BARRIERS

Mic 2:13  God will stand up and breakthrough in their presence. Then they will pass through the gate, going out by it. Their king will pass in front of them with the LORD at their head.

God led the Israelites out of Egypt freeing them from the worst kind of slavery and put them on the way to Canaan, the Promised Land -- on the way to freedom, eternal joy, and salvation. But what did they find before them? The ocean was blocking their way, with a powerful enemy army in hot pursuit. The situation looked absolutely hopeless and the people – about two million of them – were scared stiff that they began to say life in Egypt would have been better! But Moses was not downhearted. He just looked up to God for instructions, and in obedience to Him, had the very ocean split into two! Nothing like this has ever happened in the history of mankind.

40 years later, when their long sojourn in the desert was at last coming to an end and the Promised Land appeared to be within their reach, they would again face another seemingly insurmountable barrier – the huge wall of Jericho blocking their way. All that the fugitives led by Joshua had to do this time around was to steadfastly pray and praise; God brought down the formidable wall for them!

It is perfectly natural when you turn Christian, when you are freed from the deathly grip of sin, that obstacles start coming your way. These are allowed by God in order to test your faith, to help you grow spiritually, to teach you valuable lessons in discipline and grace, to train you and render you tougher for greater ‘journeys’ or to demonstrate His might and authority for His glory. This is what happened during the Israelites’ tortuous, 40-year desert experience. Many New Testament writers have demonstrated that obstacles in Christian life and ministry are not only normal but also necessary.

Where do obstructions come from? Everywhere! I list a few examples from the Bible.

• Through religion.

Hannah went to worship at the temple with a heavy heart. God had closed her womb and answers to her entreaties were slow in coming. This time her prayers were determined and intense. She was pouring her heart out to God in a deeply emotional prayer – eyes closed shut, lips alone moving with no sound coming out of them.  Eli, the high priest whose job it was to bring people to God, misunderstood her condition for drunkenness and tried to stop her! (1 Sam 1.18)

• From family, government.

When David offered to fight Goliath Saul was not very enthusiastic; David’s brothers actually discouraged him and mocked him.

• From our associates

The lady with the expensive perfume who anointed the Lord even before His death – a fine and beautiful thing to do – was actually condemned by the disciples who tried to stop her (Matthew  26. 6-13). Even children’s path towards the Lord was strewn with thorns! It was again by the disciples. It is a supreme irony that these were the very people who were handpicked by Jesus as fishers of men!

• Through society.

Of all the obstacles Christians have to deal with, the worst ones come from the society we live in. (Matthew 20:29-34).

As Jesus and the disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him.  There were two blind men sitting beside the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”. The crowd rebuked them and ordered them to shut up.

Jesus had gone to the region of the Gerasenes in the company of His disciples. He had gone there to heal a man with an unclean spirit. This man had been living in the tombs and could no longer be restrained, even with chains there was no one with the strength to subdue him. Night and day in the tombs and in the mountains he kept crying out and cutting himself with stones. Jesus healed this man completely. When the villagers heard about this miracle, they didn’t bring to him more of the sick among them, but asked Jesus to go away!

You can overcome these obstructions in your personal life or ministry by the help of the Holy Spirit, by praying persistently, by refusing to be discouraged and by  ignoring insults and taunts wherever they come from – family, friends, society, or church.

When a celestial visitor wrestled with Jacob all the night, he refused to be subdued but demanded and received God’s blessing (Gen 32.25-34). The Canaanite woman with the devil-possessed child wouldn’t be put off, but petitioned the Lord tenaciously until she received an assurance from Him (Mat 15.22-28). The four men who carried a cripple to Jesus to be healed were not discouraged by the the room that was packed to capacity; they  did not rest until they took off the ceiling of the room and lowered the patient right in front of Jesus (Mark 2.1-5)

Jesus wants us not to despair, not to give up in the face of obstacles in our prayer life or ministry. That’s why He told the parable in Luke 18. 1-7 - about a God-less judge and a persistent widow. Constant prayer means keeping our requests continually before God as we live for Him day by day, believing He will answer. When we live by faith, we mustn’t give up.  ‘’Will not God likewise do justice to His elect who cry out to Him day and night?” Jesus asked.  As we persist in prayer, we grow in character, faith, and hope. All prayers made in faith are answered according to His grace, in His time. That’s God’s promise.

It is my belief that there are three types of answers to prayers. I compare them to Noah’s three pigeons. The first bird he let out of the window of the ark came back promptly. The second one brought a fresh twig in its beak. The third one never came back! I want you to figure this about.

Trapped against the sea the children of Israel faced the Egyptian army sweeping down for the kill. People thought they were doomed. Even after watching God’s powerful arm deliver them from Egypt, their only response was fear, whining, and despair. Where was their trust in God? They had repeatedly seen God’s might and mind demonstrated, but they never learned that His grace was sufficient.

St. Paul refers to the crossing of the Red Sea makes some surprising observations. Please read 1Corinthians 10:1-5. It was the invisible hand of Christ that led the Israelites through the desert. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. But they despaired of God and were reluctant to believe that God was not only capable, but also willing to take them to the Promised Land, overcoming all obstacles. Their rebellious attitude resulted in total disaster.

This teaches us our religion - baptism, fellowship, formal worship and our good works etc - cannot rescue when we are cornered, when we are faced with a formidable obstruction in our life/ministry. By focusing on God’s faithfulness in the past, by observing other’s experience, by listening to testimonies of believers, we can face crises with confidence without fear and not complaining. His grace is sufficient for us, in order to overcome obstacles.

Obstructions are really opportunities. David was not intimidated by the powerful opponent of Goliath, but fought him with the power of God and won. This paved the way for the establishment of the dynasty in which our Lord would be born! The Pharisees thought they had gotten rid of Jesus - ended His ministry - by having Him crucified, but it was that very act that opened the way to salvation! The cruel act of murdering Stephen helped Christianity spread all over the world! Are these instances not amazing?

“Who will separate us from the Messiah’s love?” thunders St. Paul and goes on to list a number of possible barriers in this life (Romans 8:35). Then he speaks with conviction in Romans 8:38, 39 that none can separate us from the love God when we are united with Christ. The barriers we come to face in our lives are God’s way of opening new doors, to further His purpose.

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