Do you remember the four-minute mile? Athletes had been trying to beat this time since the days of the ancient Greeks. Someone found some old documents of how the Greeks tried to accomplish this. They had wild animals chase the runners, hoping that would make them run faster. They tried tiger’s milk: not the stuff you get down at the supermarket, I’m talking about the real thing.
Nothing worked, so they decided it was physically impossible for a human being to run a mile in four minutes. Our bone structure was all wrong, the wind resistance was too great, our lung power was inadequate. There were a million reasons.
Then one day, on May 6, 1954, a 25 year old man named Roger Bannister proved that the doctors, the trainers, and the athletes themselves were all wrong. On a cold wet track he ran a mile in 3 minutes 59 seconds. 46 days later at man named John Landy ran it in 3 minutes 58 seconds. A year later three more people did it. To date, more than 1400 people have done something that was said to be impossible.
Because it was said to be impossible, people believed it was impossible. They believed it for hundreds of years. It’s amazing what we think is impossible. Sadly, we demonstrate this lack of faith towards God. We’ll often speak of a situation that looks bleak that it’s impossible.
Yet, my Bible says something different.
Matthew 19:26 says, “But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Jeremiah 32:17 - “Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”
Genesis 18:14 - “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
Matthew 9:23 says, “All things are possible for one who believes.”
Are you catching it? Our God is in the business of turning the impossible into possible.
I talk to so many people who are facing situations that seem impossible. I can’t change my marriage, my health doesn’t seem to be getting any better. My career is stuck, it’s impossible with this economy to get a better job. Another year has passed, and I’m still not married.
There is so much dysfunction in our family, pastor, you don’t even know. I can’t stop smoking or I can’t stop overeating. Maybe you hear the vision of your pastor and you feel that things won’t change. It’s too hard. People are not interested in the gospel. Our church will probably always be like it is now.
That is impossibility talking. Did you know that impossible is not in God’s vocabulary? My Bible tells me that nothing is impossible with God. He doesn’t know what it’s like to face a situation and not know what to do. He doesn’t know what it’s like to confront an issue and feel powerless.
I believe this is a spiritual issue. We need to exercise the faith God has given us and once again believe that God can move mountains. He can restore marriages. He can bring lost sons and daughters home. He can open new doors of opportunity. He can bring revival to churches. He can heal sick bodies.
As we serve God, it may be confusing, it may be challenging, it may be difficult, but with God, nothing is impossible.
Up until 1956 people believed a 4-minute mile was impossible. They were proven wrong. What is it that you believe is impossible? What have you said that God cannot do? I believe he delights in doing the impossible. Will you ask him? Will you trust him?
Today’s Challenge: Determine where you have given up in believing God? Have you stopped praying about a particular need? Reaffirm your faith in our great God. Believe him once more. Reignite your prayers and your faith and let’s believe God to do the impossible in 2021.
