Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?

14 Apr Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?

By Phil Waldron, CEO

Is anything too hard for the Lord? The Bible asks this question in several places. Have you ever asked yourself the same thing? I know I have. When asked in the Bible, it is a rhetorical question expressing faith and confidence in God, “who is able to do more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” (Eph. 3:20)

In my personal walk with the Lord, I have most often spoken this question in prayerful conversation with God. I have usually expressed this when I feel overwhelmed to the point of feeling that I am about to go “underwater for the third time with no hope of getting to the surface a fourth time.” Beyond a shadow of doubt, I am convinced that He is able and that His good and his perfect will is always accomplished in the “fullness of time.” Time nor space is in sufficient supply for me to list how Donna and I have seen God work in our lives. Most recently, Donna and I had the privilege of participating in a three-day intensive retreat facilitated by two professional counselors.

The retreat consisted of Donna and myself, along with another couple that we have labored with for the past 14 years. Our relationship had deteriorated to the point that it consisted of nothing more than acrimonious exchanges, suspicions and accusations towards each other. It pains me to admit it, but in spite of the four of us being “mature Christians,” we had fallen into a sinful way of relating to one another. Fortunately, the four of us involved in this disagreement, to a person, were committed to looking for a way to reconcile our relationship in a way that pleased our Lord.

I can tell you that the first day of counseling sessions ended abysmally with everyone unable to sleep that first night. The next day began poorly and by 2:00 PM left us all thinking that we should probably cancel any further sessions and head back to the airport. But, shortly after 2:00 PM, for no reason that any of us can put our finger on, something happened and the dynamic and situation flipped 180 degrees. We went from no hope to a complete breakdown of all barriers of separation. We ended that second day with a written covenant of how we were going to prevent another rupture in the future.

That following Sunday, in the church where we attend, the four of us stood on the stage in front of the church and confessed our sin and asked the church to forgive us for being such poor examples. Our vulnerability and transparency have had an electrifying effect on the congregation. As a result of modeling true Christian conflict resolution, many have been inspired to do the same in their broken relationships.

Leading up to our time with the Counselors and during our time together during those first two days of our retreat, I think I speak for all of those that were present when I say, “we were convinced that if God did not intervene in a dramatic way, all was lost.” Thankfully, we can report that God did do much more than we could think or imagine. As a result, He has blessed not only the four of us, but the dear people in our local church that we minister to and with.