There are some things God can’t do. Yes, God is all-powerful (“omnipotent” in Christianese). Nothing is too hard for him (Isaiah 43:13) and he does whatever pleases him (Psalm 135:6).
But “all-powerful” still has limits. By the time you’ve finished reading about these seven examples, I think you’ll not only agree with me, you’ll also love God all the more for it.
1. God can’t deny himself. In 2 Timothy 2:13, Paul puts it like this: “If we are unfaithful, God remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.” Who God is today, he has always been.
“‘All-powerful” still has limits.”
Trustworthy, perfect in beauty, entirely without sin, full of unfailing love, present in our weakness. The second God falters in any of this, the moment he breaks a single promise that he has made, he ceases to be God. And that’s something he cannot do.
2. God can’t be tempted with evil. James 1:13 says that, “God is never tempted to do wrong.” We tend to think of right and wrong as abstract ideas that even God is accountable to. But we have it back-to-front.
“The moment God breaks a single promise he has made, he ceases to be God.”
Good is, by definition, anything that aligns with God’s perfect character. And evil is, by definition, anything that doesn’t. So to say that God can’t be tempted with evil is an understatement. It’s a logical impossibility.
3. God can’t learn. I don’t have a Bible verse for this one. But God knows everything. And if God could learn, it would mean that once upon a time, he didn’t know that thing he learnt. Think about it.
4. God can’t do the illogical. Have skeptical people ever taunted you with questions like, “Can God make a box he can’t escape?” or “Can he make a rock so large he can’t move it?” or “Can God draw square circles?”
“Add these silly semantic puzzles to the list of things God can’t do.”
Don’t try to defend the indefensible. The answer is no. Add these silly semantic puzzles to the list of things he can’t do. God’s not fazed; no need for us to be either.
5. God can’t get tired. “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” (Isaiah 40:28). That’s good news for weary souls.
6. God can’t teach you as much through pleasure as he can through suffering. How can a good God allow evil and suffering? This question is universal, and it’s borne out of the fire of our own uniquely painful experiences.
“The things that have shaped us the most have also cost us the most.”
While this doubt is deep, complex and touches us in different ways, we all know instinctively that the things that have shaped us the most have also cost us the most. Are not all of our favourite movies simply retellings of this same theme?
In our mess, this feels like cold comfort. But try to imagine your own story without a single struggle or challenge. What of substance in your life would there be to speak of today? In the chaos, hold on to God’s promise that all of these “light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
7. God can’t seperate you from his love. God didn’t remain aloof from the suffering of the world but entered into it. And it was this act of unthinkable humility—our Creator suffering all that we deserved, absorbing the rage of man and the wrath of God—that lifts the curse and welcomes us back into his eternal love.
“God didn’t remain aloof from the suffering of the world but entered into it.”
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39).
I’m glad there are some things God can’t do.
