When you take on a tangible, physical obstacle that stands in your way, what standard do you rely on to measure success? If you face a physical challenge or hazard, how do you know you can overcome it? God’s standard is simple: all things are possible for the one who believes His promises. Our belief that God can and will do what seems impossible enables us to overcome any physical obstacle that could keep us from claiming His promises.
Matthew 19:26:
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
God is both able and willing to help us overcome physical obstacles. Sometimes we may have difficulty bringing this truth to our remembrance. As humans, we have limited abilities and resources. We can be tempted at times to rely on our five senses when we face physical challenges. These obstacles could be anything from actual barriers to things like extreme weather or other hazards to our physical well-being. However, God tells us in His Word that He does not lie (Numbers 23:19). If He has promised to help us overcome physical obstacles, He will absolutely make sure that we have what we need to overcome any obstacle. No matter the circumstance, God says that you and I, today, can be more than conquerors, and that is exactly what He means.
Romans 8:37:
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
How? Through the power of a God Who can do the impossible.
When we believe God’s promises, we open the door for God to manifest His power and deliverance in our lives. Believing is essential to receiving anything from God (Mark 9:23). This means that our ability to overcome physical obstacles is based on only one thing: our decision to trust God and believe. This unwavering trust in God is so important to a believer’s walk that in Joshua 1:6-9, God commands Joshua to be strong and courageous three times. In Joshua 1:7, God commands Joshua, “Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law….” God never commands us to be strong, courageous, or clever enough to come up with our own solutions. Instead, we are to be strong and courageous to do the Word, and to believe in a God Who can do the impossible.
Let’s look at one of the impossible things that God did for Joshua as he believed what God told him to overcome a physical obstacle. When God commanded Joshua to take the children of Israel across the Jordan River and claim the Promised Land, the circumstances certainly weren’t ideal. The river was flooding, and Joshua had no bridges or boats available to him. Surely Joshua would want to wait until the floods stopped, or at least insist that God part the river before they started to cross it! But no, Joshua put his full trust in God and carried out God’s command, believing that God would keep the promise He had made. Joshua told the priests to take up the ark of the covenant and walk straight into that rushing, flooding river.
Joshua 3:15-17:
And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)
That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.
It takes strength and courage to stay put on God’s Word when your physical circumstances seem to say that your situation is impossible. How reassuring to know that our God specializes in things called impossible! In the moment that the priests’ feet touched the surface of the flooding waters, those waters retreated and stood in a towering heap, stopping the river. The muddy ground that had been submerged beneath flowing water became dry and firm. Joshua and the children of Israel strengthened their hearts with the promises of God and trusted in His power.
The challenges we face may not be the same as Joshua’s, but our God is unchanging. The same God that stopped a flooding river in its tracks will do no less for you and me. No matter what physical obstacle stands in our way, God will keep His promises and bring deliverance as we continue to believe. With God all things are possible!