Are you willing?

We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.

(Charles R. Swindoll)

What is impossible for people is possible with God. (Luke 18:27)

We all have our 'impossible moments' - times when what we desire to happen seem way too far out of reach and nowhere close to being within our means or power to achieve. When the rich young ruler came to Jesus with the question, "Teacher, what good deeds must I do to achieve eternal life?", reporting all he had done already, believing there must be something else he had to 'do', Jesus gave him one instruction. He had kept the commandments. He wanted to 'be perfect'. So, the instruction - go and sell what you have, giving the money to the poor. I imagine if the rich young ruler had suspected this would be required of him, he'd have never posed the question!

There are times we bring a dilemma of faith to Jesus, only to find the answer might rankle our will just a bit, challenging both our will and our faith! We want 'perfection', but are we willing to lay down whatever it is that stands in the way of us really growing closer to Jesus? This was really the challenge the young ruler faced that day. The people who observed the dialogue between Jesus and the man didn't expect Jesus' answer any more than the man did. The man went away sad, probably dreading the answer he just received, maybe even a little humiliated in front of the crowds because he knew he could never do what Jesus asked. 

Two things I have learned: 1) Never ask God for less than you need, and 2) Never ask God what you are unwilling to cede! God delights in hearing us acknowledge our needs and he sets out to meet them in just the right way. He always desires for our heart to be willing to do what he requires, even when it isn't the easiest thing for us to actually 'do'. The mind often speaks what the heart is unwilling to 'cede' control over, though. It is as though we 'speak', then 'think'. That makes for a lousy outcome almost all of the time! The 'impossible' may be posed, but we must always remember we never face the 'impossible' alone! Just sayin!