GOD CAN DO ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING BUT ...

When we agree and declare that God can do anything and everything, we are really affirming His power, ability, and authority. And so yes, He can do anything, for, after all, He created the world and everything in it. However, there are things He “cannot do” because of who He is.

So, what are some of the things He cannot do?

1)    He cannot co-exist with sin, because He is holy: “Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. It is your sins that have cut you off from God” (Isaiah 59:1-2). His inability to co-exist with sin is the reason He has to judge sinners, destroy the world, and build a whole new one. He is going to send the new, sin-free Jerusalem down from heaven, and nothing sinful will ever enter it. From that time on, The Scriptures declare that “God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. … All these things are gone forever” (Revelation 21:3-4).

 2)    He cannot lie, because if He did, how would we know when or when not to trust Him? Faithfulness is His nature; He cannot deny who He is. He is trustworthy (see Psalm 111:7). We, humans, lie; God doesn’t: “God is not a man, so he does not lie” (Numbers 23:19), in fact, “It is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18).

 3)    He cannot change because He is faithful! However, He does change His mind because He is sovereign. For instance, He changes His mind and withholds pending judgment when we repent. The Bible says, “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus” (see Romans 3:23). This simply means, unless one repents, one will die, spiritually. This verse is an invitation to repentance. So, if you don’t die, it'll because you repented, and He honored His Word. Also, He extends His favor when we sincerely seek Him. For example, when King Hezekiah heard through Isaiah that he was going to die, he prayed and cried out to the Lord, and the Lord heard him and extended his life by fifteen more years (see Isaiah 38:1-8). God does as He pleases!

 4)    He cannot be tempted by evil, and He does not tempt anyone: “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death” (James 1:14-15). The devil is the culprit; he tempts and lures us to sin. Let’s never say “God tempted me.”

5)    He cannot punish us for our sins if we’ve repented. Because of His faithfulness, He honors His Word to forgive us when we repent: “If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (1 John 1:9).

 So, as you see, there are things “God cannot do.” But those things only prove who He is-God! Let’s be thankful and praise His name that He is faithful and can be completely trusted. We need not fear or worry when the Almighty God is our Father. Let’s trust and obey Him! As the hymnist says, “There’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey!