Mission Possible or Impossible?

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God

“Your mission, should you decide to accept it…” Those words introduced the story line for a popular TV show when I was growing up - Mission Impossible. Whenever the IMF [Impossible Mission Force] was called together, they were given a task that no one thought could be done, and yet somehow, they managed to succeed.

Christ followers of all ages have been give a mission. You know that, don’t you? It came from the lips of Jesus and is known as the Great Commission. He said, “Go, and make disciples of all the nations.” [See Matthew 28:19-20]

Possible or Impossible?

Our world is in chaos. Wars around the globe, with many lives needlessly lost—many slaughtered barbarically. Famine takes its toll, causing starvation that affects entire countries. Crime and violence holds men, women, and children in fear. It all sounds rather apocalyptic. 

How does God equip us to be witnesses in such a dark and violent world? The answer to that question is also found from the lips of Jesus. It’s by means of the Holy Spirit that He sent to His followers after His ascension into heaven. 

The gift of God, the Holy Spirit, was made possible because Jesus died and rose again. Paul made that abundantly clear to the Ephesian Christ followers when he prayed that they would understand, “…the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places…” [Ephesians 1:19]

Truthfully, we can’t comprehend the power of God to raise Christ from the dead. But is it true? Do we really have that power in us? Paul thought we did. At the conclusion of another of his prayers for the Ephesians, he said, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” [Ephesians 3:19-20, emphasis mine]

The key is to unleashing that power is complete surrender to God. It is the only way to reach a lost and hurting world. By the way, you can start reaching the world by reaching out to those around you! When you surrender to God and let Him work through you, Christ can do immeasurably more than you ask or can even imagine!

What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.”  Acts 1:8 [The MESSAGE Paraphrase]