"Nearest Nothing"

Dad used to say it often,

Nearest nothing that I’ve seen,

And often I still hear it,

It’s part of where I’ve been.

They say it cannot happen,

I tend to agree,

They say it is impossible,

I thought, yes, probably.

They tell me it is too late,

Saying I’m too old,

And, Lord knows I feel it,

For real on mornings cold.

They say, well, you’ve sinned a lot,

I say, guilty as you charge,

So your dreams are over,

Especially the ones so large.

They say others tried it,

What makes you think you can,

I really didn’t know that,

Just seeking God’s own plan.

And that’s what makes the difference,

In everything you see,

It really is impossible,

Unless God makes it be.

Calls it forth from nothing,

Says yes when all say no,

Totally depends on Him,

Otherwise won’t go.

I am not presumptuous,

I can shut up and sit down,

But see, my heart is beating,

May be there’s one more round.

And yes, I’ve lost some battles,

And I am not so young,

Kinda’ show a limp sometime,

Not on the highest rung.

I have no entitlement,

Don’t believe in greasy grace,

Know we reap all that we sow,

When we stumble in the race.

But I am failing forward,

And praying just to see,

What our great Creator,

Has planned, His will for me.

And I can still believe it,

Because with Him it’s true,

Nothing is impossible,

There’s nothing He can’t do.

From the nearest nothing,

And, yes, nothing at all,

God still brings resurrection,

If we believe His call.

“…God chose things…counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important…” (1 Corinthians 1:28, NLT)

These verses tell us that God specializes in doing extraordinary things of eternal impact with very ordinary instruments. This is true, even to the extreme of looking quite ridiculous. He’ll take nothing and make it into something… Something that looks foolish becomes a big advertisement for His wisdom. God picks something that has no power at all, fills it with His immeasurable power, then uses it to powerfully change people and situations. Wow. That’s something to remember, don’t you think? Especially when you’re being told and feeling like you can’t or never will. Where there’s a heartbeat there is hope. It’s not over till God says it’s over. And there is still something He wants you to do. You might feel like the nearest nothing there is, but stay focused on what He can do and, more importantly, can do through you.

Lord, make Your something out of our nothing, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Tim Cox, timcox.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Tim, and God bless you.