Ask For the Impossible

One of the greatest joys of my life is my two year old son Jackson. He is a little crazy and a lot fun. He has a very unique view of the world.

In Jackson’s world, chicken nuggets and french fries are really the only meal you need.

In Jackson’s world, his little brother is more of a pet than a person.

In Jackson’s world, his daddy can do anything… nothing is impossible for his daddy…

The things he cannot reach, daddy can get for him; the toys that are broken, daddy can fix; if he needs it, daddy can provide.It doesn’t matter how impossible it may be for him to do, he has complete confidence that his daddy can get it done.

I think that is the perspective we are meant to have when it comes to God. We should be able to ask God for anything and be completely confident that our heavenly father can handle it. The Bible talks about having faith like a child. The kind faith that asks for the impossible and almost takes for granted that it will get done.

I am reminded by a story in Joshua 10. Israel was on their way to taking the land God had promised them. They had allied themselves with a neighboring people and no sooner had they done that than those people were attacked by five kings and their armies. Israel came to the aid of their allies, routing the enemy. This is where we pick up the story:

Joshua 10:
11 As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites. 12 On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: "O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon." 13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!

What kind of prayer is that? Sun stand still? Who in their right mind asks for something so crazy? That is some intense faith. Notice that he doesn’t preface his prayer with anything. Here is this thing that is completely impossible and yet Joshua just throws it out there like its nothing. He doesn’t pause to think that he is literally asking God to stop time, to stop the earth from spinning, yet continue to sustain it on its axis. He doesn’t do all the astrophysics involved in literally altering the fluid movement of the universe, he just prays.

What is even crazier is that God answered his prayer.

I think we can learn a few things from Joshua and praying prayers of faith.

First, we must line our prayers up with God’s purposes. Joshua’s prayer was perfectly aligned with what God was doing. God had promised that he would give the people of Israel victory. Joshua knew God’s promises and lined his prayer up with what God was doing. You cannot ask God for the impossible for selfish reasons. God is not a slot machine in the sky spitting out winning lottery tickets to everyone asks. You cannot simply ask God for a million dollars because your birthday list is a little hefty.

However, you can discern the heart of God in any situation and ask God to do the impossible.

Second, I think it is important to go big and be specific. Joshua didn’t pray something like "just help me…" or "please help us defeat these guys."

So many times, I have been guilty of this. I start praying about this or that or for this person and here I am praying generic prayers that are so beneath a God who can do the impossible. I don’t think we always go big enough when we pray. It’s painful to think about how many times I have prayed small prayers over big situations because I just couldn’t let God be big enough in my heart to take over and do the impossible.

Praying possible prayers over impossible situations only communicates that we don't think God is big enough or strong enough to come through

If we are going to be people of faith, if we are going see the impossible, we have to ask for it by name.

Finally, we have to be confident. Notice Joshua doesn’t say, something like God, if you are willing. There is no question in Joshua’s mind that God can or that God wants to do it. He just throws it out there and trusts God to come through. That is faith.

When we are in a place where if God doesn’t come through, we will fail we are most likely in the very center of God’s will.

So here is Joshua, completely confident that God will do his part if he will just ask. What is more, he is so confident that he goes public with his prayer.

Look at verse 12,
On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: "O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon."

Joshua didn’t go hide and ask God, he did it in front of the whole nation of Israel. Alright God, here it is. We need this this imposible thing done and I am asking you to do it. And I am so confident that you can do it that I am going to pray this in front of absolutely everyone.

Too often we are too careful with our prayers. I think we hide these prayers sometimes because we are afraid of what will happen if God doesn’t do it. What if people hear us pray that and nothing happens? It doesn’t matter… It is not up to you to answer the prayer, just to pray it.

You and I can see the impossible, but we have to be audacious enough to ask for the impossible.

James 5
15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

Just incase you are feeling a little timid about praying impossible prayers, remember John 14, Jesus said this,

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Tough Questions on a Bus part 2

Question two was much tougher. Why to people go to hell? Of course this questions did not stop there. We soon found ourselves chasing down who goes to hell and if there was more than one way to get to God.

I have to say, I really didn't like the answers I had to give to these questions. While I am confident in the accuracy of my answers, I could not have been more uncomfortable with them.

Let's break down the conversation a little:

Why do people go to hell?

Because they choose it. They reject God's free gift of forgiveness, love and grace. In doing so, they communicate that they do not want God.

What if they never hear about God?

Romans tells us that we are without excuse. Even creation is meant to point us towards God.

Is it true that Jesus is the only way?

Yes. Scripture could not be more clear. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father execpt through me."

There you have it... A simple conversation which made me very uncomfortable.

My discomfort derives very simply from the fact that no matter how I answered the questions, someone was going to hell. I could not dance through scriptures without tripping over that fact. I hate it. I hate that hell is an option. I hate that I have to believe in a hell. I hate that I have to believe good people will populate hell without Christ.

I love that the evilest, most violent, most depraved among us has hope of heaven through Christ. I despise that moms and dads, students, grandmas and grandpas who give generously to cancer research, work hard to support one another, get good grades, remain faithful to one another, enjoy good books and movies and music will find eternal residence in hell without Christ.

I fully understand and agree with the theological arguments of how we are all guilty and all sin is equal in God's eyes. Understanding and agreement do not equate liking and comfort with these ideas.

So I am left to wrestle with how do I deal with these answers. I cannot change the answers to the questions. If I could some how convince God to blot hell from scripture and remove the option of eternal punishment from humanity, I would quickly dedicate my days to doing so. But I know that is not going to happen.

The only response I have to such answers is to carry the message of Christ to as many as I possibly can. You see, I think the idea of people going to hell is supposed to make us uncomfortable. I think it makes God uncomfortable. It made him so uncomfortable that he came to this earth, lived among us and felt our hurts, and then took our, guilt, shame, and punishment on a cross.

My prayer is that God will never let us be comfortable with the fact that people around us will one day find themselves without hope in an eternal separation from God. I hope hell always makes us uncomfortable. So uncomfortable in fact, that we are forced to do something about it...

"snatch others from the fire and save them" - Jude 1:23

Tough Questions on a Bus part 1

As I on a bus this weekend surrounded by teenagers returning from our 2011 winter retreat, I was engaged by a few with honest questions which made their life with Christ a challenge. Truthfully, I totally related to their struggle — even attempting to answer their questions made me uncomfortable. I was uncomfortable, not because I didn't feel I could not answer their questions, but because I didn't like than answers I had to give.

The questions surrounded theodicy (the origin of evil) and why people go to hell. Granted, humanity has struggled with these questions for centuries and I can assure that in one bus ride I was not able to generate any answers for the ages. What I did manage to do was point the students towards the scripture for answers stir my own heart to begin wrestling with my own discomfort with the answers I had to give to these questions.

When addressing theodicy, I don't have definitive answers. But I do have a great deal of comfort with where my heart rests on the subject. The simplest way I know to put it is to begin defining terms. If we can all agree that evil is the opposite of God. Then any choice made (by men or fallen angels) creates and perpetuates evil. We therefore cannot point the finger at God for the presence of evil in the world. Rather we can point to Genesis 3 and blame the serpent and ourselves.

But God created us, doesn't that mean he created evil...

I suppose you could view it from that vantage point. However, the argument is strange. We do not typically punish or blame loving parents for their wayward children's decisions to break laws. To my knowledge, we have not imprisoned the parents of murderers and thieves.

Further, it is our ability to choose which creates the opportunity for love. Love with out freewill is not love. If we do not have the choice to obey commandments, choose relationship with God, or worship our creator we become incapable of love for God and subsequently each other.

Ahh, so by giving us a choice God created evil...

Again, the point of view has been expressed. If we are going this deep into the conversation, we must now begin to ask what our basic belief of God is. Do we believe he is a good God, desiring good things for creation? Or do we believe that God is maniacal, enjoying the struggles and tension of good versus evil and taking pleasure in man kinds challenge to navigate the two. I for one find a loving, benevolent, compassionate, and ultimately good God detailed in scripture. Therefore I must reject any explanation which makes God the author of evil.