“Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses servant, saying, ‘Moses My servant is dead; so now arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. Every place on which the sole of your footsteps, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. No one will be able to oppose you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not desert you nor abandon you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the Law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may achieve success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will achieve success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’” (Joshua 1:1-9 NASB)
Each and every one of us will face obstacles in life. Obstacles: Things that block our reaching a goal, “those people”, touching memories that we look at sadly instead of gladly that we have the capability to remember, tough times, and transitional times where things are not like they used to be. Obstacles: Times where we just cannot seem to get past what is in our way; times that hinder our peaceful journey down the road of life, and times where some uncontrolled character trait within us trips us up. God’s people will face obstacles!
More about obstacles! They come in various sizes and forms, ranging from visual, physical, mental, emotional, and even spiritual perspectives. They will come. Let me inject that some small obstacles are just as big as what people consider to be gigantic obstacles. To others, they think it is no big thing. But to you it is an enormous obstacle. To others, you will hear voices say, ‘That’s really not such a big deal,’ but know that our obstacles impact us, regardless of size, from a very personal perspective. Thus, small obstacles are actually quite great, and they are even hard to defeat when we are not right with God.
Looking at our scriptural references above, I want to give you some abbreviated, wise counsel that points to how we can deal with the small obstacles. 1: The Lord will help you deal with your obstacles. 2. Put the sin behind you. Get right with God. Clean up your act and rise up so that you can be victorious over your obstacles that have defeated you before. (In between the scriptures I have included in this meditation, small Ai had defeated Israel because of sin in the camp.) 3. Consult with God for further direction and divine assurance as you continue being committed to the climb. 4. Chill! The Lord is with you! Hope you find this helpful. Be blessed!
“Now the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed. Take all the people of war with you. Arise, go up to Ai; see, I have handed over to you the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land.’ (Joshua 8:1 NASB)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King