Life can put any manner of obstacles in our path. Sometimes we are strong and energetic, jumping right over them. Other times we are a little more cautious, stepping carefully over them. There are other times; however, when we are so tired and wearied that we just feel like sitting down and weeping before them, giving up. If that happens we sometimes even backtrack and wind up back where we began, making no progress in our journey at all. It can happen to any of us.
Life can also offer us bridges. Sometimes bridges can be scary things. They can be very high, very rickety, made of rope, built over raging waters, or just something that someone fears. In order to cross a bridge, we have to have faith that what awaits us on the other side of a bridge is worth us crossing it in the first place.
Those obstacle and bridge moments are definitely moments in our lives when we are prone to call out to God. We cry out for help from the One we know or have heard can calm our fears or give us peace. We reach out for the one that calms the storm when the bridge starts swaying. We ask for help with the obstacles when we know they are Goliath’s that we cannot defeat.
It’s those other moments, when the path is clear and the going seems easy that we can get so confident that we forget we are still need of that same Savior. We see the empty path and assume we can handle the steps ourselves. We don’t feel the urgency to read our Bible like we did when we were facing the bridges, so we read less and less until maybe we aren’t reading at all. Meanwhile, there are roots under the leaves that begin trip us up as we go. Suddenly, the small roots begin to look like the large obstacles once again.
We think our prayer time can wait until we get around the curve, but then we get busy with our day and forget. Next thing we know, we look up and see a bear lumbering towards us. Because we haven’t been plugging into the power of the Holy Spirit, we aren’t prepared when the enemy meets us on the path. Now we’re weak, meeting him in our own strength, and full of fear again.
I’m reminded of how David yelled out to Goliath, “You come against me with a dagger, spear, and sword, but I come against you in the name of the Lord, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand.” 1 Sam. 17:45-46
We don’t just need the Lord on our side when the obstacle is in our face. We need to have had the Lord by our side all along, so that once we meet the obstacles we are sure to face we can face them with a David-like faith, strong and sure.
Walk with Him daily,
jamie
considering the word 