Nothing is Impossible: The Kind of Faith that Moves Mountains

One of the defining traits of humans is our tendency to doubt. We contemplate and hesitate to a fault. Granted, some may do this more than others, but in general we all have moments when we doubt ourselves and we doubt others. Sometimes we grow pessimistic because we’ve seen good things not work out, or seemingly good people do bad things. We might doubt what someone says because we’ve been lied to before. We might doubt someone’s commitment to a relationship because so many relationships don’t last. We might doubt our ability to accomplish something, because we’ve failed before.

As humans, we are painfully aware of the reality of shortcomings and limitations, and so we have a doubting lens through which we see so much of the world.

This lens is proof of sin’s corruption in the human heart. We doubt because we know that there are things that are truly, absolutely, impossible for us. We are born dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) and enslaved to sin’s control (John 8:34; Romans 6:6). Even after we trust in Jesus Christ to rescue our souls from sin’s penalty and power, we remain in these not-yet-made-perfect minds and bodies that must learn, daily, to submit to our new Master through whom ultimate victory in all things is made possible! The One who defeated our greatest enemies – sin and death – has proven this already.

Choosing to Believe

And therein lies the battle that all Christians must fight. Every day, we must decide if we will remain in doubt and defeat, or if we will look to Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). We don’t trust in faith. We trust in Jesus, who ignites and sustains and perfects our faith in Him to do the things that are impossible for us to do. This trust, this faith, is our greatest act of worship, because it reveals a heart truly dedicated to believing and following God. In fact, it is the gateway to salvation:  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Faith reveals a heart that has been transformed and able to see what an unregenerate heart could never see. The author of Hebrews wrote: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). And “…without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Halting Doubt

It’s no wonder that God immediately called out His people who expressed doubt. The loving God that He is, He wanted to teach, and guide, and show His people that there was no place for doubt if you want to have a heart truly convinced of His power and dedicated to following Him. And that’s what He wants of us all, because only in that kind of faith can we rise above our earthly circumstances and see the reality of the heavenly places in which we are spiritually seated with Christ (Ephesians 2:6). Only that kind of faith can make us living, breathing testimonies of God’s glory – lights pointing to the hope of salvation in a dark and hopeless world.

And so, when Sarah doubted in her heart God’s promise to give her a son in her old age, God showed that He knew her inward thoughts and immediately challenged her lack of faith, asking: “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” (Genesis 18:14).

And when Peter doubted that Jesus could really enable him to walk on water, and he began to sink, Jesus refused to let him sink: “…immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” (Matthew 14:31).

After Jesus’ crucifixion, His disciples were unable to make sense of the “impossible.” They feared and doubted the clear evidence that Jesus was alive and standing in front of them, and started to think they were seeing a ghost instead! So Jesus immediately directed his comments to their struggles to believe: “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have” (Luke 24:38-39).

There was one disciple not present in that interaction. He did not believe their story – that they had seen Jesus, alive and in His resurrected body. The unfortunate man has become known to us today as “doubting Thomas.” But later, Jesus lovingly appeared to Thomas, too, to ensure that his faith would be strengthened, and that doubt would not take root in his heart. “Reach your finger here,” he said to Thomas, “and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing” (John 20:27).

Nothing is Impossible With God

We can doubt ourselves. We can doubt others. We, and they, are fallible human beings, corrupted with a sin nature. But we cannot and should not doubt God. And when, in our hearts, we truly recognize His holiness and His supreme power and sovereignty, we will have a front-row seat to the supernatural miracles He chooses to perform in the earth.

When Zacharias doubted the angel Gabriel’s announcement that he would have a son in his old age, he was struck with muteness. Here he had a supernatural visit from the angel who “stands in the presence of God” and was sent from Him (Luke 1:19), and Zacharias – a priest in Israel – struggled to believe. He wanted a sign – some kind of outward proof that this promise would be fulfilled. But true faith doesn’t need a “sign”. Again, faith is the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Zacharias’s “sign” was also a judgment on his doubt – he would remain silent until God fulfilled this promise and his son, who would be known as John the Baptist, was born.

Mary also struggled to believe when an angel announced that she would give birth to Jesus. Interestingly, the angel announced that she was chosen for this role because she had “found favor with God” (Luke 1:30). That should tell us that Mary was already living a life of faith in God. In contrast to Zacharias’s response, Mary did not ask for a sign, nor did she doubt that it would be fulfilled – she seemed to just be wondering how it would happen, since she was a virgin. The angel patiently answered her question and then proceeded to tell her that the miracle of this birth was going to be preceded by the miracle birth through her relatives, Zacharias and Elizabeth.

“For with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37) the angel said.

Faith That Moves Mountains

In times of distress and uncertainty, I have found peace in the following verses (maybe you have too): “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

These verses immediately remind us that God is God, and we are not! He sees everything, we do not. His will is perfect, and ours is definitely not! The reason why so many people struggle with faith, or trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation at all, is because they, by nature, want to be in control. They think they’re good people at heart, with a good head on their shoulders, and they are able to make good things happen by pure willpower. But Jesus said that our righteous acts are like filthy rags in His sight (Isaiah 64:6), our hearts are deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9), and that we all are sinners and have sinned – making us utterly, eternally, short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23).

It’s when we recognize our helpless state and turn to Him alone to save us that our hearts can be transformed, lifted out of our fleshly, selfish desires, and renewed to desire the things of God instead. He teaches us how to pray for Him to be hallowed in our hearts, for His will to be done, and for His kingdom to come (see Matthew 6:9-13). That kind of prayer of faith – in tune with God’s will – will always be answered. And God’s will is not confined to the laws of physics or any other earthly limitations.

This is why Jesus said, “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says” (Mark 11:23).

Listen to Jeremiah’s prayer:

“Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you” (Jeremiah 32:17). Jeremiah was expressing what he knew to be true about God. At the same time, Jeremiah had doubts about just how God was going to fulfill His promise, because the circumstances seemed to indicate that everything was going in the opposite direction. That’s when God reminded Him of the truth with which Jeremiah had earlier prayed: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?” (Jeremiah 32:27).

God Never Fails

The will of God never fails. And that is where our faith should always be. At the same time, we remain humans that struggle to believe from time to time. We may wonder, like Jeremiah did, if God’s promises will really come to fruition. This is why God’s Word reminds us that when we pray, we are to “ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6).

But even when that doubt creeps in, the Lord will patiently correct us and will always respond to a heart that wants to believe better and to doubt less.

A desperate father, concerned for his son who was repeatedly endangered by a demonic spirit, looked to Jesus with hope, albeit a bit reserved.

“If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us” (Mark 9:22).

Jesus responded, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23).

Imagine a father, who was starting to believe that all hope was gone for his son, to hear those words: all things are possible! The One who could do “impossible” things was standing in front of him. And the man was overwhelmed with emotion and conviction:

“Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).

That’s a prayer we could all pray. We need to be daily reminded that we serve God, who acts on behalf of those who look to Him in love and trust – with faith that is rooted in belief that He is able to do what we could never do. As Jesus said: “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27).

Look to Him always, in all things. May He strengthen your faith today and fill your heart with heavenly-sourced hope!