Have you ever noticed that impossibility turned possible seems to be gods forte? Have you had a human impossibility in your life? Listen to this week’s podcast to hear about the story of Esther and how God helped her face a task that seemed impossible.Contributor: Tami shares with us a time when a member in her church was struggling for his life and how the situation seemed impossible but with prayer and trust in God the situation turned possible.

Have you ever noticed that impossibility turned possible seems to be gods forte? Have you had a human impossibility in your life? Listen to this week’s podcast to hear about the story of Esther and how God helped her face a task that seemed impossible.Contributor: Tami shares with us a time when a member in her church was struggling for his life and how the situation seemed impossible but with prayer and trust in God the situation turned possible.

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Starting with Jesus

Heather Bennett

Reflect and Renew June 2023

An Orphan Becomes Queen

The Queen Who Saved Her People

Faithful Builders

Patient Job


Ron was an elder in our church. Recently, he came down with COVID. When I went to visit him, I was really alarmed because he was not doing well. Went to church the next day. Hey, everyone, I said, meet me at 3 today.

Let's march around the hospital and sing and pray and see what God will do. Welcome to Reflect and Renew. Hey, I'm Katie. I'm so glad that you'll be joining me today. We will be learning and growing together in our walk with Jesus.

You will surely be encouraged and challenged as we study week by week and hear from the experiences of others. Have you ever noticed that impossibility turned possible seems to be God's forte. It makes sense, right? We've all heard the verse, with God nothing is impossible. We as humans, though, we face impossibilities all the Time.

We come up short financially at the end of the month. We face a life-altering health diagnosis. We don't have enough time to do everything that needs to be done. And the list can go on and on. I remember 1 instance when our church parking lot was in extreme disrepair.

Although it had been paved years and years and years before, it was now unsightly. You practically had to mow the parking lot right along with the grass. And the potholes? Unfortunately, the parking lot was extremely large, but the congregation was small to average. Previous pastors had broached the subject of a new parking lot, but the financial investment was daunting to each of the members.

Finally, there was a serious repair that needed to be made due to erosion, and my husband, who was the pastor, knew that it was now or never to not just make a fix but to resurface the entire parking lot. After 3 estimates, we knew a human impossibility faced us in the form of a $90, 000 estimate. But what's impossible for us is possible for God Have you checked out our devotional this week? You can find the PDF devotional that we follow and talk about each week at our website Just go to starting with Jesus dot com slash renew starting with Jesus dot com renew Esther is facing an impossibility. Her people are to be killed, annihilated.

Mordecai and Esther use Haytack as a go-between for a conversation where she is encouraged by Mordecai to go into the king to make supplication to plead for her people. Esther responds with the known protocol, death to anyone who goes to the king without being called. And by the way, the king hasn't called me for over 30 days. But Mordecai is persistent. He even goes so far as to say in Esther chapter 4 verses 13 and 14, If you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish.

Do you hear that? Mordecai is confident that God will raise up a deliverer for his people. There's no question in Mordecai's mind that God's people will be delivered, but in the deliverance, Esther would perish. Then come some of the most famous words in all the Bible, in the last part of verse 14. To Esther, it seems impossible.

She hasn't even seen the king in 30 days. The royal rule still stands. What would she do? What did she do? When faced with the impossible, she fasts, and we assume praise, and God makes a way.

When we were faced with the impossible, the daunting task of raising money for a new parking lot. My husband prayed and he came to me and said, this is the time, but I don't want to ask for money from our church members before committing ourselves. I think we should give the money that we've saved for a down payment on our first home. I was floored. That much?

This is just a parking lot. A parking lot! It's not Bibles for people overseas. It's not evangelism. It's not translation into another tongue.

It's a parking lot. Give up my hopes, my dreams of a house that we own, building equity that will lead to financial success in the future for a parking lot? Tears sprang into my eyes. All he said was, pray about it, and he walked out of the room. I gotta say, I sure didn't want to pray about it, but I did.

And I was taken to 2 Corinthians 9, verses 6-11. We're just going to look at verse 6-8 today. Here's what it says. Sparingly will also reap sparingly and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully so let each 1 give as he purposes in his heart not grudgingly or of necessity God loves a cheerful giver now I want you to listen to the promise that I clung to when I couldn't see the financial future. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you always, having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work." After reading that, it was completely the Lord that led me to that verse, or those verses.

I stepped out in faith, and I claimed those promises. That God is able, and that God would give back when the time came. I chose to trust. But I didn't want to just stop there. We reached out to some other people asking them to give as well and when Jonathan went to the church board meeting and brought up the topic of the parking lot he said it's time it's gonna cost $90, 000 But here's $25, 000 already.

Let's pray and let's give and let's see what God is going to do. It was so inspiring, so encouraging to see the church members rally behind. And within 2 weeks, all, and I mean all, of the $90, 000 was raised. We had a beautiful church parking lot. God had made a way And God kept his promise to us.

It's been almost 6 years since then, and would you believe, we haven't even needed the money for a down payment? At least not yet. But I do know this, that when we do need it, God will provide. How is it for you? What impossibility are you facing in your life?

What Bible promises has God given you as you face the unknown or the impossibility. He is faithful. I have seen it over and over and over. When we turn to him, when we rely on him, That is when He will make a way. This week, Tammy shares with us about an experience that she and her whole church went through as a member was struggling for their life.

The doctors had just about given up, but Tammy was impressed that God could do the impossible. Ron was an elder in our church, A wise guy. He doesn't say a whole lot, but when he speaks, people listen. Recently, he came down with COVID. We were all really concerned because he does not have the best health.

He's tall and slender with a full head of white hair, but struggles with diabetes. The children of the church really appreciate Ron. He's very friendly and a really good listener. We were so concerned about him, he ended up on a ventilator for about 3 and a half weeks, finally came to Cornerstone Hospital in our town, which is a place for long-term patients who have illnesses that are not likely to end well. We were so, so concerned about Ron and prayed diligently for him.

When I went to visit him, I was really alarmed because he was not doing well. He was grimacing. He couldn't communicate. He was in four-point restraints because he would pull at his tubes that actually kept his life sustained. We didn't know what to do, and the doctor said it would not get any better.

He wasn't communicating. He wasn't in his right mind. His wife was in tears. We sang, we prayed, and then I left. I went home so sad because it just didn't look good for Ron and there was no hope.

But then I read a story about a woman who was very active in her church. She was in her late 70s, very similar to Ron's age, and she was like the Dorcas or the community service lady of the year. That woman cooked and sewing clothes, helping people with laundry. She was just amazing in her little church. She became really ill, ended up in the ICU, and the doctors let the church members know that she would not live probably more than 2 or 3 more days.

But the church members weren't having it. They all gathered, they marched around the hospital, they sang and prayed, and 3 days later This woman walked out of ICU. I was thinking as I read the story about Ron, I prayed, Lord, if this is something you want us to do, to act out our faith out loud and visible, then just give me an opportunity to share with our church members. Went to church the next day, and after the church service ended, we were all invited to stay, hold hands, sing, and pray for Ron. 3 microphones were handed out.

1 came to me. I felt that was a sign and shared quickly the story I had read. Hey everyone, I said, meet me at 3 today at Cornerstone Hospital. Let's march around the hospital and sing and pray and see what God will do. A whole bunch of people came, mostly young families and young children.

It was super exciting. We warned the person at the front desk that we were going to be watching around the hospital, but not so the walls would fall down, but so that our friend Ron could be blessed and be healed. We marched around the hospital 7 times. We prayed earnestly as we marched and we sang and we gathered in front of the window where Ron was and we sang his favorite hymns and prayed. I'm so excited to tell you that 3 weeks later, Ron walked into church in his full mind and his health returned.

We could not have been happier. The doctors were amazed. They said it was a miracle, and of course we knew it was. I wonder about our own lives. Am I acting out my faith?

Am I praying earnestly with great expectation for the Lord to help me as a parent and as a mama with my babies? God is so amazing and he will give us the wisdom we need. And I think it's time for us to march and to pray and to sing and to expect great things. How are we acting out our faith today? How are we trusting in God?

How are we expecting great things from God? It's a challenge, isn't it? We all have our own fears, our struggles, our own impossibilities. Yet, yet, God is bigger than them all. And he wants to help us.

Did you know that each year there's a Jewish holiday called Purim that was established by Queen Esther and is still celebrated by the Jews today? They have a festive meal, they give gifts of food to friends, and they support those in need. Although it already happened earlier this year, why not pick something to do in memory of the story of Esther that we've been studying this week? Like, here's some ideas, Enjoy a fun meal as a family. Take turns going around the table and telling the story of Esther.

Or bake something to deliver to friends or buy some fruit to distribute. You could even pick a charity and offer a donation that will help people or animals in need. And when you do, feel free to write to us, renew at startingwithjesus.com and let us know how it went. Let's pray. Dear Lord, we just ask and pray that you will help us to trust you when we face the impossible.

That you will give us those promises that we can cling to, that we can trust in, so that when we face those impossibilities just like Esther did, that you will make a way. Help us to trust in Jesus name. Amen. This podcast is sponsored by Starting with Jesus. To find out more about other programs or to find out the links that were shared in this podcast, just check out the description box below.

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Reflect and Renew June 2023

The Queen Who Saved Her People

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Parent Series

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Other Teachings in Series

An Orphan Becomes Queen

14m

The Queen Who Saved Her People

15m

Faithful Builders

14m

Patient Job

20m

Sound Doctrine