Mission Impossible

2 Kings 7:2

The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, ‘Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?’ ‘You will see it with your own eyes,’ answered Elisha, ‘but you will not eat any of it!’

Seeing a photo of Tom Cruise dangling from Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, I’m sure you’ll do what I just did: zoom in to see if it’s really him! For who would take it against him if he opted to have a double to stride over that glass structure of what’s now hailed as the world’s tallest building? Yes, it would be cool to know he did the stunts himself, but we’d rather want our actors safe, right? But not Cruise, especially not in portraying Ethan Hunt. After all, he’s to us the image of making impossible missions, possible. Can’t wait for the fourth installment this December :>

It is but responsible to cross-check whether a claim is true or not. But when we’re talking about the Word of God, even a planck length of hesitation falls under unbelief. Like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed, its instability readily negates God as solid Rock and its restlessness against the God of hope.  After what seemed to be a very long time of famine for the besieged Samaria, Elisha prophesied God’s deliverance the next day. For the famished, a loaf of bread will suffice. Give them seven and they’ll call it miracle. But when the king’s official heard that their famine will soon be over and the marketplace will be as usual, instead of joyful expectation, he hurled a sarcasm and called it impossible. Like the disciples doing their math when there’s just seven items on hand to feed some five thousand. Or like the Pharisees comparing forty six years of building the temple to Jesus’ claim to do it in three. ‘Impossible!’ was the official’s cry. Maybe he felt Elisha was giving them false hope or mocking their already depressed condition.  Or maybe he thought his knowledge was superior, and so he referred to his history archive of possibly Israel’s manna from heaven, but calculated that not even that miracle could stabilize their stocks in twenty four hours. But God’s promise never once failed, and so is His judgment to the faithless. About that time the next day, the official saw Aram’s camp plundered, provisions flooding in the city, but his trampled body faced death without even a taste of it. 

When God’s called Himself Provider, do we check the news for world’s economy or our husband’s paycheck then conclude we’ll have hard days ahead? When God’s calls us to love and forgiveness, do we look at our partner’s flaws and record of wrongs then mark him as the exception? When God moves the church to sharing Good News to our friends and neighbors, do we critic the approach, say it’s too  traditional and will never work at all? What more if He declared it done in twenty four hours at the most. Most of us would sure join in saying, ‘Impossible!’ Faith is seeing the invisible despite sight’s limitation. It is that peace that regardless of the news or what’s in our pockets, God will provide. It is that hope that although these people may seem unbearable and unlovable, God can soften their hearts, and read this: transform them anew! The power of the Gospel to change lives is not dependent on tricks or treats. It is the work of God alone. He gave us His Word as basis of our faith. We can zoom in anytime when the impossible knocks our door. Zoom out those doubts!