The Impossible

I've read a few articles recently about not romanticizing Christmas and not getting our hopes up just because it's the holiday season. Some say that we have some hallmark view of miracles, changes, MAGIC!!  Instead of hoping for a magical holiday (full or surprises, provisions, etc) , we should focus on the real meaning for Christmas -- Advent - and rejoice in our REAL hope, not our earthly view of hope (that something magical or IMPOSSIBLE will happen at Christmas, just as it does on every Holiday movie you watch!)

Although I 100% agree with placing our HOPE in the Lord, not other people, situations or circumstances, I think this viewpoint of not believing in miraculous or impossible at Christmas is a bit sad. It's sad not because I want "holiday magic" over the hope that comes through Christ, but because in a way, this view encourages the concept that we as Christians can't want or pray for the impossible- because what if God can't or won't accomplish these impossible requests?

Advent should actually ENCOURAGE us to bring our IMPOSSIBLE hopes to our Savior...after all, ADVENT is all about the Impossible. GOD BECAME MAN! A VIRGIN BIRTHED A BABY!  ANGELS ANNOUNCED THE CHILD'S BIRTH!  AN ELDERLY WOMAN CONCEIVED A BABY (John the Baptist)!  A HUMAN BEING LIVED A PERFECT LIFE WITH NO BAD ATTITUDES, NO SINS, NO HURTFUL WORDS! And, later, this same man, DIED AND THEN ROSE FROM THE DEAD!! This is all impossible. Very very impossible.

Advent gives us HOPE eternally and HOPE now.  Christmas can be quite hard on many -- partly because it's a time of family and friends, so if you have struggles or loss in those areas, you feel the loss even moreso during the Holidays.  For me, personally, Christmas has be difficult in the past because its a milestone (alongside New Yearks) representing another year has passed - yet another Holiday season and this prayer hasn't been answered or this goal hasn't been met. And yet, I always find hope at Christmas through the realization the Christ came and died and rose again, but also in the realization that Christmas is full of miracles.  Advent always reminds me that our Savior is capable of THE IMPOSSIBLE.

So, as you pray for those hard situations in your life this holiday season, know that God is capable of handling even the most impossible situations. He brings healing, babies, husbands, jobs, answers, salvation - even when it seems that those answers could never happen.  This doesn't mean that He will answer every  request (sometimes His plans our different than ours), but HE CAN DO THE IMPOSSIBLE - and CHRISTMAS displays His love of doing impossible things!! That, alone, should give us hope that no situation is trully hopeless or impossible.

I loved this article on God doing impossible things at Christmas. He stated...

“For nothing will be impossible with God.”Are you facing an impossible situation? Do you look at it and see no earthly way it could change? Maybe you look at a family member who seems to have no interest in God at all, and it seems like he or she is just too far gone to save. Nothing will be impossible with God! Maybe you can see no way for God to provide financially for you – remember Jesus fed crowds of 5000 and 7000 from a few fish and loaves of bread. He spoke to typhoons and calmed the winds and waves. When he needed money for the temple tax he told Peter to go fishing and he’d catch a fish with a coin in its mouth.

Nothing will be impossible with God. Maybe you feel like you can’t break out of a sin you are ensnared in. You’ve tried to quit and you can’t. Nothing will be impossible with God. Whatever you are praying for, unless God has made it absolutely clear that the answer is no, then keep asking, keep knocking, keep seeking. Maybe it’s a sickness you’ve had for years. Keep asking, knocking seeking. Yes, God is sovereign and he takes us through afflictions and he promises to work them all for our good. Sometimes he doesn’t answer in the way we would like, but don’t quit asking! "

The author ended his post by stating, "Don’t give up! Nothing is too hard for our God. Nothing is impossible to him. Who knows, this may be the Christmas he answers your prayers."

I sure relate to that last sentence. I spent a few years and a few Christmases praying that I'd meet a godly husband (and preferably soon) -- and two years ago, right after Christmas, God answered my prayers :) And this year, I have a couple situations that seem impossible to me, but I am reminded through Advent that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD. 

I pray we all find the HOPE that comes at Christmas -  the hope that our Savior came to save us and the hope that He can fix impossible situations. While we may not need to believe or hope for magical, as Christians, we should always believe in the accomplishment of the impossible!