Difficult
“Is anything to difficult for the Lord?” Genesis 18:14
Difficult – This is the world’s most important rhetorical question! In case you didn’t know, “rhetorical” means a question for which the answer is already obvious. Do you remember the rhetorical questions of Paul in Romans (“Shall we sin more so that God can give more grace?”) Well, this question assumes the answer “NO” but that isn’t the unusual part of this verse. The unusual part of the verse is that God is asking.
God asked the question of Abraham. Why? Because Abraham doubted that Sarah could really have a child when she was so old and he was so doubtful. But God never answers the question. Why should He? The point of asking is to shift the focus of attention from the hopelessness of Abraham to the absolute ability of God. The answer to Abraham’s doubt does not lie in Abraham at all.
This Hebrew word (pala) could be understood as “impossible” or “wonderful” or “beyond one’s power”. This question demands the “Duh!” answer of life. Of course nothing is too difficult for God. We all espouse the theological proposition that God is omnipotent. That means He can do anything that can be done. But do we really live like this is true?
“I’d like to treat him better but nothing will change his attitude?” Oh! What about pala?
“I want to give to the cause but I just don’t have any way to do it.” Really? Pala.
“I know that God wants us to reach these people but there is no way we can overcome the roadblocks in front of us.” You’ve got to be kidding! Pala.
“I want to be a servant of others but the company rules prevent me from talking about Jesus.” And who controls the rules? Pala.
“If you just saw all the problems I have in my life, you’d realize that I can’t do anything about this right now.” You get the idea, right?
Pala is a word we hear but don’t live. We don’t doubt that God can make a ninety-year-old woman pregnant (or a virgin) but we act as though He can’t take care of my difficulties. Are we as dumb as Abraham? Does God need to show up at the door as ask us the same question? Look at your behavior and ask yourself when you started believing that God couldn’t do anything?
Today: Is God asking you the world’s most important rhetorical question because your focus is in the wrong place?
