“Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, ‘We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.’” — Numbers 13:30

Each week in synagogue or at home, Jews read through the Torah from Genesis to Deuteronomy. The Torah portion for this week is Shelach, which means “send,” from Numbers 13:1–15:41.

One winter night, when my daughter was six years old, she asked me if we could add a special prayer to our usual bedtime prayers. When I asked her what she wanted to pray for she told me that she wanted to ask God to make it snow so that we could have a snow day at home.

I started to explain to her that given the weather forecast for where we live in Israel, the chances of snow were extremely slim. But as she insisted on adding the prayer even if snow was unlikely, I relented. Who am I to say what is possible and not possible? My daughter understood perfectly well that God can make anything happen, and I wasn’t about to tell her to believe otherwise.

Nothing Is Impossible with God

In this week’s Torah portion, we read that ten of the twelve spies who went to scout the land of Canaan came back with a report that claimed the land was impossible to conquer. In Deuteronomy 1:28, we learn that the spies described the cities in Canaan as being “large, with walls up to the sky.” Those ten spies exaggerated the challenge before them, and then to make it worse, underestimated God’s power to help them overcome it.

However, two men – Joshua and Caleb – trusted God’s promise. According to Jewish tradition, in response to the exaggeration of the spies, Caleb told the people that even if the Promised Land was in heaven and they were instructed to climb up on ladders in order to reach it, even that would be attainable. He assured the people that anything God told them to do was possible because nothing is impossible with God.

I want to encourage us all to have that same unwavering faith that Caleb had. When God has laid something on our heart that we know we must do, don’t be afraid of any walls that stand in the way. There isn’t anything that God can’t do, and with His help, we can scale any wall and conquer any challenges.

Just like my daughter, children naturally trust that God can do anything. We, too, can choose to rest in perfect faith, knowing that with God anything is possible for us as well.

Your turn: What seemingly impossible challenge are you faced with? Let us know in the comments and let us join in pray to the God of Israel who can make anything happen — even the impossible!