A hurricane swept me into a foreign land. I was there to install drinking water filtration systems to meet the acute needs of survivors still in shock from the devastation.
For one installation, we were to integrate filtration components with the surviving mechanical system at a school. We were fortunate to have a team member with experience in this area. It wasn’t me. On the day we were to receive delivery of additional parts, we set out from base camp to the site. We began the urgent task, only to learn the parts were delayed. We spent the day doing what we could.
That evening, we received assignments for the next day. I was to return to the site and complete the installation. My only help would be a non-technical person as a ride-along for security purposes. And so began my struggle to tamp down my lack of confidence. Could I find the parts, complete the system, and produce the urgently needed water? It felt like I was staring into the abyss of impossibility.
Facing impossibilities is part and parcel with Jesus’ plan to strengthen and mature His followers. It is a mystery that God chooses to use believers to carry out His work. To give us maturity and resilience for the work, He allows us to face our limitations. You see this in the story of feeding the 5000 (Mark 6). The disciples saw the impossible problem and suggested Jesus do something about it. The first word out of His mouth was, “You.” He urged them to solve the problem, even after an inventory revealed limited resources. Jesus knew all along that He would make a way to feed the crowd with two fish and five loaves, and the faith of the disciples would become stronger.
Making impossibilities possible is a New Testament theme. Paul had an impossible physical limitation, yet Jesus told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). When facing impossible suffering and need, Paul could bear it because “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). It is impossible to bear spiritual fruit in your life apart from the life of Christ. He said, “He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
That evening I prayed, “Lord I have no idea if I can do this. If at the end of the day we have drinking water to give people, it will be because you provided the resources and knowledge.” And so it was that at the end of day two, we did have drinking water. My confidence in the Lord’s provision grew because I saw Him make the impossible possible.