There was a man who went up to Jesus wanting to know what good deed to do in order to have eternal life. To answer his question, Jesus told the man that if he wanted to be given eternal life, he needed to follow the commandments. The man then asked which he needed to follow, and Jesus started going through all of the commandments one by one, telling him which ones he needed to follow. The man was certain that he had obeyed all the commandments, so he asked what else he needed to do to receive eternal life. Then, Jesus told him to sell all his belongings and give to the poor. When the man heard this, he walked away discouraged because he had many possessions. Jesus used this man as an example for the disciples saying it was harder for a wealthy person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven then for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. The disciples were amazed and confused at the same time… who could possibly be saved? Jesus replied saying that humanly it is impossible, but with God everything is possible!

God loves us so much and gave us eternal life through Christ. He made the impossible, possible. Jesus has performed so many miracles in response to people’s faith and because of His compassion on them. He raised people from the dead, which without God is impossible. In Mark 11:23, Jesus told us that we can say to a mountain for it to be lifted into the sea, and it would happen, but we would have to believe with all our hearts and have no doubt. It is difficult to not have any doubt in our hearts because of this sinful world where we see people breaking promises all the time. We question if God will really follow through and help us even when others don’t. It is almost like our hearts are telling us to trust him, but our minds tell us that we can’t trust anyone. Having complete trust in God is a constant war within ourselves, but we can have victory in Christ. He is faithful and trustworthy, even when we doubt.

Suggested prayer: Dear God, help me to trust You completely. Help me overcome my fears and doubts. Lord, thank You for always being so good to me even when I start taking things into my own hands. I pray that You continue helping me to grow in my faith and to follow you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

1. Matthew 19:26.

Today’s Encounter was written by: Gianna B.