The above Hawaiian Black-Crowned Night Heron is attempting an impossible fishing task, as some of the Koi in this pond are as large or larger than he is. That being said, I have seen him (or other herons) at this same location several times and they never seem to give up. So maybe occasionally they do capture smaller Koi.
Never, never, never give up !! There is a lesson here for Christians. Sometimes we have what seem like insurmountable obstacles; things which seem impossible to us......But GOD !
"I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me." - Philippians 4:13
Many times the above verse has enabled me to continue to hold on when things seemed hopeless. Sometimes we simply do not see a way out; we do not see even a glimmer of hope. But that is viewing things from a human perspective.
"But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." - Matthew 19:26
We serve a God that is omnipotent. He has unlimited power and authority. He is God Almighty and the Sovereign of the universe. We can look to Him with confidence and faith that He will see us through anything if we but have faith and trust in Him to rescue us. He will point the way for us; the path to take. This may involve a period of waiting on Him; our trial may not be solved immediately.
Thus we need to endure for a season, perhaps, and this is where faith comes in..... endurance is a training ground for faith.
The above white duck was not sipping water from the quiet and rather dead pond but was catching moving "living water" by sipping it as it fell over the rocks. I am, of course, not suggesting that this water was truly living water as mentioned by Jesus in the Bible. I am merely saying that this duck preferred the moving water to drink, so that I may lead up to Jesus' words in John, chapter 4.
Our Rock is Christ Jesus, and only He can give that living water that will sustain us and lead us to our heavenly hope.
"Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and Who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water." - John 4:10
In John 7:38-39 the term "living water" is explained as meaning the Holy Spirit, but here it refers to eternal life. We must also consider John 4:14, where Jesus says:
"But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."
It may appear that I have digressed from the main topic "Doing the impossible", but I haven't really; it all ties in. We can do nothing without the good Lord. (John 15:5). He gives us the power to hang on when we exercise faith in Him and believe His every Word. Which means we should read His Holy Word daily, and let it empower us to such a strong faith that we can do the impossible, with the help of the Lord. Although it is actually the Lord Who does the impossible; we are the vessels of His workmanship, and we do as the Potter bids us.
Let us not be like the koi in a man-made pond, forever floating and swimming endlessly about in the same area , back and forth, and getting no where. We can be strong and have a purposeful life when we look to the good Lord for guidance and strength. He will guide us along the chosen path for us. The good Lord will keep us from wandering aimlessly through life. Our purpose is to glorify Him by obeying Him and sharing the good news of the Gospel. Remember, "with God all things are possible."
To build our faith, and to live a meaningful life, we need to be much in prayer and much in the Holy Word of God. In that way, we will build a strong, personal, and intimate love relationship with God through Jesus Christ. God wants to fellowship with us, and we do that by prayer and by following His guidance as He "speaks" to us in the Bible. The Bible is God's Love Letter to us and also it is His Instruction Manual for us. There is much power in God's Word and much power in prayer. It helps us to overcome hardships and sorrows and to believe we can do great things for God's glory if we but put all our trust in Him for guidance and help.
"And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be unpossible unto you." - Matthew 17:20
"And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." - 2 Corinthians 12:9
Consider all the great things the Lord has done for you. Primarily, the miracle of Salvation. Following is a Scripture that says a lot in a few words:
"Only fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things He has done for you." - 1 Samuel 12:24
Whenever you feel the least bit depressed or overwhelmed by circumstances, think on that verse directly above in 1 Samuel.
To have God's blessings, you must be a true believer in Jesus as the Savior. You need to repent of any and all sins, and come humbly before the good Lord in prayer and ask for His forgiveness.
Jesus loves you.
He will not turn any away who come to Him in sorrow and sincere repentance. Then your sorrow will turn into great joy as He forgives you and leads you along the paths of righteousness.
Remember, we are in the end times now; Bible prophecy is being fulfilled as I write this.... or at least the precursors to prophecy are in place and about to be fulfilled.
The Rapture of Christ's Bride (the true believers) will occur very soon.
Don't be left behind to face the wrath of God upon all the ungodly left on earth who will go through unspeakable suffering and horrors of the 7 year Tribulation period. Read the Bible book of Revelation concerning the sufferings and plagues and destruction that will occur during that time. You do not want to be on this earth during the judgmental Tribulation.
"(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)" - 2 Corinthians 6:2
Romans 10: 9,10,13 tells us: "(9) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16
Have a blessed and Christ centered weekend.... and life !
