“The impossible is GOD’s comfort zone!” – Mike and Kate Battistelli

For most of us, “impossibles” are the exact opposite. They challenge us. They stretch us. They cause us to fear and to doubt.

What is GOD calling me to do?  Where is He leading me to the bottomless ocean of trust?  What has He spoken to my heart?

I asked myself these questions and spoke the same words in prayer after listening to a podcast in which Kate Battistelli described the heart and message of her new book, The GOD Dare.

Two very clear things echoed back:

(1) “Look up!  Bear witness to My majesty!  Soak it in, breathe life eternal, glimpse glory.”

He knows I long to find just the right words.  To string them together in a way that touches hearts, speaks truth, offers hope and courage.  Many times it seems bigger than I can tackle.  I get in my own way, tangled up in my own ambitions.  I believe He delights in my passion, yet reaches out to steady me with His pace, and His plan.

More than anything I will ever write, He invites me to LIVE this story, His story written on my heart.  To go where He sends me.  Love like He does.  To let others see JESUS in me!

His Spirit is training my heart not to worry about what comes next.  To let Him write the rest of this story.  Every single day of it!  To watch Him give me just the right words, at just the right time, and just the right place to share them.

(2) “The guidance you are seeking for your daughter’s college search, asking what will position her best for any future pursuits?  There is no better earthly mentor for her than you.”

“LORD how? I don’t know what to tell her!?!,” I thought.

His Word tells me that He will guide me, just as He will guide her.  That there is no greater prep for her, to position herself for the path forward, than to find her knees more than any counselor or internet search.  Those are only tools.  The LORD is the Guide.  The best and only true option.  Always.

This is a very real and present weight on my heart.  I can’t pass this one off.  I need to stay in the game.  The most important part is the final mile, the last quarter.  He urges me that I am needed NOW more than ever!  To hold her gaze.  To encourage her heart.  To lead her back to Him, however many times that is necessary!

So many times, that job seems over my head!  But He keeps lifting my chin to keep my own eyes fixed on Him.

.   .   .

“What hard thing has He asked me to do, to give up, to risk everything to answer His call?”

Reading Kate’s book, I continued to process these same questions.  The LORD reminded me of other “impossibles” through which He has gently and kindly walked with me.

More than anything He has asked me to *do*, there have been things He has asked me to hand back to Him in surrender, trusting His bigger plan:

(1) a ministry opportunity that seemed to be falling into place that I was truly excited about stepping into, confident He had been preparing me for it, eager to see how He would work through me, if I was just brave enough to step forward … until the door slammed shut and I asked Him to hold me until it all made sense again as hot tears of disappointment and confusion spilled down my cheeks.

(2) when I realized I was battling crazy homesickness and had to confess I had grown weary of His call for us to leave PA and move south 12 years ago … that I had prayed for a job change for my husband that might take us back to the northern hills, only to have that door slam shut as well… and in the end, I needed to humble myself before Him and hand “home” back to Him, recommitting to wherever He leads us.

My heart broke both times, with fog and pain and questions that seemed impossible to sort out or overcome.  BUT, there was utter freedom in surrender.  A flood of peace that couldn’t be explained, and fresh joy in what was right in front of me.  I can confidently say that the better choice both times was a wide open door to simply follow JESUS and hunger to know more of His heart!

.   .   .

Our “impossibles” challenge us.  Stretch us.  Cause us to fear and to doubt.  Ask of us what seems more than we are able to give.  Sometimes break our hearts.

But GOD.

He longs for us to bring our “impossibles” to Him, to ask Him how we can meet them with His help, His wisdom, His power.  The LORD intentionally presents us with opportunities to face the impossible – not to crush us with defeat, but to draw our hearts to understand just how capable HE is and how He desires to do impossible things through us!

What are you facing that seems impossible?  Something bigger and “crazier” than you ever pictured yourself tackling?  Something desperately outside of your control?  Or is it simply impossible to imagine the GOD of the universe speaking His plans directly to your heart?  Or that He would ever declare value and eternal purpose over the countless moments in your life that seem unseen, small, or insignificant in your eyes?  Or that His plans for you could stand undeterred by a part of your life you struggle to overcome?

Let Kate Battistelli take you by the hand and help you revisit accounts of men and women just like you.  Their names may be familiar (David, Esther, or Joseph; Abraham, Hagar, or Jonah), but take a closer look at their stories, as they encounter the one true GOD, hear Him speak His plans and purposes to their hearts, and watch Him transform their “impossibles” into mind-boggling reality that draws their hearts to awestruck worship!

Kate concludes with the most precious appeal of all… the greatest invitation the LORD extends to each of us.  To follow JESUS.  To live like He does.  Love like He does.  Stand firm and unhurried and unwavering, confident in the Father’s plan!  His purposes are always moving forward, undeterred, and right on schedule!

Left to our own devices, we are just not capable of such a goal.  But GOD.  JESUS gave everything to redeem us, to breathe new life into us, and to supply any and every need we have.  His Spirit dwells within us, remaking us from the inside out.  So our hearts can beat along side of His.  So our character can reflect His.  So our choices will align with His!

Read.  Consider.  And be encouraged!  I, for one, am so grateful to be reminded that we can trust the LORD to meet us in our genuine desire to hear from Him.  We can trust Him to reveal His heart to us.  To equip and direct us as we step forward to fulfill His purposes for us.  He longs to show us how His redeeming love and power can transform our “impossibles!”

“GOD still seeks those who will say YES, even when saying yes makes no sense, even when it’s hard, even when it’s costly.” – Kate Battistelli

.   .   .

Read more here…

For we are GOD’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things which GOD prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10

With man it is impossible, but not with GOD.  For all things are possible with GOD.

Mark 10:27

Commit everything you do to the LORD.  Trust Him, and He will help you.

Psalm 37:5