Faith From Above: Improbable Not Impossible
4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:4-6NIV)
It’s considered one of the most iconic pictures in sports history. The rematch of Casius Clay versus Sonny Liston was indeed headline-making. Many accused Liston of throwing the first match. Clay, later called Muhammad Ali was self-promoting and controversial for his religion, associations, and much more. The fight almost never happened. After a change in venue, 2,400 paying ticket holders watched the match live, the smallest crowd in heavyweight champion history. They witnessed a short fight, as Ali knocked out Liston in less than two minutes. Since Liston was favored, the knockout punch shocked everyone. Ali stood over, taunting Liston to get up and continue the match. There, the iconic photo was taken of Ali towering over Liston and looking down at his heavily favored opponent.
This moment of history and this iconic photo became culturally famous in 2004 when one of the top sports brands used the photo in its new campaign “Impossible is Nothing.” The campaign was such a hit that the company is still using it today. It has used Ali and other top athletes, focusing on how they overcame the odds, put in the hard work, and believed to accomplish what seemed impossible.
While athletes can do some truly amazing things with hard work and training, what they accomplish could ever be considered impossible. Improbable yes, but not impossible.
As Abram looked at his life and looked at his wife, it was hard, maybe impossible, to believe God’s promise to give him a child. He told the Lord this. But the Lord came to him and reminded him what is impossible with mankind is possible with God. The Lord then took Abram outside and showed him the night sky. He toldAbram to count the stars, an impossible task. The Lord than told a childless Abram, “This is told this is how many offspring you will have.” Impossible!
While sports slogans may exaggerate about accomplishing the impossible, we know only one can truly do the impossible. Nothing – not the birth of a child to elderly parents, not your forgiveness, not the salvation of the world, – is impossible with God.
Prayer: Lord, you can indeed do the impossible. Help me trust when it seems impossible. Amen.
From Mediations – written by Pastor James Enderle
