I was recently rummaging through my old CD collection and came across two by Jars of Clay; their self-titled album (the first CD I ever purchased) and Who We Are Instead. It’s been a while since I’ve listened to either of them, but was reminded of a song on the second called Faith Enough:
The ice is thin enough for walkin’
The rope is worn enough to climb
My throat is dry enough for talkin’
The world is crumblin’ but I know why
.
The land unfit enough for planting
Barren enough to conceive
Poor enough to gain the treasure
Enough a cynic to believe
Throughout, the song utilizes images – some Biblical, some not – that would inspire faith. Looking at scripture, it becomes clear that God favors dire circumstances, not simply to be dramatic, but to reveal that there is no other answer than He. If Abraham and Sarah were in their 30′s, if the storm on the sea of Galilee was just a shower, if the blind man instead had an astigmatism, if Mary had been married for years before Jesus was conceived – what faith would these inspire? Each would carry with it possible answers that are more likely than divine intervention. God waits for impossible situations and when there can be no other way, He acts.
I found myself, yesterday, faced with a similarly impossible situation. I am a deer hunter – or should I say, I sit in a box with a gun for long periods of time. For four years I have dedicated many, many hours to hunting, all with zero success. The only time I’ve even seen a deer while holding my rifle it was 300 yards away, running. I’ve tried hunting in varied climates and times of the day, in stands and on the ground, alone and with friends, different locations, with and without attempts to control my own scent – you get the picture. I have literally tried everything and read many-a-book regarding methods; still, nothing. It must be some intangible; the deer are repelled by the smell of my soul (or something). Each evening, when the shooting-light is fading, I begin to wonder what spiritual lesson can be learned from yet another few hours of a burned-out afternoon. Yesterday, I 
realized that since I’ve tried everything and failed, success is completely in God’s hands. There is nothing more than I can do and if I ever end up taking down a deer, I will wholeheartedly acknowledge it as a miracle of God’s will.
Of course, it would be easy to jump for joy at such a revelation, but in not shooting a deer, God also reveals His will for me. This is a bit more difficult to accept, as it doesn’t exactly match up with my own will, but then again, what does? Like with all things, if a person conforms their will to that of God’s, they’ll always have their way – and God’s – even if it means coming home empty-handed.