“When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
The entire Old Testament points to one truth: “With man this is impossible.” Seventy percent of the Bible is the Old Testament. If you take a bookmark and place it at the beginning of the New Testament and shut the Bible, the Old Testament would make up the majority of the whole book.
In the story of the rich young ruler, Jesus tells His disciples, “With man this is impossible.” Impossible in what way, you might ask? This is where we turn to the Old Testament. It is full of stories of men attempting to get close to God and failing. Once they realized they needed God, they humbled themselves, and the Lord did mighty works, such as bringing down the walls of Jericho.
Do exactly what the Lord tells you to do and watch Him work. As easy as this sounds, the Israelites were punished right after the fall of Jericho because one family withheld some of the wealth they had found. The whole idea of doing everything God’s way did not stick. So this pattern kept repeating itself over and over again. The books of the prophets are very somber in tone, scolding God’s people for getting out of line and warning them to quit their idol worship and follow the Lord. With man, this is impossible. Over 70% of the Bible tells us this. All we have to do is read the stories; there are plenty of them if we take the time. The rich young ruler was no different from the rest. He did his best to follow all the laws, but Jesus pointed out that even that was not enough because we always fall short in the end.
If you are trying and trying to shake that addiction, break that habit, or clean up your life, I can almost predict the outcome. It may work for a time, but you will fall back into your old sins, just as the Israelites did over and over again.
“But with God all things are possible.” Jesus came and revealed that the only path to true fulfillment is following Him. He was the God of the Old Testament, and in the flesh, He came to lead all of us to the only way to God, through Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no other path works. Just ask all the people of the Old Testament. If you are at your wits’ end with life, people, your job, happiness, or all of the above, you may have been trying to shake off that old life on your own. It does not work. Jesus is the only answer.
We have all been in the place of this rich young ruler, wanting to hold on to this or that while trying to follow the Lord with all of our hearts. The truth is, you have to give it all up, everything. Surrender control of your life and give it to the Lord. This young man we read about in Matthew was not willing to surrender all, just most of it. But Jesus tells us He wants it all. If you want to experience the impossible, then you have to “sell your possessions and give to the poor, then come, follow Me” (Matthew 19:21). A part-time Christian is still bound by sin. Are you part-time or full-time?
Prayer: Father, help me to be a full-time Christian. I pray that I surrender all to You every day. I pray that when I read the Old Testament, it comes alive to me. Help me listen to the Holy Spirit as He teaches me something I did not know before and directs me to clean up the mess in my life and give it all to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let It Go 
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