“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’ ”
– Matthew 19:26
It’s amazing what’s possible when you don’t know what’s impossible! Here’s an incredible story my grandpa, Dr. Schuller, heard from a gentleman he met on a flight. His name was George Dantzig and he told a story of when he was a first-year Ph.D. mathematics student at UC Berkeley. Due to his busy schedule, he arrived late to class and saw the homework assignment on the board: Two math problems. He quickly wrote them down in his notebook and when class was over, he went back and started working on them.
Despite feeling inadequate because it took two or three days, he continued to work on solving these problems. On day four, he solves the problems and brings them to Professor Jerzy Neyman. Even though his assignment is late, his professor receives it and grades it later. A few weeks go by and his professor starts pounding on his door. He tells George it wasn’t a homework assignment and that he must have come in late. He tells George it was an example of two of the most famous unsolved math problems, and he solved them! What a terrific story!
Friend, you can see how his thinking affected him. If he had been told right off the bat that these problems were unsolvable, just like every other student and professor, he would have been at a major disadvantage. But since he assumed everyone in the class had already solved these problems and thought he had to solve them, he just solved them! What’s possible when you don’t know what’s impossible is amazing, isn’t it? When nobody tells you that you can’t solve a problem or overcome challenges, you assume you should. With God’s help, you can be victorious and experience success!
Prayer
Father, help me to always see what is possible
Reflection
Is it easier for you to see the impossible or the possible?
If you’re unable to attend your local church or need some additional weekly inspiration, be sure to tune into Hour of Power every Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. PT on TBN or watch online at hourofpower.org/episode.
23 Responses
This was so uplifting for today especially at this time in my life.
My faith and positive outlook has been renewed and energized and I feel that a heavy burden has been lifted.
Your ministry has been a blessing!
Thank you.
“Inch by inch, anything’s a cinch”
That is a great unspiritual story. I remember it from when your grandfather told it.
Thank you for these words of encouragement from one of your father’s travels. Such a blessing. To God be the glory.
Such an uplifting story. Gives me hope for my future. We have been through so much in our lives and look forward to our future. Thanks for sharing.
I believe God is at work on the impossible right now praise the lord! Because it is possible for God.
Good story God is awesome
Thank you this is awesome and so true!
God is in the miracle working business — always has been and always will be.
Over and over in my life God solved the impossible. It’s true. Amen.
YES, He did the same for me as well. For and with God anything IS possible!
Thank you for telling that story. Years ago when your Grandpa was alive I heard him tell that story. I felt blessed to meet him an my wife and I had our picture taken with him. I am sure he was and is very proud of you for carrying on his vision.
Blessings!
J. Alan Gibson
Such a great, great message. I think it should be shared for high school and college graduation. I plan to share this and yes, nothing is impossible. with God.
Thank you for the positive message May God bless you and your family. Kathyrn at kathyrnmartell@gmail.com
This is inspirational and uplifting. Thank you
Thank you for sharing this wonderful story. I plan to share the story with my Son, who was quite good at Math. I’m not sure if he ever heard of these math problems but it’s inspiring and will be a reminder to him of the words of God he grew up with.
So true, you dream the impossible and with our Father leading us we obtain it.
So thankful for this great reminder!
God does and is all the possible. He allow the inpossible so he gets the Glory for the possible miracles in the universe.
Love the story. Faithful persistence. And I’m an engineering grad, so this really rings home.
ALWAYS WHERE GOD IS CONCERNED , NEVER ALLOW YOURSELF A NEGATIVE THOUGHT RATHER IN ALL MATTERS THINK AND MEAN ‘I SURRENDER TO YOU JESUS PLEASE TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING’
Thank you for this inspirational story!
I am getting up in years and don’t really like the idea that its getting more difficult to be in charge of all that is at home and keep up with all the things to make a home run smoothly. So I get impatient with the help that is here because it takes so long to see any moving on the part of my two sons. One is limited vision and diabetic and I understand his difficulties. My other son has social issues and was treated badly by his father who has passed away. Mike can be very helpful and I get discouraged because he wants to do the chores on his time and of course its hard to see things not dealt with according to my time. Both love God and we have been blessed to be children of God and born again and baptized. I am praying for a miracle for me to be around to make a home and keep our current lifestyle and independence. Unfortunately the house needs some major repairs before our winter sets in and the money and time to complete the repairs is our trusting God to get it done to make things safe again. Prayers for God’s help would be appreciated. I thank you for your program and its encouragement and the blessing of God’s working in our lives. Thank you again and may God continue with your programs and encouragement as well as the blessing of God’s word in such a time as this.