Many times in our individual circles, we hear about obstacles.
Health.
Rough marriages.
Friction in friendships.
Financial trouble.
In those things we're often taught to simply go to God and pray about those things. Usually it is visceral. We make jericho marches and we stomp devils and we rebuke our Satan-inspired obstacles and all of that is fine, excepting this one thing...
...all obstacles are not of the devil. As a matter of fact, if you think about it, most obstacles are God-inspired. Repeat: most obstacles are God-inspired. Obstacles are used for two purposes: creating strength and redirection.
It's easy to notice because, honestly, it causes a bit of pain and we usually don't like it. Here's an example: that old friend you keep trying to reach that never seems to have even half as much time as they did even five months ago. Now, here we would react without a thought to it to either drop the person or be reconciled, but before you do any of that, maybe it should be considered that this is meant to change your direction or strengthen you somehow.
It's something to considered when you are going through your pain. God is determined not to waste your pain, so He may use it to change your course. There's a reason you can't get past the things you can't get past. There's a reason why you feel differently than people think you should in a given situation. There is a reason some things are easier and other things are harder.
I'm not saying that pain automatically means "hey, you need to give up" because a lot of good things are found after much opposition. However, pain doesn't necessarily mean "this is the way" as much as "there may be another"; when you're going through a maze, a wall or dead end doesn't mean "throw in the towel" as much as "this is not the way. Now think for a moment, and try again..."
In sum, obstacles are friends if you know how to see them. Think about your obstacles today? What is this saying to you?
Health.
Rough marriages.
Friction in friendships.
Financial trouble.
In those things we're often taught to simply go to God and pray about those things. Usually it is visceral. We make jericho marches and we stomp devils and we rebuke our Satan-inspired obstacles and all of that is fine, excepting this one thing...
...all obstacles are not of the devil. As a matter of fact, if you think about it, most obstacles are God-inspired. Repeat: most obstacles are God-inspired. Obstacles are used for two purposes: creating strength and redirection.
It's easy to notice because, honestly, it causes a bit of pain and we usually don't like it. Here's an example: that old friend you keep trying to reach that never seems to have even half as much time as they did even five months ago. Now, here we would react without a thought to it to either drop the person or be reconciled, but before you do any of that, maybe it should be considered that this is meant to change your direction or strengthen you somehow.
It's something to considered when you are going through your pain. God is determined not to waste your pain, so He may use it to change your course. There's a reason you can't get past the things you can't get past. There's a reason why you feel differently than people think you should in a given situation. There is a reason some things are easier and other things are harder.
I'm not saying that pain automatically means "hey, you need to give up" because a lot of good things are found after much opposition. However, pain doesn't necessarily mean "this is the way" as much as "there may be another"; when you're going through a maze, a wall or dead end doesn't mean "throw in the towel" as much as "this is not the way. Now think for a moment, and try again..."
In sum, obstacles are friends if you know how to see them. Think about your obstacles today? What is this saying to you?
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