Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” Mark 10:27
step 1: read the devotional
step 2: listen to the worship playlist while you paint your nails
step 3: let your nails be a reminder
the context of Jesus saying this to His disciples really reveals something amazing. check out this story in Mark 10:17-30:
17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is[b] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him,[c] “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
this is such a powerful story and nearly brings me to tears every time I read it. here’s the reason why and what stands out to me: true heart transformation is something only God can do and humility is something we can only learn by knowing God's character.
in the story, this young man wanted a good, comfortable life and eternal life. he appeared to be doing all the right things, but Jesus revealed that it was more than just keeping rules—it was about the young man's heart. Jesus invites us to rely on Him. to not store up treasures on earth, but store up treasures in heaven. why? because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. we must love God with our entire heart, soul and mind.
in verse 25, Jesus shares a picture of the camel going through the "eye of the needle". there's a theory that there was a small gate in Jerusalem called “the eye of the needle”. the gate was so small that anyone that hoped to get a camel through would have to take all of the baggage off the camel, get the camel down on its knees, and carefully get the camel through the tiny opening. this picture is poetic because to live like Jesus is to be humble. so like the camel, we need to be on our knees, living in humility. letting go of our "baggage" and relying fully on God. what are you holding onto or putting your trust in?
we can be confident that when we surrender, God does the impossible: He transforms us. He replaces fear with faith, pride with humility, self-reliance with trust. this is the miracle of the gospel—He makes possible what we never could. today, invite God to do what only He can—transform your heart, so you may live fully for Him.