Concrete is a bear to get through.
I can hear the sound of the surf on the other side. I can smell the salt and feel the sand under my toes but my journey has been blocked.
I can see the other side through a little drainage tube cut into the concrete. It’s certainly nothing I could slip through, but it’s just enough to torment me with thoughts of what great things might be waiting for me on the other side if I could just get past this barrier that’s holding back my progress.
This is not a new obstacle. The weathered face of the concrete wall tells me it’s been here for quite some time. The sea has tried to have its way with it, but the barrier has resisted all attempts to coerce it to move.
Do you ever feel that way in life?
Maybe for you it’s a fear or a toxic way of thinking. Maybe it’s a sin or bad habit that you just can’t let go of — or a sickness that won’t let go of you.
Maybe it’s a person at school whose attitude is dragging you down or a person at work who is holding you back.
Maybe it’s a problem in your family.
We all go through seasons where it seems like we’re up against a wall, a barrier that seems insurmountable. It feels like it’s too high to climb, to wide to bypass and too thick to push through. We feel trapped and frustrated, discouraged and alone, and it’s tempting to simply give up, sit down, and resign ourselves to the fact that our progress is finished and this is all our life is ever going to be.
But you don’t have to live that way!
Look at what the Psalmist David writes about how he overcomes the obstacles in his path: “For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.” -Psalm 18:29
David had huge obstacles in his life. He was the runt of his family. He was in a dead-end job as a shepherd. Even when God chose Him to be the future king of Israel, David spent many of next few years running for his life. His wife was taken from him and given to another. His sons rebelled against him and took his kingdom away. His own sin brought great pain into his life. Yet, despite all the hardship David went through, he knew a powerful truth about barriers.
Every obstacle is short when it’s put next to God, and the bigger the barrier, the greater His glory when He helps you overcome.
No matter what you are facing in your life, if you’re in Christ then God is with you and God is for you and He is able to strengthen you in your hour of need. He is able to give you the power to overcome any barrier, any obstacle, any stronghold in your life, and not only is He able, but He’s willing because He loves you!
May you trust in the strength of the Lord as you face barriers in your life, and when He helps you overcome them, may you never forget to look back and see how far you’ve come.
You’ll find that compared to Jesus, that barrier was far shorter than it looked.
