Overcoming Obstacles (and other devotionals)

Overcoming Obstacles 

Joshua 6:1-5

The Lord has a beautiful plan for each believer’s life. But to thwart God’s purposes, Satan sprinkles obstacles in our path.

There are many types of hindrances, such as a difficult boss, contrary family members, and financial trouble. Anything that blocks a desired goal can cause anxiety and great frustration. But remember that no obstacle can touch you without God’s consent.

Consider Joshua’s army, which was no match for Jericho’s military. And the great wall protecting that city was an impossible barrier to cross. Yet God had promised the Israelites the land, and Joshua believed. He wasn’t fazed by what seemed unconquerable. Instead, he acknowledged the Lord’s power and sought His guidance.

Before Joshua even realized that God was at work, the Lord was preparing the city for destruction by instilling fear into kings throughout the region. Heaven’s directions included an unlikely battle plan, but because Joshua obeyed, God’s people triumphed.

Waiting can be difficult. And after a while, we might even begin to wonder if God will do anything at all—then it is easy to quit. But, as was true with Joshua, God has gone before us and is preparing the way. No matter how He chooses to handle the problem, His solution is always in our best interest.

Whenever you face an obstacle, you may experience great heartache. But even in the midst of pain, you can have full confidence in God. The most important part of each day is the time you spend alone with the Lord. He will encourage you with His love and give direction.

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

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Then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to do to his brother - Deuteronomy 19:19

There is a Nemesis in wrongdoing; evil comes home to roost; what we meditate against others returns on ourselves. They that take the sword shall perish with the sword. The publican who sells drink to debauch sons and fathers, lives to see the drink curse his own family. The man who is treacherous to women lives to see his own sons fall beneath their wiles. Haman erects a gallows for Mordecai, but is hanged upon it himself. Adoni-bezek cut off the toes and thumbs of captive princes, and confessed the rightness of the fate which overtook himself. England imposes opium on China, but presently discovers that it is eating out the heart of her own subjects in India and Burmah. "Whoso causeth the upright to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall. himself into his own pit."

And why is all this? Because God sits behind the slight curtain of the present, judging the acts of men. It is not necessary to wait for the conclusion of the present age to see the sentence inflicted. Now the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, and before Him the nations are gathered. Nineveh, Babylon, Capernaum, Tyre, Pompeii, the power of Spain, the Empire of Napoleon, have already.been condemned to Hades. Now the judgment is set, now the books are opened, now the "Come, ye blessed," and "Depart, ye cursed," are being uttered. God has so made the moral world that the seed of punishment lies hid in each unkind word, each unchristian act; and it is only necessary to give time enough to show that the man who has sown to his neighbor's hurt will reap that hurt in his own life. To every man will be rendered according to his deeds, even in this life.

~F. B. Meyer~

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True Redemption

The passage of Scripture I want to call your attention to today is Ephesians 4:8-10,
Therefore He says:  "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men."  (Now this, "He ascended"—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?  He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
Before Jesus ascended, what did He do?  He descended.  I didn't write that.  The Bible says that.  And when He descended, what did He do?  He led captivity captive.  That refers to the Old Testament saints who were in what is called "Abraham's bosom" or Paradise.

Jesus went down there.  They were in captivity in the sense that they could not go to heaven until Christ's sacrifice.  But after Christ died, having paid the price for our sins, He went and emptied Paradise and He led captivity captive.  He brought those saints up to heaven.

Here is what I want you to picture.  Jesus, through His death and resurrection,  defeated hell and death.  He took the keys away from the devil, stripped him of his power and his authority, and won redemption for the human race.  Then He went to Paradise and there He saw Abraham, David, Moses, Ezekiel, Joshua, Esther, Ruth—all of the people who served the Lord under the Old Covenant.
He threw the door open and said, "Hey, guys!  Time to come home!   It's been done!  The thing the prophets prophesied about, here I am!  I am the reality.  Time to leave this place and come to heaven with me!"

Then He who descended, ascended, leading all of those Old Testament saints to heaven with Him!  And He sent back the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost to empower us to tell the story of His resurrection and His victory.

Let us make that our passion!  To proclaim the resurrected Jesus who has paid the price for our redemption.

~Bayless Conley~

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He Lowers to Raise

"Thy LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: He bringeth low, and lifteth up"   (1 Samuel 2:7).

All my changes come from Him who never changes. If I had grown rich, I should have seen His hand in it, and I should have praised Him; let me equally see His hand if I am made poor, and let me as heartily praise Him. When we go down in the world, it is of the LORD, and so we may take it patiently: when we rise in the world, it is of the LORD, and we may accept it thankfully. In any case, the LORD hath done it, and it is well. It seems that Jehovah's way is to lower those whom He means to raise and to strip those whom He intends to clothe. If it is His way, it is the wisest and best way. If I am now enduring the bringing low, I may well rejoice, because I see in it the preface to the lifting up. The more we are humbled by grace, the more we shall be exalted in glory. That impoverishment which will be overruled for our enrichment is to be welcomed. O LORD, Thou has taken me down of late and made me feel my insignificance and sin. It is not a pleasant experience, but I pray Thee make it a profitable one to me. Oh, that Thou wouldst thus fit me to bear a greater weight of delight and of usefulness; and when I am ready for it, then grant it to me, for Christ's sake! Amen.

~Charles Spurgeon~