When the Impossible Becomes Possible

Before Jesus died He gathered His disciples together for one last talk. (you can read about it in John 13-16) The disciples were greatly troubled as Jesus soberly explained why He must go away and leave them.  I cannot imagine what it would've been like to have been one of the disciples that night; the foot washing, the sobering meal, and the troubling news of betrayal and death. That night the Lord gave them an impossible mission...

"So I give you a new commandment; Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other...If you love me, obey my commandments. Abide in me and I in you...I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love." (commands from John 13-16)

When you settle down to have your "devotions" do you find it hard to get into the Word and pray? I know I have! It seems unfeasible to live what Jesus commands...and yet He still requires us to love each other, obey his commandments, abide in Him, and remain in His love. This my friend IS unattainable. If you try you will fail. All the trying in the world will not give you the natural ability to achieve this perfection. Living the Christian life is impossible. We can't do it. But hold on just a second...there is Someone who CAN do it. Jesus didn't leave you and I to manage the impossible journey all on our own.

"And I will asked the Father, and He will give you another Advocate (Comforter), who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth...he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you...But now I am going away to the One who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. Instead, you grieve because of what I've told you. But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don't, the Advocate won't come. If I do go away then I will send him to you...there is so much more I want to tell you but you can't bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth." (John 14:16, 17, 26; John 16:5-7, 12-13) 

The Christian journey is not a lonely road of "trying" to live for Jesus. It is a daily journey of allowing HIS Spirit to fulfill God's impossible mission in your life. When you read the Word do you realize the Holy Spirit wants to teach you? When you pray are you aware of the fact that the Holy Spirit wants to show YOU how to pray? Only God can fulfill that which He has commanded. When you meet with God today ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in prayer and guide you in the Word. When you don't feel like loving that family member, the Holy Spirit gives you the grace to respond in love. When you want to argue with your parents, He gives you strength to keep your mouth shut. When worry and fear tugs at your heart, the Holy Spirit brings peace. When you're tired and worn out, He gives strength. When you don't feel like having your devotions, He gives you the desire and power to truly be still and know that He is God.

God's Spirit takes the impossible and makes it possible!

"And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will." (Romans 8:26-27)