Christian Devotional – February 3, 2025

Avoiding the Rollercoaster, Day 3

Obstacles. Read Judges chapter 3.

When we think about the rollercoaster of ups and downs in our Christian life, we often see plenty of obstacles that are littering our path. I often tell God that it would be so much easier if He just removed the obstacles. I wouldn’t be up-and-down nearly as much if I didn’t have these things standing in my way. Here we see something similar with the people of Israel. We learn that God leaves the obstacles intentionally. There was purpose behind God’s decision to do not allow the people to completely wipe out those that were left from other nations. This next generation of people needed to know how to fight. Those obstacles had purpose.

We will navigate the rollercoaster of life more smoothly if we see our obstacles as learning opportunities and challenges to be overcome instead of barriers to our success. God leaves obstacles for purpose. God allows us to face difficulties, knowing that we will be able to overcome and that we would be stronger as a result. When we look at our lives and think about the things that seem to be standing in our way of success, do we recognize them as learning and growth opportunities?

God desires to see us grow and become more than we are. God wants us to be like him, and he understands that, just like Jesus was tested, so we will be tested. We need obstacles in our life to give us challenge and to keep us focused on him. Will we view our obstacles that way and rise to the challenge, learning the lesson that God has for us along the way?

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