Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” [Matthew 19:26]

This verse struck me in a new light this morning. It’s interesting how we can read a passage of scripture, and different things will stick out to us at different times. That’s where the Word of God being a living document comes in – God speaks to us through His Holy Spirit today, giving us insight into Who He is, the plans He has for our lives, what He would have us know about a particular situation, etc.

In the past I’ve always seemed to focus on the second half of the verse. Today however, the part that stuck out to me was about how Jesus looked at His disciples when He said it.

The reason that stuck out to me was because when there’s something really important that I want someone to know, I pause, wait for them to look at me, look into their eyes, then quietly and determinedly speak it to them. I want them to know that I’m not just speaking in passing; I don’t want it to be something of a bird that flitters through their mind and leaves no lasting impression. When something really matters, I want them to know that it matters.

And this seems to be what Jesus is doing here. He wants His disciples to know that what He’s saying is important. Really important.

I can picture them walking along, the disciples discussing what had just transpired, and asking almost to themselves – is there any hope? Then, they notice Jesus. As they turn toward Him, He looks at them intently. Knowing that He has their attention, He looks into their eyes and speaks, deliberately. “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

The thing that makes me wonder is – how many times does He want to speak something really important into our lives, but we’re too busy talking or doing our own thing to notice? It’s really easy to spend all of the time we have in prayer talking. While it is good to tell God what’s on our heart, we also need to allow periods of quiet attentiveness so that He can speak back to us. A relationship can’t be one-sided.

I want to encourage you today to stop and deliberately spend some time in quietness before our Father. Allow Him to speak to you. He might have something really important He’s been wanting to say to you 🙂