Is God limited? God says, “Open your mouth wide and I will fill it” (Psalm 81:10). How wide do you open your mouth to God? Of course, we must often do our part. But even in doing our part, God can show us what our part is and how to do it. Just how real is God to you and me? Let us consider the question, “Is anything too hard for the Eternal?” The Bible says that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). So, we will look in the Word of God at a few examples.
Sarah Gives Birth at Age 90
We read in Genesis 18:1–2, “Then the Lord appeared to him [Abraham] by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground.” “Then they [Christ and two angels] said to him, ‘Where is Sarah your wife?’ So he said, ‘Here, in the tent.’ And He said, ‘I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.’ (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing” (vv. 9–11). Remember that Sarah was now 89 years old. “Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, ‘After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?’ And the Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, saying, “Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?” Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son’” (vv. 12–14). “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Only you can answer that question for your life. Christ says that He will deal with you according to your faith, not the faith of your parents, children, or siblings, but “according to your faith let it be to you” (Matthew 9:29). What is another Bible definition of sin? “Whatever is not from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). Well, at age 90, Sarah did have a son! “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
Peter Walks on Water
Now look at another event that is just not supposed to happen! Matthew 14:22–24 states, “Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.”
How often in life has our boat been tossed about? What do we do then? Do we lose our cool? Do we panic? Do we jump overboard? Do we say, “I am out of here”? “Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out for fear” (vv. 25–26). Just imagine, twelve grown men, including Peter, crying out for fear like little children! What fearful cowards we humans are! Truly, God has called the weak of the world (1 Corinthians 1:26–29). We must always give God the credit for our strengths, talents, and accomplishments. We read in Matthew 14:27, “But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.’” What kind of advice is that to give in a life threatening situation? The Apostle Paul was not the only one to tell us to rejoice always (1 Thessalonians 5:16). Here we see Jesus telling His disciples the same thing, even in a life-threatening situation, “Be of good cheer.” Are you of good cheer? The world is filled with miserable people. They find life a boring drag. But, Jesus does not want His children living that way. He came to bring abundant living (John 10:10). The joy of the Eternal is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). That is how God wants us to be. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Neither does God want us to be fearful, even when in His holy, perfect, righteous presence. Above all else, God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). The fearful we are told will not be in God’s Kingdom (Revelation 21:8). We must replace our fearfulness with the fear of God, which is deep reverence, awe and respect for God.
“And Peter answered Him and said, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ So He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus” (Matthew 14:28–29). That is just not supposed to happen. Is anything too hard for the Eternal? “But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me’” (v. 30)! Peter had taken his mind off of God. He started to dwell on the around, instead of on God. That is what also takes us under, when we take our minds off of the great God and His almighty power. But Peter knew where to go for help. He cried out for Jesus to help him. Do you ever cry out for help like Peter? Or, do you just grin and bear it? Are you macho? Even Jesus had to cry out for help (Hebrews 5:7). We are living at the end of a very evil age. Not a one of us is going to just stroll into the Kingdom of God; it is through much tribulation that we enter God’s Kingdom (Acts 14:21–22)! We must lean on God.
Now, can Jesus really help us, even in life-threatening situations? “And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt’” (Matthew 14:31)? When we take our eyes off of God, doubt creeps in. We look at ourselves, others, the around, but help comes from God, not from here below. God certainly at times uses others. But even then, He is the Source. All good things come from God (James 1:17). And yes, sometimes the deliverance is instantaneous. “And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Truly You are the Son of God’” (Matthew 14:32–33). What a tremendous miracle! The wind ceased at that very instant! Is anything at all too hard for the Eternal? Anything at all?
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
We will conclude with one more miracle. Mark 11:12 states, “Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.” Jesus was very human, with actual hunger. No wonder He can relate to us so very, very well! He is a terrific High Priest! Always run into the loving arms of Jesus with everything. Always remember, help is available. And we are not talking about just any kind of cheap help! We are talking about God-help, help from the God Who made the universe. He can provide that help directly or through human instruments. But, God always gets the credit. “And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to it, ‘Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.’ And His disciples heard it” (vv. 13–14). Some feel that all anger is sin. The Bible has no such teaching. It is very possible, as we see here, to be angry and yet not sin (Ephesians 4:26). Christ even looked at His audience of Pharisees in the synagogue with anger. He was grieved by the hardness of their hearts (Mark 3:5).
“Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.’ So Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says’” (Mark 11:20–23). Jesus gave the key—we must not doubt! We too often are riddled with doubt. Like Peter walking on water, we take our eyes off of God and look at the around. But, it has always been and always will be according to our faith! No area is off limits with God. Mark 11:24 provides the assurance, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” As long as we do not “ask amiss” (James 4:3), we will receive! We should never doubt or underestimate God’s will in our lives!
