Settle in
Take a deep breath. Turn off notifications on your phone. Ask God to help you have faith that believes in the impossible.
Thought starter
Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen. It was by faith that our forebears were approved.
Hebrews 11:1-2 Voice
Imagine turning a corner on a city street and suddenly hitting a dead end. You’re standing in front of a solid brick wall. There is no door, no ladder, and no way around. You walk around for several more blocks looking for a way to get around it, but still no luck. You try to climb it, but can’t find a foothold. You even look for a secret passageway or hidden door. Eventually, you’re exhausted, and still stuck behind the wall. It’s an impossible situation.
Most of us burn out doing this in real life: trying to hustle our way past impossible situations. But God doesn’t call us to scale walls or solve the impossible on our own; he calls us to trust that he knows where the door is.
Faith is the shift from grasping for solutions in our own strength to stepping into God’s realm. What looks completely blocked to us is a wide-open door for him.
Here’s what we’ll learn in this Quick Quiet Time:
- God is the source of our power. All we have to do is stay plugged into him.
- Impossible situations are God’s specialty. We don’t need a lot of faith; we just need real faith.
- God can overcome what humans cannot.
God brings unexpected miracles.
“And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Yes, I see it all now: I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say.” Then the angel left her.
Luke 1:36-38 MSG
The context: When an angel appeared to talk to Mary, he told her the impossible would happen — she would give birth to the son of God. To show her what God is capable of, the angel told her about her cousin Elizabeth, who got pregnant even in her old age.
The point: Elizabeth’s pregnancy shows that God speaks life into places we have written off as hopeless. People might write off a situation as dead or useless, but God can bring life out of total silence. When God speaks, quiet trust turns impossible odds into groundbreaking news.
The metaphor: Imagine a dry, dead garden suddenly sprouting flowers in the middle of winter. This is what God can do in the “dead gardens” in our lives— the relationships, dreams, or situations we have quietly buried.
Don’t skip the source.
You built a pool between the two walls. You used it to save the water that was running down from the Old Pool. But you didn’t look to the God who made it all possible. You didn’t pay any attention to the God who planned everything long ago.
Isaiah 22:11 NIrV
The context: God’s people were under attack, but they were making their own plans to protect themselves instead of looking to God.
Isaiah’s warning is clear: We can build all the backup plans we want, but if we are not plugged into the power source, nothing will actually change.
The point: It’s easy to hustle to build our own plans while ignoring God. That’s like trying to create our own electrical wiring when God already created a power grid. Faith is choosing God’s power over our own ability.
The metaphor: Imagine plugging your phone into a brick wall with no electricity behind it and expecting a 100% charge. We need to plug into an outlet and connect to the source.
A tiny seed creates a giant shift.
He answered, “Because of your little faith [your lack of trust and confidence in the power of God]; for I assure you and most solemnly say to you, if you have [living] faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and [if it is God’s will] it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 17:20 AMP
Truth bomb:
A small, sincere trust in God outweighs a massive amount of self-confidence.
- Faith isn’t measured by size but by authenticity; one spark of real faith can shift an entire mountain.
- When our confidence is in ourselves, we will let our human limitations define what is possible rather than letting God define what is possible. We won’t step out and tell mountains to move, and we will miss out on what he can do.
The point: We don’t need a mountain of confidence to move a mountain of trouble. We just need a tiny speck of genuine, living faith pointed at a huge God.
The metaphor: Imagine a single match lighting up a huge pitch-black stadium. That’s what a tiny seed of faith in God can do.
When human effort hits its limit, God’s power takes over.
Jesus looked straight at them and answered, “This is impossible for human beings, but for God everything is possible.”
Matthew 19:26 GNT
The point: Human strength suffocates when facing impossible situations because we aren’t built to handle them on our own. Faith connects us to God’s realm, where the impossible is just normal atmosphere.
Flip the question from doubt to faith.
“…if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” [23] Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’? Everything is possible for the one who believes.”
Mark 9:22-23 CSB
The context: When a father asked Jesus if he could heal his son, Jesus flipped the question around. Instead of asking the question if God is capable, we should ask ourselves if we believe.
The point: The question is never whether God has enough skill or power; the question is whether we are willing to trust him with the outcome. Faith changes the way we view every dead end.
The metaphor: Imagine standing next to a master artist. Doubt is wondering if they could pick out the right paintbrush for you. Faith is handing them the canvas and believing they will create you a masterpiece.
The question isn’t God’s capability; it’s whether we are willing to hand him the canvas.
God’s power always has the final say.
Jesus looked straight at them and answered, “This is impossible for human beings but not for God; everything is possible for God.”
Mark 10:27 GNT
The point: When we hit a wall that human strength can’t break down, we need to remember who controls the environment. God’s authority always gets the final word.
The metaphor: Imagine standing in front of a locked steel vault door with no key … but you are standing right next to the person who built the vault. The vault doesn’t get the final say. The builder does.
Reflective questions
- Where am I looking at a “dead garden”? Is there a situation in my life that I or others have written off as completely impossible? How does Luke 1:36 change the way I view it?
- Am I relying on my own backup plans? Like the people in Isaiah 22:11 building reservoirs without looking to God, where in my life am I trusting my own effort instead of connecting to the real power source?
- What “mountain” is standing in my way right now? In Matthew 17:20, Jesus says even a mustard-seed amount of faith can shift giant obstacles. What is one small step of trust I can take today to give that situation over to God?
- Am I asking God “If you can?” or “Will you?” Reflecting on Mark 9:23, in what area do I need to stop doubting God’s capability and start trusting his character?
Closing thought
Revisit the verses at the beginning of this Quick Quiet Time:
Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen. It was by faith that our forebears were approved.
Hebrews 11:1-2 Voice
Faith doesn’t ask us to ignore reality; it calls us to anchor ourselves in a higher reality—the absolute conviction that there are realities we have never seen. When human effort hits its absolute limit, God’s capacity takes over.
Faith is the courageous decision to stop relying on our own strength and start trusting God’s limitless power—especially when everything looks impossible.
So let’s step past what we can measure with our eyes today. Let’s hand over our plans and blueprints and trust that the God who built the universe is still in the business of doing the impossible.
Bring the inspiration with you
Save this phone wallpaper to remind you that God can do the impossible!
