Dream the Impossible

I always love stories which involve overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds. One of my favorites is the story of the Dixie Landings Oaks. When Disney Imagineers were looking to construct a new hotel at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, they wanted to create the look of a sleepy southern town on the Mississippi delta. There was only one problem. The land they were building on was a swamp.

After building a series of canals to drain the area, and clearing out all of the brush and debris, the design team realized that even if they managed to build southern looking buildings, the foliage was a stark reminder that this was still a former swamp.

After searching for a suitable answer to this problem, they discovered two massive oak trees, each over 100 years old. These would make the perfect addition to the resort and help sell the illusion they were trying to create. There was only one small problem. The trees were located 13 miles away and weighed in at a daunting 85 tons each!

Unwilling to let the idea go, the Imagineers began working on a way to transplant the two massive trees. Experts told them they were crazy. There was no way to dig them up in one piece, no way to keep them alive, no way to haul them that far, no way to keep a 6 story tree from falling off a truck. It was impossible. It was time to give up and find another way.

Never a group to back down from a challenge, the Imagineers worked to come up with a plan to safely move the trees and re-plant them in their new home. Finally, in April of 1991, after months of preparation, an army of technicians surround the trees and began working on digging them out.

To protect the roots, they constructed Cyrpess boxes 22 feet square. (That’s as tall as the ceiling of our sanctuary.) They used cranes to lift each tree onto special flatbed trailers. While in transit, the cranes rolled slowly next to the trucks, keeping the trees aloft. Crews went ahead of them and removed 108 light poles and six traffic signals so the trees could pass by.

Finally, after a 3 day journey, the trees reached their new home. One was planted in the center of the resort, around which the resort’s recreation area, Old Man Island, was built. The second was planted at the entrance of the resort so that it was the first thing seen when guests would arrive. They had done it . Though it took a tremendous amount of time, effort, energy, cooperation, and faith, they had done the impossible. Today, the trees are alive and growing and their offspring have been planted throughout the resort.

Last Sunday, our pator shared with us the story of the feeding of the five thousand. What is interesting about this passage is that before Jesus fed the crowds, he first asked his disciples to get the people something to eat. They scoffed at the idea. They said it was impossible. There were certain it could not be done. In fact in Mark 6:37, the disciples respond with "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?" (NIV)

There are a couple of things going on in this passage. Remember how the disciples had just returned from their preaching journey? Now they were finally back with Jesus, they were tired, and they had needs. After all, they were hungry too. They needed to eat and they deserved a break after all that hard work. Now here is Jesus, asking them to do something that was IMPOSSIBLE financially. To add insult to injury, not only could they not do what Jesus was asking, they couldn’t even feed themselves. They didn’t have enough food for the 12 of them to get a decent meal.

Yet in pointing out their inadequacy to do the task at hand, Christ teaches them something life changing. He takes the little bit they have to give and supernaturally expands it to feed thousands. But as great as the miracle is, it doesn’t end there.

Mark’s account goes on. “42They all ate and were satisfied, 43and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.” (NIV)

So what you now have are the disciples not only finding sustenance for that meal, they discover that there is so much excess food left over that they now each have a basket of provisions to get them through the next several days. I believe one of the points that Jesus was trying to make was that when we allow him to do the impossible, he multiplies not only what we have to offer to others, but he gives back provisioning to us that is even greater than what we had to start.

What impossible thing is God calling you to do? What obstacles are you seeing that make it seem impossible?  How much more glory will God get when He takes what little we have to offer and does something impossible with it?

Prayer - Be in prayer for the church and it’s leadership as we seek out the impossible.

Suggested Scriptures - Mark Chapter 6, Matthew Chapter 15, Judges Chapters 6-7