No Impossible Obstacles

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Today's reading, titled No Impossible Obstacles, was written by Soh She Dixon. As an adult leader, I arranged a student field trip to an obstacle course. We instructed students to slip into safety gear and scale an eight-foot wall. Those who went first encouraged each climber to trust the harness and keep moving forward without looking down. One of our students stared at the barrier as we secured belts and buckles around her waist.

There is no way I can do this, she said. Affirming the strength of her harness, we encouraged her and cheered when she climbed up the wall and stepped onto the high platform. When we face problems that seem impossible to conquer, fears and insecurities can cause doubts. The assurance of God's unchanging might, goodness, and faithfulness creates a strong harness of trust. This confident assurance fueled the courage of the Old Testament saints who demonstrated that faith trumps our need to know every detail of God's plan. With conviction, we seek God earnestly, often standing alone when we trust Him. We can adjust the way we approach our challenges by viewing our circumstances with an eternal perspective, knowing our trials are only temporary. Focusing on the tough roads and steep climbs in life can prevent us from believing that God will bring us through. But knowing He's with us, we can harness our uncertainties by faith as we trust God to help us overcome obstacles that once seemed impossible.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Hebrews 11 verses 1-6 and verses 13-16. Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith, we understand that the universe was formed at God's command so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith, Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith, he was commended as righteous when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith, Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. By faith, Enoch was taken from this life so that he did not experience death. He could not be found because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

And now I'll read verses 13-16. All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised. They only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.

Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. Let's pray. Thank You for being the author and perfecter of our faith so that the measure of our faith when we face obstacles is reliant on Your strength and not our own. When our faith in You is insecure, God, just remind us of Your faithfulness.

Remind us about the past and give us the courage to step out, trusting that You are holding us up and You won't let us go. Thank You, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.