“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
The word impossible doesn’t show up much in English translations of the Bible – and mostly only to say that nothing is impossible for God (except for lying in Hebrews 6:18). But the writer of Hebrews used the word several times, including this one.
Impossible doesn’t leave room for sometimes or occasionally or even very rarely. It’s an absolute word. We can never ever make God happy without trusting him. That’s not really surprising, though; we wouldn’t expect God to be happy with anyone who thinks he is not trustworthy.
The mind-swivling idea behind the word impossible here is that it means it is possible for a mere human person to please God if we believe he is real – in all the ways his Word describes – and to keep looking for him like we expect to find him and get everything we will ever need from him.
God likes that.
Think: Can someone who has already “found God” through faith in Jesus keep “earnestly seeking” him? If so, how? And how does he reward our searching?
Pray: Ask God to help you to keep trusting him more and more and to keep finding more and more about him in every area of your life.
Do: Search out more about God by going to BibleGateway.com and typing the word impossible into their search engine. Notice especially the nine or so New Testament passages.