Adam and Eve were placed in a specially created place, Garden of Eden, to make them comfortable and joyful. Everything that they needed to lead a comfortable life was already provided there. But due to sin they had to leave the Garden of Eden and live on the earth that had also received the curse. Because of this all of mankind suffers from ‘thorns and thistles’ in their life.
Facing the hurdles of life – Adam was blessed to ‘fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth’ (Genesis 1:28). Added to that was the daily visits by the LORD God Himself to teach, guide and bless them. The scene completely changed after sin, for he was told by God, ‘cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life’ (Genesis 3:17). The earth itself became a hurdle to the normal life of an individual, who is tripped at every step in his way.
There are basically four types of obstacles before us in our life. The first, is the spiritual, which is caused by the forces of evil and darkness all around us. Apostle Paul, faced opposition all along his way in his efforts to reach out with the message of the Gospel. He identified the opposition, ‘we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places’ (Ephesians 6:12). We start fighting with the person who comes with the message of the force within him, without even realizing who the real enemy is. The hidden spiritual force within, wields control, to use the individual to do his will.
The overall control rests with the devil, who has copied the design of heaven, where archangels head a group of other angels. Satan was the leader of the worship group. They have been given certain specified areas to operate in and are not supposed to leave that. The large number of evil spirits controlling the Gadarene man begged Lord Jesus ‘that He would not command them to go out into the abyss’ (Luke 8:31). Depending on the spiritual status of a believer, the suitable opposing demonic spirit comes.
God is faithful and He ‘will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able’ (1 Corinthian 10:13). The toughest test faced by an individual, apart from the Son of God, was by Job. In one day he lost all his children, his wealth and all that he had. Then he was afflicted with ‘painful boils from the sole of his feet to the crown of his head’ (Job 2:7-10). Pained by the sufferings of her husband and burdened with such loss, even his wife said to him, ‘Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!’ Despite all that, he willingly accepted all the sufferings and troubles as from God who had blessed him so much in the past. His three friends accused him of hidden and unconfessed sin but finally God blessed him with His presence and restoration of more than what he had lost. All this happened by the permission of God to teach Satan a lesson of faith and perseverance. The only way to face and overcome spiritual hurdles is in the power of God and His Word, ‘the sword of the Spirit’. These spiritual powers cause deception, create confusion and promote evil all-around. They have a set and a well organised structure.
Second are the physical hurdles, which are about the limitations of your body. The dominion that was given to Adam over all the animals in the Garden was to help him extend the influence of the Garden beyond its boundaries. The Great Commission is about making ‘disciples of all the nations’ and then baptising them, thus sealing their bond with God and extending the boundaries of God’s kingdom. Lord Jesus never went beyond the territory of Israel but the disciples travelled far and wide with the message of the Gospel. We have much faster and better means of communication to reach out to others all over the world, while being in one place only. There are many, who despite their terrible physical handicaps reach out to innumerable others to motivate and strengthen them in their faith.
Third are the hurdles of lack or inadequate material resources. IN faith, King David could say, ‘The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want’ (Psalm 23:1). God has placed each individual with a specific task in a specific setting but invariably, we want to be like someone else and copy him in doing all that he is doing. As a result, many miss out on doing what they are supposed to do and remain stuck. A Pastor heading a large Church visited America to raise funds for his church building project. As per him, he received a total of just a few hundred dollars. But when, in submission to God, he prayed and started the work, resources poured in from various sources, unknown to him, and the building was completed in a record time.
Fourth is the idea of being in the wrong place. Asaph, the prophet and worship leader during King David and Solomon’s time, felt this (Psalm 73:2-3). He confessed, ‘my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked’. Apostle Paul, the great preacher and scholar of Scripture was chosen by God with this one clause to be a messenger of God before ‘Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel’ (Acts 9:15-16). But added to this wonderful task was, ‘I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake’. The Apostle must have been aware of this, yet he could overcome all hesitation to move on in faith in the Saviour. Every hurdle in our path of life is first in the mind and then it appears before us. The Holy Spirit in us helps us live a life with a sound mind and self-control. In His power we move and face every hurdle to jump over and move on to our destined place of blessings.
Why did David suffer despite no fault of his? David, faced Goliath with his shepherd’s staff, sling and five stones, to kill the giant by hitting him in the forehead with the stone using his sling (1 Samuel 18:6-9). When they came back from war, as was the custom, the women came out to welcome the victorious Israelite army. The women sang, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands’. And this one song of the women, in which David had no role, made Saul ‘very angry, and the saying displeased him’. This set in motion a series of actions by him to kill David, forcing him to flee to the wilderness. Job suffered great and tragic losses for no fault of his and David also suffered in a similar manner.
Moses had compassion for his fellow Jews and ended up killing an Egyptian supervisor who was beating a Jewish man (Exodus 2:11-12). He fled Egypt and was in the wilderness for forty years, tending sheep, when he was called by God to send him back to Egypt to lead his people out. Despite all the miracles that he performed in Egypt, as God’s representative, along the way and then in the wilderness, the people still revolted against him. God is in control over every situation and permits certain hurdles in our way to test our faith and train us for bigger battles.
Lord Jesus commanded the disciples, ‘Let us cross over to the other side’ (Mark 4:35-41). This was after they were taught about faith and they faced a great storm. The Saviour Lord had no rest for the body and ‘He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow’. This is the rear area of a boat and the storm created fear in the minds of these fishermen also, who had fished in these waters for years. In fear they awoke the Lord, who rebuked the wind and said, ‘Peace, be still’. But then He also wondered about their fear, and said to them, ‘How is it that you have no faith?’ God works in us to do unimaginable things through us, through those who are willing to go in his ways.
In the Promised Land, Jericho was the first battle that the Israelites fought under Joshua’s leadership. The fortified city wall, all around it, was very strong and a chariot could move on it, such was its width. Joshua was commanded by God to go around the city for six days once and return to their camp. On the seventh day they were to go around seven times and finally the priests were to blow the seven trumpets. Then, at the shout of the Israelites, those thick walls of Jericho would fall inward, ensuring their victory. To a normal person this would look ridiculous, exposing his soldiers to danger of enemy arrows from the wall. Joshua could persuade his soldiers to do as per God’s command and the great city was conquered.
In each person exist the major elements of the Israelites freedom from Egyptian slavery, an Egypt, a Pharaoh and a Moses and freedom and the Promised Land. Egypt is what chains you to who you are, restraining you from any growth and change. Pharaoh is a voice inside that ridicules your effort to escape by whispering into the ear, ‘are you not satisfied with who you are? How can you try to be what you were yesterday’. Moses is the liberator, the force within, with a very powerful urge to connect with the unlimited and soar like an eagle. The Holy Spirit in us is the power from God, to give wings to our dreams, to break through the hurdles in giant leaps. Freedom and Promised Land keep changing as you grow spiritually, for your vision for everything around you is not static but keeps on evolving.
This is about your moving in faith to overcome everything that tries to stop your onward journey. In this, you challenge the forces around you by seeking and receiving the power of God. The disciples had seen the Son of God performing various miracles and the move to the other side of the sea of Galilee was one such. The devil created a hurdle through the great storm to stop them. Apostle Paul provides the key, ‘He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you’ (Romans 8:11). We, as believers, are all chosen and called by name, by God Himself, into His protection and provision. The promise of that Almighty God to us is, ‘when you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you’ (Isaiah 43:2). The three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego believed, were thrown in the furnace heated seven times more than normal, yet suffered no loss. ‘The fire had no power; the hair of their head were not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them’ (Daniel 3:27). In faith, the hurdles become stepping stones to greater blessings. David did not cry but kept moving in faith, gathered a group of great warriors with him and in due time, became a great king of Israel.
The sin of Adam brought a curse on the earth and ‘thorns and thistles’ in our way are the fruit of that (Genesis 3:18). The Amalekites attacked Ziklag, the camp of David and his men in the Philistine territory of King Achish. Their wives, children and all that they had were taken away captive (1 Samuel 29:6—8). So distressed were the people, that the men who were willing to lay down their lives for him, spoke of stoning Daid, blaming him for the tragedy. ‘But David strengthened himself in the LORD’ and sought guidance for future action. God promised to bless him to pursue and overtake the Amalekites and ‘without fail recover all’
Many times, the hurdles are ways used by God to test us and our spiritual fitness to elevate us to a higher level of responsibility. In any situation there are multiple players involved and our action is like the centre from which other reactions spread out in all directions. Joseph was in the prison for no fault of his but he made the best use of that. The Pharaoh had sent his chief butler and his chief baker to prison in anger (Genesis 40:7). Joseph cared for them to ask, ‘Why do you look so sad today?’ They told him their dreams, received the interpretation and it came true. After another two years, while Joseph remained in prison, Pharaoh had a dream, which no one could interpret. The chief butler remembered Joseph, who was brought before Pharaoh and told him the meaning of the dream. Pharaoh made him number two man in his kingdom, the mightiest nation of that time.
During prison ministry in Jalandhar, I met a pastor in the prison, who claimed to be innocent. I suggested to him to start a church service in the prison and do his work. During our visit the next month, we found around twenty people worshipping with him. We are placed on the other side of a hurdle by God with a purpose. Once we find that and do it, the hurdle itself becomes an opportunity. In this manner, many have their true calling and brought about big change around them. We must never forget that ‘God always magnifies His Word above all His name’ (Psalm 138:2). He will definitely fulfil what His Word declares and in that we claim and receive peace in our troubles.
A believer is surrounded by forces of evil and darkness that are always involved in tripping us to cause the fall. This is the reason for various hurdles that we face in our lives. We are, however, blessed for our Saviour Lord has overcome the world and we stand in His victory. God allows obstacles in our way to help us find the deep hidden powers in us to face challenges. We must not be stopped by these but jump over the wall to victory!
