Self-help books and motivational speakers are like cheerleaders standing on the sidelines shouting, ‘You can do it!’ They can be helpful, but if the ‘you can do it’ philosophy always held true, we wouldn’t need God. Paul understood this. That’s why he wrote, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’ (Philippians 4:13 NKJV). Discovering the will of God needs faith for the impossible and a childlike dependence on Him. The Bible is full of men and women who discovered their destiny in the perfect will of God by doing things that would normally have been impossible to do on their own. For example: 1) Noah and his impossible project. Noah was commissioned to build a ship the size of an aircraft carrier – by hand – and on land! 2) Abraham and his impossible promise. At ninety, after years of trying unsuccessfully to be a father, God told him his children would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sands of the sea. 3) Mary and her impossible pregnancy. Imagine telling your fiancé, ‘I’m pregnant, and the baby’s father is the Holy Spirit.’ God has always chosen ordinary people to do extraordinary things – and they all had something in common. Every one of them was called to be part of something bigger than himself or herself. And because of their willingness to surrender to God and allow His purposes to be revealed in them and fulfilled through them, He used them in amazing ways. God takes pleasure in doing things through us that only He can do, so that in the end, He will receive all the glory, honour, and praise.
