Nothing is too hard for Him

“Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” Jeremiah 32:17 NIV

A few days ago, I was overcome by grief as I read an entry in our church’s e-mail prayer chain.  It was about this young woman, mother of 2 pre-school-aged children, who had been diagnosed with some kind of brain tumor.  When she went in for surgery, the tests showed that she had more than one tumor in the brain plus other tumors in the liver and lungs.  I felt devastated for this poor woman, particularly because it wasn’t clear if she knew the Lord either.  I couldn’t help but thinking about my own immortality and my own young children.  How do we overcome hardship such as this?  There is so much pain in the world.  There are so many debilitating illnesses that rob us from productive, fun-filled and happy lives.  There are so many social illnesses that rob us from living peaceful and contented lives.  There is so much darkness in the world.  This darkness surrounds us and envelopes us to the point that sometimes it may seem that the light has been extinguished.  That is the precise moment, however, when we must stop and rebuke all such thoughts. 

We are the children of the Most High God, “In love, He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.” (Eph 1:5)  We are His children and as such, through Jesus Christ, we too have overcome the world, as Jesus himself tells us in John 6:33:  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  And yes, the world is wrapped up in darkness, and at times that darkness appears impenetrable and terribly blinding.  However, we have the light in us, because He, who is light, perfect light, dwells in us.  The Holy Spirit of the Light of the world is united with our spirit, becoming one when we accept and receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and that light shines in us, in the midst of the darkness that terrifies us. 

This is the truth that we must remember, then, at our moments of fear and anxiety, that though we will have troubles in this world, He has overcome the world and so have we.  Our troubles, Praise the Lord, may not be as terrifying as those of the poor young woman in my prayer chain; but they sure are defining to our own personal realities.  Regardless of what we are going through today, let’s remember that our God is Almighty.  Our God is sovereign, and nothing is too hard for Him.