Impossible Flowers
God's power is limitless, and with faith, we can overcome even the most impossible challenges.
Charles E. Cowman preaches about the marvels of God's power in making the impossible possible, using the analogy of flowers blooming through ice in Alpine hollows to illustrate how God can bring forth beauty and life in the midst of harsh conditions. He emphasizes the importance of faith in facing insurmountable obstacles, encouraging listeners to trust in God's ability to overcome all difficulties and hindrances, no matter how impossible they may seem.
Text
"For with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37).
Far up in the Alpine hollows, year by year God works one of His marvels. The snow-patches lie there, frozen with ice at their edge from the strife of sunny days and frosty nights; and through that ice-crust come, unscathed, flowers that bloom.
Back in the days of the by-gone summer, the little soldanelle plant spread its leaves wide and flat on the ground, to drink in the sun-rays, and it kept them stored in the root through the winter. Then spring came, and stirred the pulses even below the snow-shroud, and as it sprouted, warmth was given out in such strange measure that it thawed a little dome in the snow above its head.
Higher and higher it grew and always above it rose the bell of air, till the flower-bud formed safely within it: and at last the icy covering of the air-bell gave way and let the blossom through into the sunshine, the crystalline texture of its mauve petals sparkling like snow itself as if it bore the traces of the flight through which it had come.
And the fragile thing rings an echo in our hearts that none of the jewel-like flowers nestled in the warm turf on the slopes below could waken. We love to see the impossible done. And so does God.
Face it out to the end, cast away every shadow of hope on the human side as an absolute hindrance to the Divine, heap up all the difficulties together recklessly, and pile as many more on as you can find; you cannot get beyond the blessed climax of impossibility. Let faith swing out to Him. He is the God of the impossible. --Selected
Sermon Outline
- The Impossible Made Possible
- God's Power in Nature
- The Soldanelle Plant's Resilience
- Faith in the Face of Impossibility
Key Quotes
“For with God nothing shall be impossible” — Charles E. Cowman
“We love to see the impossible done. And so does God.” — Charles E. Cowman
“He is the God of the impossible” — Charles E. Cowman
Application Points
- Trust in God's power and faithfulness, even when faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges.
- Recognize that human limitations are often based on our own strength and abilities, whereas God's power is limitless and beyond human comprehension.
- Face challenges head-on with confidence, trusting in God's ability to overcome impossibility.