OVERCOME OBSTACLES

Joshua 3:3 “When you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, you are to move out from your positions and follow it.”

The dictionary defines obstacles as “something that stands in the way or opposes”. Something that is between where you are, and where you want to go. Life is filled with obstacles. Some of them will be small, such as maybe a road block on the way to work, or some will be large, like diseases that keep you from being who and what you want to be. Michael A. Guido of Metter, Georgia, columnist of several newspapers wrote about an artist in Mexico who lost his right hand, his primary hand, while working on a statue. This lead to a lot of frustration. But the artist did not give up his work. He learned to carve with his left hand. His beautifully finished masterpiece was called “In Spite Of”. Booker T. Washington was born in slavery. Thomas Edison was deaf. Abraham Lincoln was born of illiterate parents. Robert Louis Stevenson had tuberculosis. Alexander Pope was a hunchback. Julius Caesar was an epileptic. All of these men faced obstacles that stood between where they were and where they wanted to go.

There are also spiritual obstacles as well. Things that hinder us and stand in our way of receiving God’s inheritance for us. These obstacles stand between where we are in our walk with God and where we would like to and should be. I’m sure that we all would like to be closer to the Lord. If we struggle in that area, we should ask the question, “What stands in our way?” Satan himself is a master of placing obstacles or hindrances in the way.

Even the great apostle Paul was not immune to Satan’s obstacles. 1 Thessalonians 2:18 says “Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.” Paul uses the Greek word egkopto, which means “to impede one’s course by cutting off his way”. Much like the old cowboys who are going to cut them off at the pass, they ride quickly to get there ahead of the enemy so they will be in the way. That’s what Satan loves to do and he is good at it, he loves to place obstacles in the way.

Here in Joshua chapter three, Israel stands on the banks of the Jordan River. The land of promise is in view. They can look across the river and see all that God has promised them, their very own homeland flowing with milk and honey. However there is an obstacle. The Jordan River is there and now it is at flood stage. One scholar who had visited the Jordan River during the time of it’s flood stage described the river as being fourteen feet above the normal level and with the water rushing quickly by, quite an obstacle for a million people with their children and their flocks. What were they going to do?

Our scripture offers the clear direction on how to overcome obstacles. Watch for and follow the Ark of the Covenant. To the Israelites, the ark would come to represent the visible presence of God. Often times, it is so easy to keep our eyes upon the obstacles instead of God. For the children of Israel, the commandment was to watch the ark – not the river.

It is undeniable that we will encounter obstacles in our walk with God and the pursuit of our destiny. The obstacles, however, can not change the promise that we have been given by God. With your heart, look to God and follow him. He will lead you through those challenging times and you will receive the fulfillment of his promises.