Obstacles

This year, I started reading Streams in the Desert, and so far it has yet to disappoint. It's a great devotional, and I'm sure many have read it. If you haven't, or if you started and didn't finish, take this as an encouragement to start AND finish it. ;) 8 days in, I can assure you it's worth it.

The Lord revealed something to me in one of the devotions a couple of days ago. The text was Isaiah 43:2. "When thou passest through the waters....they shall not overflow thee." The scripture is certainly a common one, but the commentary it gave with it stuck out to me. "He does not remove obstacles out of our way before we reach them. Yet when we are on the edge of our need, God's hand is stretched out." That's the basis of my thought here, and hopefully, I can express it as it was impressed in my mind.

First of all, it's important to note that the verse is definitive on multiple points. It says WHEN thou passest through the waters, not IF. Trials are a part of life, it's guaranteed that we will, as Christian's face opposition from the devil. It also says through. It doesn't say into. That means we will enter and then exit, passing THROUGH. We won't stay in a permanent state of trial. God is faithful to bring us through each and every temptation, disappointment, trial, and issue we face.  The verse also says they SHALL not overflow thee. Despite how difficult the obstacle is, it won't be more than we can bear. Scripture backs that up in 1 Corinthians 10:13 "but God is faithful... but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it." In Isaiah 43:2 again, God also promises "I will be with thee." We aren't alone. I'm encouraged that God has promised us to be able to handle and escape temptation.

But that doesn't prevent obstacles from appearing in our view. Some seem easy enough to deal with, while others, which we seem to take greater note of, seem larger than life. The latter are the ones which tend to cultivate fear, dread, and ultimately test our faith in God. Do we really believe He can remove that obstacle that seems so impassable? Take it a step further. We can say we believe He's able. But do we believe He WILL? Lord, help us all to have greater faith. That's something I definitely struggle with.

One component of faith I really struggle with is timing. I want to walk the straight and narrow way, but I want it to be cleared of all the brush, thorns, and obstacles that are between here and heaven. That's not always the case for our vision, though. We see an obstacle up ahead, and it plants a seed of worry that germinates as we approach and it still hasn't moved. The *straight* and narrow way isn't to go around it, so we worry how we'll get past it. Recall the children of Israel, freed from the bondage of slavery in Egypt and quickly approaching the Red Sea. They arrived at the banks, awaiting God's direction, and growing hastily displeased with the apparent lack of help from the God that had just delivered them. Yet, when the time was right, God parted the sea, replacing their obstacle with a clear path to safety.

How often do we come to a problem in our walk, and cry out to God that He isn't helping us? Even if we don't say the words, is our heart doubting? Do we so quickly forget the redemption He gave us? It's easy to let our fears go wild when we don't see an open, easy road ahead. But every time, God is faithful to clear the path and get the obstacle out of our way when He sees the time is right. He gave the Israelites just enough time to escape from being recaptured. The story of the Israelites is a parallel to our spiritual salvation now. God will make a way of escape from the bondage of sin. He's promised it. The daily obstacles teach us to consistently depend on God to help us and die daily to our own will and accept His will step by step.

Psalm 66:12 says "Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place." This sounds like the testimony of someone who has faced difficult obstacles. "Men to ride over our heads" is a description of belittling oppression, and possibly an alludes to the chariots of Egyptian bondage. Going through fire and water is indicative of trial by referencing elemental extremes. Fire can be dangerous and hot, while water can be just as deadly. Through all of these things, and despite the magnitude of the obstacles -- the testimony is that God brought them through and into a "wealthy place," a place of abundance and blessings.

The obstacles we face in life are guaranteed. It's not an easy road to heaven, and our daily walk with God will have obstacles that we have to deal with. The more pressing question is how we will deal with them, and if we'll have the faith to let God move them when it's His will to do so. The lyrics of a song say you have to have faith "when you don't see it but you believe it anyway." We might not see a clear path or a passable road, but we have to believe it anyway. We see the obstacle, but God sees our heart and how much faith and trust it has in Him. It's my prayer to surrender my own thinking and let Him handle the obstacles I see ahead, however big or small they may be. Please pray for me.

Keep encouraged!