Is There Anything Too Hard For The Lord?

This question challenged Abraham and Sarah as God renewed His promise that Sarah would have a son despite her advanced age (Gen. 18:14). The same question challenged Jeremiah when instructed to buy a field even though the Chaldean invasion of the land made the fall of Jerusalem inevitable (Jer. 32:27). From a human standpoint there seemed to be no prospect in either situation. From the divine viewpoint nothing was too hard for the Lord. Isaac, the son of promise, in due course filled Sarah's heart with joy and laughter. Houses, fields and vineyards were again bought and sold in the land of Israel as God had assured Jeremiah.

Is there anything too hard for the Lord? The question challenges all our hearts as we enter another New Year. Left to ourselves we might be excused for feeling that we're faced with a hopeless situation in today's world. Even in the small world of our personal affairs some problems may seem to us impossible of solution. As for the colossal world problems with which all nations are struggling, how can they possibly be resolved?

A sense of depression may easily settle on the spirit, clouding our vision and. stifling our enterprise in service for the Lord. But God's challenging question arouses us to see things differently. We know full well the truth of Jeremiah's response:

"Ah Lord GOD! behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and by Thy stretched our arm; there is nothing too hard for Thee"(Jer 32:17).

God's wisdom, power and resources are infinite. He often works in ways most unexpected by us, as Moses found at a time of acute crisis in Israel's desert wanderings. The people clamoured for flesh to eat, having tired of manna morning, noon and night. God assured Moses He would provide a month's supply of flesh, at which His astonished servant reminded Him that Israel's men of war alone numbered over half a million:

"Shall flocks and herds be slain for them?... or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?" he asked. The God of heaven and earth worked in a dimension Moses hadn't thought about. He by-passed flocks, herds and fish, but summoned hundreds of thousands of birds. These quails were driven by a wind towards the vast Israelite encampment, and were brought down all around the camp to about three feet above the ground, as far as a day's walk in any direction. How Moses must have marvelled! Is there anything too hard for the Lord?

The boldness and surprise of divine strategy in modern times gives the believer ample assurance that God is still demonstrating there is nothing too hard for Him A striking illustration of this is the harnessing of radio to transmit the gospel to vast numbers of listeners during the past quarter-century. In many countries it's an era of population explosion. Millions remain illiterate. Yet through radio messages in their native languages these people hear the good tidings. Take for example the Vishwa Vani gospel broadcasts from Sri Lanka. Powerfully beamed from a 400,000 watt transmitter, these messages can be heard by more than 900 million people in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. There are over sixty programmes in eleven languages. In a land where the literacy rate is just over 30%, more than 23,000 letters were received during the first three weeks of operation! "I feel very deeply", said an Indian Christian leader, that Vishwa Vani is an important means of reaching our country. Even if we sent 1000 full4ime workers to India we could not reach it as effectively as Vishwa Vani is doing today" Just one contemporary answer to the

question, Is anything too hard for the Lord;

Shall we then endeavour to go forward into 1986 with this question ringing triumphantly in our hearts? May all our problems be seen in its light! Problems then become a means of developing our faith as we commit them to God in prayer. We measure them, not by human standards or resources, but -over against God's ability to work in ways beyond our limited understanding or expectation.

How much a godless world owes to the prayerful attitude of believers who fulfil their responsibility to pray for all men! (I Tim. 2:1-3) In times of international stress or in face of disasters, Christian influence through prayer has tremendous potential. Ahab was an evil king who led his people into depths of idolatry. Elijah nevertheless pleaded for the people after their suffering through three-and-a-half years of devastating drought. Picture the man of God, bowed in prayer on Mount Carmel until there appeared a cloud the size of a man's hand. Soon the heaven grew black with clouds and there was a great rain. That spectacular experience illustrates divine response to prayer; "The supplication of a righteous man availeth much in its working" (James 5:16).

unknown | Jan 1986
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