GOD OF POSSIBILITIES
By Babatunde Jose
It was at a private thanksgiving prayer meeting that the ‘man of God’, gave this awesome testimony about the possibilities of God when all roads appear to have been closed, in fact blocked by unforeseen circumstances. No doubt men of God live off the offerings of their congregations. Hence the annoyance and chagrin of pastors and Alfas when the government imposed a lockdown because of Covid-19 and the indefinite closure of places of worship. The implications were that all avenues of men of God making money and their livelihood stood attenuated. There was nothing to do but to wait on the Lord for His mercy. And behold, God was merciful. People from all over were calling to ask after their welfare and what they could do to ameliorate the situation: Asking for their bank details and money started coming in. They were able to feed their families and more. The effect of the lockdown and closure of their places of ‘daily bread’ was cushioned by the divine intervention of the God of possibilities. We even learnt that one ‘irresponsible ‘Pastor boasted that it was during the lockdown that he acquired a second private jet: What an affront to the benevolence of God and a betrayal of His Grace. But God is never in a hurry to judge or punish. The Quran say in Surah Ibrahim; 42:”Think not that Allah doth not heed the deeds of those who do wrong. He but giveth them respite against a Day when the eyes will fixedly stare in horror.”
God is a God of possibility. He makes dry bones come to life for his children that trust him. People of faith may experience temporal trials, but they will be relieved and have victory. God’s children will be delivered from their troubles to praise God. See Ezekiel 37:1-14. Dry bones and the resurrection of the dead.
Nothing is impossible with God. How to go on when life does not treat you like you think it should! Believing in the unbelievable. Big Idea: Whatever our circumstances, obedience bring blessing- The God of the unseen, invades the space of your impossibility and brings about His divine opportunity.
“The awesomeness of God is made manifest in situations that are tagged impossible. Our God likes to get involved in such cases so that they serve as
reference points to those who have doubts in their hearts about Him.” Open Heavens: Pastor Adeboye
There is a supernatural part of God that cannot be ignored, a part that no man can handle. Man will always need the earth to walk, no science or technology can provide an earth that can contain 7.7 billion people to walk on. No science can provide a body of water that can contain the number of fish in this world to swim. In medicine, when a man dies, they say, “we tried all we could but we lost him, this is beyond us”. There is a part to God that no matter what, we will always need Him. What is beyond man can never be beyond God.
God created man to always be dependent on Him. God takes pleasure in doing the impossible. There is no situation God cannot handle, no sickness He cannot cure. He can do all things.
Ibn al-Qayyim described the greatness of Allah in the most beautiful way: “He is controlling the affairs of all the kingdoms. He commands and prohibits, creates, and gives provision, and gives death and gives life. He raises and lowers peoples status, alternates night and day, gives days (good and not so good) to men by turns, and causes nations to rise and fall, so that one nation vanishes, and another emerges.
His command and decree are carried out throughout the heavens and on earth, above it and below it, in the oceans and in the air. He has knowledge of all things and knows the number of all things. He hears all voices and does not mistake one for another; He hears them all, in all the different languages and with all their varied requests and pleas. No voice distracts Him from hearing another, He does not confuse their requests, and He never tires of hearing the pleas of those in need. He sees all that is visible, even the walk of a black ant across a solid rock in the darkest night.
The unseen is visible to Him, and secrets are known to Him Whosoever is in the heavens and on earth begs of Him (its needs from Him). Every day He has a matter to bring forth (such as giving honour to some, disgrace to some, life to some, death to some, etc.)! [al-Rahmaan 55:29
He forgives sins, eases worry, relieves distress, helps the defeated person back on his feet, makes the poor rich, guides the one who is astray and confused, fulfils the needs of the desperate, feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, conceals faults, and calms fears. He raises the status of some and lowers the status of others.
Even if all the inhabitants of heaven and earth, the first and the last of them, mankind, and jinn alike, were to be as pious as the most pious among them, this would not increase His sovereignty in the slightest; if they all, the first and the last of them, mankind, and jinn alike, were to be as rebellious as the most rebellious among them, this would not decrease His sovereignty in the slightest.
If everything in heaven and on earth, the first and the last of them, mankind, and jinn, living and dead, animate, and inanimate, were to stand in one place and ask of Him, and He were to give them everything that they asked for, this would not decrease what He has by even an atoms weight.
God’s power is the power of empowerment and of possibilities. God said he was creating man as Vicegerents on earth and gave man dominion over all His other creations. God will therefore never abandon man to the vagaries and vicissitudes of life on earth.
In the end let us ponder over this: “The possibilities of prayer are the possibilities of faith. Prayer and faith are twins. One heart animates them both. Faith is always praying. Prayer is always believing. Faith must have a tongue by which it can speak. Prayer is the tongue of faith. Faith must receive. Prayer must rise and soar. Faith must give prayer the wings to fly and ascend. Prayer must have an audience with God. Faith opens the door, and access and audience are given. Prayer asks. Faith lays its hand on the thing asked for.” – E. M. Bounds
Barka Juma’at and happy weekend
Babatunde Jose
