Sep172023
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Attempting the Impossible: Make Sure You Are with the Right Person

I recently bought a nice pair of reading glasses at the store. It came in a fancy box. I got home and discovered that the box was empty; nothing was in it. I did not have time to go back to the store, so I let it go. Then, I was picking up one of the priests at the airport. I asked him if he had eaten, and he said, “No.” So I went to a drive-through and picked up two burgers, one for each of us. When I got to the airport, only one burger was in the bag. Again, I did not go back to the drive-through. I let it go. Then I was in very heavy traffic one day. There was a small space between my car and the car in front of me. A massive tractor-trailer decided to nose his way into the tiny space. Once again, I let it go and let him cut in. I let it go because it was one time. But if there were seven empty boxes, seven missing burgers, and seven tractor-trailers, I might think twice about being “mister nice guy.”

Peter makes a great point. How many times do I have to forgive? Seven times? Jesus responded not seven, but seventy: seventy empty boxes and tractor-trailers. So my question is, how do you do hard things? How do you do the impossible? You surround yourself with great people.

I recently joined a running club. Last week, the coach gave us the workout at the track, which was an 800, followed by a 400. He told us, “Make sure you decide how many sets you will do. Do not decide halfway through the workout.” Sure enough, halfway through the exercise, I was exhausted. If I had been on the track alone, I would have quit. Yet, because of the coach and all the other runners who did not quit, I continued to do laps. I did what I did not think I could do.

Someone once asked a rich man, “What is the secret to success?” The man responded, “Make sure you are the dumbest person in the room.”

Let’s say I am in debt. How do I get out of debt? I go to everyone who owes me money or valuables and use that to pay my debt. So the Lord comes to me and cancels all my debts. Image the feeling of having the burden of a debt lifted from the shoulders. It feels great. So I go next door to my neighbor and tell him, “You know the car I let you borrow? Keep it. I do not need it. I am no longer in debt.” I then go across the street and tell them they can keep the money I lent them to repair their roof. I do not need it.

The reason God tells us to do challenging things is because that is how you make an impact on the world.

It is not hard to do the impossible; just make sure you are with the right person.

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