The Things Impossible With Men

"And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." — Luke 18:27

Stack Up the Odds Honestly

Let us be truthful about what a person coming out of deep bondage is facing, because pretending otherwise helps nobody.

There is the battle to keep what was cast out from returning — which Jesus said involves an enemy who will come back with seven others stronger than himself.

There is the assault from those who regard you as a traitor, and who do not take such defections lightly.

And on top of all of it, there is the ordinary harvest of everything that was sown during the years of that life.

Three simultaneous fronts. Any one of them would be enough to exhaust a person.

Does it sound impossible?

"And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." (Luke 18:27)

Why the Honest Assessment Helps

There is a strong temptation to soften this — to tell a struggling believer that it is not really that bad, or that a little more faith would resolve it.

Do not. False comfort collapses under weight, and when it collapses the person concludes that God has failed them.

Tell the truth: this is genuinely beyond you. You are not imagining the difficulty and you are not weak for finding it hard.

And then tell the rest of the truth: it is not beyond Him.

That is a far more stable place to stand than any reassurance that minimizes the problem.

The Context of the Verse

Notice where Jesus said it. A rich young man had just walked away sorrowful, and the disciples were shaken.

"Who then can be saved?" they asked (Luke 18:26). They had just watched the most promising candidate imaginable fail — moral, wealthy, religious, eager — and they concluded that if he could not make it, nobody could.

And the answer was not he simply lacked commitment. The answer was that salvation itself is impossible for men, and possible only with God.

Which means the whole enterprise — your conversion, your keeping, your endurance through three simultaneous fronts — has always been running on His power rather than yours. You are not being asked to do something impossible. You are being asked to depend on Someone for whom nothing is.

Point to Ponder

Do not soften the difficulty. False comfort collapses under weight, and then people blame God.

Verse to Remember

"The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." — Luke 18:27

Question to Consider

Have I been trying to win this on my own resources and calling my exhaustion a lack of faith?

Today's Practice

Write down, in plain terms, the fronts you are currently fighting on. All of them.

Do not minimize any of them and do not add spiritual language to make them sound manageable. If you are fighting a habit, an attack, a harvest, a family situation, and exhaustion all at once — write all five.

Then look at the list and say out loud: "This is impossible for me."

That is not defeat. That is accuracy, and accuracy is where dependence starts.

Then say the second half: "And it is not impossible for God."

Then pray through each item specifically, handing it over by name rather than in general.

And do one practical thing: tell one other believer the honest truth about at least one item on that list. People fighting on three fronts alone do not last. That is not weakness; it is arithmetic.

Prayer

Father, I am going to be honest with You about what I am carrying, because pretending has not helped.

I am fighting on more fronts than I can manage. I am tired in a way that sleep does not touch. And I have been treating my exhaustion as a spiritual failure.

This is impossible for me. I am saying it plainly.

And it is not impossible for You. You said so — in a moment when Your own disciples had concluded that nobody could possibly be saved.

So carry what I cannot. Keep what I cannot keep. Fight on the fronts I cannot cover.

And send me someone to stand with me, because I was not built to do this alone and You never asked me to.

In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

"This is impossible for me" is not defeat. It is accuracy — and accuracy is where dependence starts.