One day in El Salvador, myself and two of the staff members at Y-WAM were praying for my very dear friend and previous teammate, Deborah Jones. We were praying for the Lord to move on her behalf and take care of her student loan debt. As we were praying, I was asking God, “What is your heart for this situation? What do you want us to know? What do you want Deborah to know?” And then the coolest thing happened…
God showed me an empty tomb.
And the question He asked next was. “Have you forgotten?”
And that’s when I really got it. Nothing is impossible.
I smiled because you see, for most of my life I thought my dreams were too big, too crazy. I have always been a dreamer, a little wild, and have always had a burning desire for more (sometimes not even knowing what more meant). I have always seen things differently and wanted to discover something new, to blaze my own trail. But, for many reasons, I often shut those dreams down. Believing they were too big or too crazy, I have always had a spot in my soul that was restless because of those stifled dreams for more.
But then I returned my heart to the only One who has ever deserved it anyway. And the word He has placed there over and over and over again is MORE. I ran from my crazy because I thought I was “too much”. I thought my dreams were impossible. But now I know … yes I am crazy. Yes I do have really big dreams. Yes my dreams do seem impossible. But that’s because God has created me to live a life that is beyond my means. He has created me to live a life that only works with His help.
A life that is impossible unless I have some supernatural support…
Good thing I know this man…
His name is Jesus. This Jesus died, on a cross, for me. He was crucified because of love. But then… the best part? After three days He walked out of that cold grave and in to the light of His Father’s glory. Jesus defeated death. From the moment there was an empty tomb, there was a promise for my life, sealed with His blood.
NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.
So now, I am here in Macedonia. With a new team and a completely new mission. But the promise is still there. So as I stood with my team in our hostel, knowing we needed a place to stay the next day, but not knowing a single soul here, I prayed and I asked the Lord to provide. I asked Him to open doors for us, to arrange divine appointments and to lead us to the right people. That morning doubt knocked on the door of my heart. We don’t know anyone. We don’t know the language. Our budget is super tight. How in the world will we ever find a place to stay or get to know people here?
But instead of opening the door to doubt, I did what I have learned is the only choice in a “hopeless” situation, I talked to God about it. I laid it on His altar and I said “God I trust you.” And as we prayed, holding hands in the common room of the HiSkopje Hostel, He did it again. With closed eyes and an anxious heart, He showed me a clear image of an empty tomb. He whispered “Nothing is impossible. Remember who I am.”
And all at once, any anxiety I had-all my fears, all my doubts-washed away. Just one reminder from my Savior. And instantly doubt turned into excitement. Trepidation turned into expectancy. God NEVER fails. I just needed that reminder. So then, with so much excitement for what the day would hold I shared this idea with my team and I ask you now to imagine with me:
You are with your very dearest, closest friend, and they’re about to open a gift from you. But here is the thing.. you know this person better than anyone. You know what they love. You know what makes them happy, what touches the deepest places in their heart. You not only know what they want, but you know what they need. And today, to show them how much you love them you are giving them that very thing. As you hand them that beautifully wrapped package, you are the one who is so excited. That’s right. You’re excited to give the gift. Yes they’re excited to receive your gift, but at the same time you are overjoyed to be giving it to them.
You see where I am going with this?…
That day as we cried out to God to provide for our needs, He told me that is how he felt about the day He had prepared for us. That we had a beautiful gift awaiting us. We just had to believe. He gave me the assurance that He knew exactly what we wanted and needed and He even wanted to give it to us. He longs to give us good things.
So we went to church that day, at the International Church of Skopje. My first English service since December. And the pastor asked us to open our bibles to John 11, the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. God drew my attention to something new that day. In verse 38, Jesus instructs “Take away the stone” and Martha who has just been crying and lamenting her brothers death, even saying if Jesus had been there he wouldn’t be dead, says “But Lord”. Excuse me…. Martha, you know who Jesus is, and He just instructed you to roll away the stone and your response is “But Lord.” ???
And what she says next astounded and convicted me. She tells JESUS, that the stone shouldn’t be rolled away because it smells bad inside. Of course the Bible words it much more eloquently, but that is what she is saying. And I stopped to ask myself… wow how many times has the Lord tried to give me the very thing I have cried out to Him for and my response is something like “But Lord it smells bad in there”?
Wow. Right? I mean how often do we pray and ask God for something that seems impossible and then when He tries to answer us, He tries to give us that very thing, we stop Him. But I love what Jesus says next.
“Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
And there it is again, kicking me in the pants, calling me up to brave and bold greatness. “Stacie, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!”
So I carry this truth with me now. I let it roll around in my mind. I say it out loud as a reminder. I write it in my journal. I scribble it on my arm. I have let the Lord engrave it on my heart, a safe place, where it will never fade. Jesus defeated death. There is an empty tomb to remind me: Nothing is impossible.
