If
we are in submission to God, it may be that obstacles are God’s perfect plan
for us.
“I will make all my mountains a way.”
~Isaiah 49:11
(KJV)
Once while travelling from Alberta to British
Columbia, my friend and I drove towards a huge mountain. Our highway looked as
though it was the Pied Piper leading us into the mountain where we would be lost forever. Yet as we got closer, our road turned to
the right, and we drove up and over the pass, leaving the mountain behind.
Shortly after this trip, my health and life
collapsed. It took time to heal, time to rebuild my life. During that time God brought
back that mountain image as a metaphor for His way through obstacles, encouraging
me through a little book called God at Eventide.
Go
forward unafraid.
Face
each difficulty, however great and seemingly unconquerable, as you go forward
towards it.
The
strength you will require from Me for that adventure into danger, as it may
seem to you, will fortify you for its overcoming.
“Fear
thou not, for I am with thee” (Isaiah 41:10).
Go
steadily forward in calm trust along the path of quiet obedience.
That
is your work. Mine to cause the doors to swing open, as you come to them, not
before.
In addition, I realized that we go through difficulties
for another purpose. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 says in part: "Praise be to God...who
comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any
trouble..." Overcoming my obstacles was meant to help and encourage
others.
But God brought light and beauty too. One summer I
had part-time work, and each weekend when visiting my parents, I brought
flowers from Mom's lavish garden. They filled our apartment with joy, fragrance
and comfort.
*
* *
Beyond my own story, I’m encouraged by a “great
cloud of witnesses,” (Hebrews 12:1), those who have discovered how "mountains" have
become the way.
·
Milton wrote Paradise
Lost and Paradise Regained when he was blind. His daughters
transcribed his poetry for him.
·
Beethoven composed
some of his most beautiful music when he was deaf, hearing the orchestra only
in his trained mind.
·
Edison invented
the light bulb after 1,000 unsuccessful attempts. When a reporter
asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn't fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was
an invention with 1,000 steps."
·
Solzhenitsyn in his
literary memoir, The Oak and the Calf, quoted the old saying, “If
Trouble comes, make use of it." He added, “Misfortune can open the door to
freedom, if we have the wit to read it aright”
·
“In the middle of
difficulty lies opportunity” Albert Einstein once said.
Now over to you. What obstacles have you encountered
in your life and/or writing? What has God taught you, and what have you learned
from them?
