TWILY Ministries | Love Notes| June 2008
Got Obstacles?- Just Give'em a Push
Bible Teacher
Joyce Bailey
Boy, did I need help. It was almost 6p.m., and although I had finished printing a ton of files, I still had to staple them and get them down to Legal by morning. The problem was I didn't have a stapler - they seem to just "walk away" from our office, but that is not what had happened this time. Two weeks earlier, I had knocked it off my desk, and caused it to get "stuck" between the wall and a very heavy cabinet; and there it remained; day-after-day-after-day! I had tried some of everything to "free it" from its prison, but nothing worked; not the ruler, not the umbrella, nor the coat hanger. Nothing, and no one else, had been able to retrieve it! Now, I can almost hear you thinking, "Why didn't you just order a new one?" I probably should have, but I wanted that one, because it still worked fine. Oh, I should let you know that I have a tendency to "hang on to things" until they stop working. Even working in the technology field, I see no reason to upgrade to "version b", if "version a" still does the job! As for my stapler, though, I needed a solution to the problem right then and there. That's when I decided to "venture out", to an adjacent suite, to look for something lengthy - perhaps a broom, mop, or anything that could knock the stapler from the grip of the wall and cabinet.
Well,
I didn't find anything,
but
I did run into someone who was working late like I was. Feeling my pain, he
offered his assistance. He walk over to my suite, located the stapler, and in
less than a minute, he placed it in its rightful place - back on my desk. I
could not believe it. That cabinet had "held my stapler hostage" for
two weeks and this man had freed it in less than a minute! Now, I would love to
tell you that he had done something "spectacular" in order to
retrieve it, but he hadn't. He simply knelt down - no, he wasn't praying - ran his fingers underneath the cabinet,
stood up and ROLLED THE CABINET AWAY from the wall! It was hilarious and
we both laughed so hard. I said, "You mean we could have done this
two weeks ago?" He said, "Yep. It is heavy, but it has wheels. You
just needed to give it a push." Can you believe that? One
"little push" and I was able to complete my
task!
The same is true when it comes to
completing our God-given tasks. Many people know what the Lord has called them
to do, but they are allowing obstacles (e.g.
fear,
tradition, man, finances, slothfulness, excuses, etc.) to keep them
"stuck" in disobedience! - I know I did! True, some people don't
know what to do about it, but really, there is only one thing to do: exercise the wheels of faith and push past those
things. See, if we don't do that - that is, deal with the obstacles - we will
never get done - as in "Well done, My good and faithful servant!"
Now, I know that some people teach that it is better to
just deny that these things exist. However, that makes no sense - at
all! I mean, really, how can that advice make sense when the Bible is replete with stories
of individuals who, when setting out to do God's will, faced "real" obstacles.
Recalling just a few, we have Moses and the
Have you decided to
deal with the obstacles in your life?
I hope so, because if
you don't, they will keep you stuck outside of God's perfect will for your life; and there you will
remain; year-after-year-after-year! We can't have that, so
let's exercise the wheels of faith and push them out of the way!
Always be mindful, though, of Zechariah 4:6. Here is how it reads from a modern translation:
So the angel explained that it was the following message of the LORD to
Zerubbabel: I am the LORD All-Powerful. So don't depend on your own power or
strength, but on My Spirit. - CEV
Friends, surely, if the
Lord can use a "silly little staple incident" to teach such an important lesson, He
can use "you and me!" Until next time, stay encouraged! Pray for me
and I am praying for you!
Love in Christ,
Joyce
(c) Joyce Bailey
June 2008
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