“Is anything too hard for the Lord?  At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” (Genesis 18:14)

“Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.” (Joshua 1:6)

I wanted to spend some time with you today sharing with you that nothing is too hard for God, but what complements that is courage. If nothing is too hard for God, why then should we have courage?  Courage is another word for faith, and I would like you to think of the word “faith” when I refer to the word courage.

“Is anything too hard for the Lord….” spoken as a rhetorical question from God to Abraham.  You see, he was about to give Abraham’s wife, Sarah, a baby.  If you are not familiar with the story, you would think, well that’s not too hard, we have 7 billion people in the world today.  We know the stork did not bring them here.  True!  But if you are familiar with the story, you will know Sarah is 90 years old.  I don’t know of too many women giving birth at the age of 90, do you? It would take a biological miracle to give birth to a baby as both Abraham and Sarah were well past child producing years in their lives, and God did perform the miracle.

This same rhetorical question was asked of the prophet Jeremiah. “Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying, Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is there anything too hard for me? “ (Jeremiah 32:26-27) The One who created all flesh, who raises up kings and puts them down, could surely fulfill His promise to restore Israel to its homeland when the set time was come.  Friday night at our group practice, Alena noticed one of the hymnals open to a song that we used to sing at a church we attended out in Washington State, years ago, called Ah Lord God.  It is a beautiful song.  It sings of God has the one who created the heavens and the earth by his great power.  The chorus takes from Jeremiah stating “nothing is too difficult for thee, nothing is too difficult for thee.” Jeremiah in Jeremiah 32:17 had confessed his faith that nothing is too difficult for God:  “Ah Lord God!  Behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee”

The word translated “hard” in these verses is more commonly rendered “wonderful” or “marvelous” or an equivalent adjective, referring usually to something miraculous that could only be accomplished by God.  There is nothing, no thing!, too hard for the Lord.  We are reminded by Peter, in I Peter 5:7, that we are to cast our cares unto the Lord because He cares for us.  But also, because God’s ways our greater than our ways, we should never doubt His word. But that is where the second part of this message comes in, courage!  We read earlier from Joshua.  10 times in the Old Testament that we are to “be strong and of good courage", using the Hebrew word amass, plus another 9 times using a different word chasaq.  

Today we need good courage to face a dangerous world with all its temptations and intimidations, but nothing today could compare to the challenge facing Joshua.  Trying to lead a nondescript multitude of “stiff-necked” desert nomads into a land of giants and walled cities would surely require courage beyond anything we could imagine today.  But Joshua, just like us, had access to invincible resources.  “Be strong and of a good courage,” God told him, “Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goes” Joshua 1:9.  I recall a verse both of our children had to memorize in order to receive a Bible at the same church I mentioned earlier, when they were in Sunday school.  Isaiah 41:10 “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” God will help us, there is nothing too big in our lives that courage or faith in Him and his power can overcome.  We are reminded by Paul in Romans:  “If God be for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31.   God did go with Joshua, and performed a miracle by helping him slay the giants and walled cities so that they could take the land that God promised them.  God was with Abraham and Sarah when he gave them a son Isaac.  And we have the same promise today, for “he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.  So that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me” Hebrews 13:5-6.  If you are here today facing troubles, trials and have your own giants in your lives, there is nothing, no nothing too difficult for the Lord.  But it takes faith, faith as small as mustard seed, Jesus said, and you can move mountains.  But we are reminded that if we toil or labor under our own power and own strength, we labor and toil in vain.  WE can do nothing without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

As a Christian Leader, just like Moses, Joshua and Caleb, David, and others, we are not to fear, but rather we are to have courage.  We will be called upon to make decisions that run against the grain of popularity, but nonetheless, they are decisions that “are the right thing to do.”  Like Joshua, Caleb and David, we are going to have those “giants” in our lives that we must face.  We are encouraged by the words in Zechariah 4:6 “This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ saith the LORD of hosts.”

Question, does the Holy Spirit indwell you today.  If so, then you have claimed Christ as your Lord and Savior.  If not, won’t you make that decision today for Christ?  Paul tells us, today is the day of salvation, now is the accepted time.

Born in Toledo, Ohio in 1964. Lynn Petersen graduated in 1986 from the United States Naval Academy and commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy. I Married the dream and love of my life, Alena, in 1987. Became the daddy of two great children in 1988 and in 1990. In April of 1990, my wife's uncle, a "Completed Jew" shared the Gospel of Christ with me, and I trusted in the blood atoning work of Jesus, and asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins and save me. In July 1991, Alena and I were baptized. Fast forward to 2012, having served as a church deacon, Sunday School teacher, and congregational song leader, we started ALL four HIM, a Southern Gospel Quartet. Lynn sings bass for the quartet and also plays the clarinet. It is a joy to sing unto the Lord to glorify HIM, and to encourage others with the Gospel of Christ.

My desire is to reach as many men, women, boys, and girls with the Gospel of Christ in message and in music so that they, like I have, can experience the rich joy and peace that passes all worldly understanding; that joy that is only provided by faith in Christ.

My life verse is Philippians 4:13. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Prov 3:5,6, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Psalms 41, Ephesians 2:8,9 and John 14:6, among others, are all verses that strengthen and encourage me.