finished on the cross, I’m sure they felt the weight of Jesus’ death.  But three days later, Jesus appeared as He said He would, defeating all impossible odds, even death. 

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).

Thank you Jesus for your VICTORY, thank you for turning our hearts back to you!