Surprising Things that Happen When Jesus Heals You

John 4:7-30

I love books and movies.  Ever since I was a child, no matter how satisfying the ending, as I got to the last page or to the end credits, I wondered, "And then what happened?" The gospels are full of Jesus' short encounters were he heals strangers.  I always wondered, "and then what?"  How does being healed by the Savior in the flesh change the rest of your life?

One of the women I always wonder about isn't even named.  We simply call her the woman at well.  We know she was avoiding all the other women in the village because she comes to draw water in the heat of the day at the worst possible time.  She'd rather sweat, puff and pant in the heat, not to mention loose some of the water to evaporation, rather than face the whispers and stone faces of the other women.

Then Jesus shows up.  He asks her for simple water and when she is surprised, offers her water she'll never have to replenish.  He gives her a chance to confess wayward choices and when she wonders where God wants her to go to begin to worship again, Jesus simply asks her to worship in spirit and truth and trust him as the Messiah.  

Most of us who have been believers for a while have heard this story.  There is nothing new here.  But I'm fascinated by what she does next.  She is forgiven her sins, completely healed of the longing that caused those sins and invited back into a relationship with God.  What is the first thing she does?  Instead of running away or asking to come with Jesus, she runs back to the town, to the very people she was trying to avoid and tells them, "Come see a man who told me everything I ever did.  Could this be the  Messiah?"(John 4:28-30). Notice how she runs toward the very people she was avoiding.  She risks further criticism and isolation (Can't you just hear them saying, "So what, we know everything you ever did too?"). She risks their further scorn.  She even leaves the water jar, forgetting the chore that brought her there in the first place. 

Stop and think about the people in your life you would gladly rearrange your daily schedule to avoid.  Whether their judgement of you is fair or not, think about the people whose criticism feels like it can never be healed no matter what you do.  A co-worker?  A sibling?  Some one-time friends?  Now what would make you want to walk into their homes or call them up and tell them God has healed you from past mistakes and you want them to have the same joy?  What gave this woman that courage?  Maybe their labels and judgements no longer mattered?  As right as their opinions of her were, now only God's forgiveness and healing matters.  She needed a reminder of who she was to God and an invitation to make God the center of her life again.  This forgiveness and calling make up her new identity, and she boldly walks into it.  So boldly that the possibility of rejection doesn't matter.  This new identity fuels her compassion that asks her former tormentors to see the Messiah for themselves.  

When you truly, completely feel the forgiveness, love and acceptance of God, nothing else matters.  No one's opinions, rejection or even approval can possibly compare to leading others to the healing and acceptance she's found.  

We don't know what the rest of woman at the well's life was like after she met Jesus.  But if it was anything like her first reaction to Jesus' offering her healing, we know she lived life bravely focused on who God said she was without any fear of rejection.  May we all be so courageous. 

This time Jesus' healing brings people together.  The townspeople come out to meet Jesus and encourage him to stay for three days.  In my next blog entry, we'll talk about times when being healed by Jesus brings isolation.

~ Denyse Blasdel

Do Nothing

This Lenten season, our church has been spending each Sunday focusing on one day of Holy Week.  I realized that I knew each day by heart: Spy Wednesday, when Judas decided to betray Jesus, Maundy Thursday when Jesus gave his followers the command to love one another.   But what happened on Holy Saturday, when Jesus was still silent in the tomb?  Nothing.  This must have been the worst day of the week, if not for all of history.  

The disciples are drowning in sorrow and grief with nothing but ruin looking back.  This is a particularly heartbreaking for Judas and Peter.  Both men have betrayed Jesus and are sitting in a mess of their own making, desperately needIng to do something, anything, to repent.

Judas tries to do the right thing.  He gives the money back and confesses to betraying innocent blood.  He looks for forgiveness and restitution from the religious authorities. But when regret is swallowing you whole, never trust someone who does not know Jesus.  Finally, Judas has no other way to show God he is sorry but to hang himself.  The one thing he cannot do is wait for God to step in and clean everything up.  Why would God do that?  

Peter has also sinned just as much as Judas and can't do anything about it.  Scripture is silent about how Peter spent this Saturday.  All of the gospels leave him crying bitterly alone on Friday night. We know that he only has 36 hours to go until Jesus finds him and sets him free.  But Peter doesn't know this.  In his mind, he has the rest of his life to live with the shame.  

Sometimes, truth be told, we find ourselves in exactly the same spot.  We've smeared our entire lives with selfish, cowardly sin, and a step in any direction, even if it's to show God we're sorry, will just make everything worse.  Like a seagull coated in crude oil stumbling along the beach, we can't do anything but wait for God to step in and clean us.  If, indeed, He is willing.  Because truth be told, we really couldn't claim God is unfair if He chose not to clean us up this time.  This mess is so big and so completely our fault, God would still be a fair and just God if He chose not to bring out the sponge.  It's pushing the limits of mercy, even for the creator of the universe.  

So we sit and wait and see if God will bail us out because our only step in faith is no step at all.  Our only act of faith is to wait and do nothing.  We have no more moves left on the chess board. 

This is the heart of Easter Sunday.  Jesus comes to us, dies and rises for us, gladly without any help on our part. Our only act of faith is to wait through silent Saturday until Easter Sunday.  

May God grant us all the courage and patience to do nothing but wait.  Jesus is coming for you and me.  He is risen!

Lent: Pressure on Purpose

Lent:  Pressure on Purpose

Let me ask you something.  When was the last time you woke up on a Saturday morning, the entire day before you with no commitments and decided to clean out your garage or closet?  Pull absolutely everything out, get rid of what doesn't belong, and organize what remains into useful systems?  Yeah, me neither.  

In today's world, nothing just happens without first having a slot on the calendar.  Even the things we enjoy doing like date night and time with our children don't happen without a plan.  That goes doubly for the things we don't want to do.  Think about it.  How overdue is your dental cleaning?

The ancient church knew this would be a temptation.  That's why our spiritual ancestors designated the 40 days before Easter (not counting Sundays) as Lent. I know,I know your eyes just glazed over in boredom, but stick with me. I am going somewhere with this.  It's a time staked out on the calendar for reflection, prayer and fasting.  It's a time for a spiritual closet cleaning.  We ask God to show us our blind spots or those habits and thoughts that are holding us back from maturing.  

No, you won't find the word "Lent" in the Bible and maybe you’re afraid I've lead you down some rabbit hole of tradition worship, but all throughout scripture leaders earmarked time for prayer, fasting and reflection.  In Exodus, when God led the Israelites out of Egypt and through a process of becoming an independent nation, He specifically commanded them to observe times of remembering, fasting and praying.  The Day of Atonement found in Leviticus 23:26-32 was set aside as a time of facing one's sin and recognizing how much we need a savior.  During the Feast of Tabernacles in Leviticus 23:33-34, Israelites spend a week living in tents to remember how God delivered them from hopeless circumstances.  

Commands to repent, fast and prayer continue all over the New Testament.  But we come back to the problem of having no sacred time to make these happen.  Throw in a culture that will not rearrange it's schedule for our spiritual needs, and I wonder sometimes how we ever get around to growing in our faith.  

This is especially important for long-term believers.  We hear words like "sin" and "repentance" and think of what life was like years ago when sin stained everything we did.  Or worse yet, we thing of our friend who really needs to spend time U-turning from a sin costing her dearly.  Observing Lent every year forces me to look at my own life through a microscope and see where the spiritual cobwebs have taken over.  

Forty days of dedicated prayer and reflection have an unwelcome way of reminding us we still have a lot of maturing to do.  If reading a 5 minute devotion every morning seems like an impossible burden, how close is my relationship to God?  If going without sugar for 40 days has me tumbling in temper tantrums, is this a sign I've created an idol?  If I'm unwilling to rearrange some time to lead devotions for my family, is God really my first priority?  

Are you wondering how this looks in day-to-day life?  Christians going through Lent typically give something up that we suspect has become an idol, or we incorporate a new habit to strengthen our walk with Christ.  I went through a similar period this last winter.  I love getting my nails and hair done.  I'm at an age where I'm having to decide between letting the grey slowly take over or getting what used to be my natural color out of a bottle.  But slowly I began to wonder where my confidence was coming from.  Could I boldly pursue my callings in life with ragged nails and outgrown roots?  I decided to go a few weeks to find out.  It was definitely a time of reevaluating the source of my strength.  After a time, I was still able attend meetings, meet new people and write about God's goodness no matter the state of my manicure.  I know it sounds silly, but we humans can make an idol out of anything.  Point is, purposefully removing habits out of your life will quickly let you know how dependent you've become on them.  

The flip side of the coin is adding a healthy practice into our daily lives.  Adding in a 5 to 15 minute devotion first thing in the morning seems simple enough, until you have to find a way to dust the morning fog out of your brain to understand what you are reading.  Then you realize the mindset that goes behind putting God first.  

Are these practices necessary for salvation?  Of course not.  Any Christian who tells you that if you don't observe Lent then you are not a true Christian is woefully wrong.  God loves us with absolutely no qualifications.  You could go your entire life never having set aside concentrated time for prayer and fasting and still go to heaven.  But taking time to examine your spiritual life will give you such a deeper understanding of who Christ is to you that you will want to do it again.  

So where is grace in all this?  Ironically, in every day of Lent.  The more we try to clean ourselves up, the more tangled we become in our sin.  Soon we realize we can never be good enough, strong enough, self disciplined enough to save ourselves.  Jesus' saving grace is there in every moment of failure.  When I come to the end of my willpower, I realize how little I can do. I need Jesus to cheer me on when I succeed and pick me up when I fail.  No one else can love me through all the struggling and triumphs.  

If you've never set aside a specific time to concentrate on prayer and reflection, this Lenten season is a great time to begin.  You will find out some less that flattering things about yourself, but you'll also discover how strong God is and how much Jesus fights for you. By Easter you will know where you need to make some changes, and more importantly just how precious Jesus' resurrection is to you right now.  

~Denyse Blasdel

Beauty and Hope

This YouTube video was actually banned in France... and it is one of the most beautiful and tender things I've seen this week. Glorious! I'm saving it to show to my family tonight:

The Transgender Debate - A Christian Response

This past Monday, President Obama described new federal guidelines on school bathrooms that were recently unveiled. Designed to prevent bullying of transgender students, these new federal guidelines require public schools to allow transgender students to use the restroom and locker rooms that correspond to their chosen gender. And by invoking the sex discrimination law known as Title IX, the new rules carry with them the threat of federal enforcement — including a loss of federal education funds, USA Today reports.  

Lining up in opposition to these new guidelines are state officials who feel their rights as states are being trampled.  Additionally, religious and conservative leaders are concerned that these guidelines will lead to abuse and a less safe environment for all students, regardless of their gender.

Sadly, overreaction on both sides prevents helpful conversation. No matter what your political or religious leanings, most of us want to prevent bullying. Most of us want our children to feel safe from discrimination and fear. Most of us want dignity and protection for the rights of others, even if we don’t fully understand their point of view.

Transgender, Transsexual, or Transvestite? 

Personally, I’ve been trying to understand these concerns from both sides to better serve those in my care. One key mistake both sides seem to be making is confusing “transgender” with “transsexual” or “transvestite.”   These words, though similar, describe very different realities.  

Transvestite persons are those who choose to dress as someone of the opposite sex, in doing so, they are choosing to behave and look as someone of the other gender.  Transsexual persons are those who, while they have no chromosomal abnormalities, choose to have either gender reassignment surgery and/ or hormone therapy to help them more fully feel and appear like someone of the opposite sex. Both of these choices are described by Scripture as sinful; done willfully (like any willful, repetitive, unrepented sin) they threaten to eternally separate us from our Creator.

Genuinely transgender people, I’ve come to learn, are generally embarrassed by all this discussion.  They deeply desire privacy concerning this intimate and personal issue. Apparently, about 0.3% of all babies born today are born without fully formed sexual organs. Often, delivery doctors in the past have made surgical changes based upon which was the easiest surgical “fix” without first conducting a chromosome test. This can lead to individuals whose sexual organs do not match their XX or XY chromosomal makeup; this is not a matter of individual choice or sin. These individuals are also not threats to others in the bathroom, as some suggest; there is a 0% correlation between pedophilia and true transgenderism. Frankly, as a matter of personal dignity and equality, I would suggest that we as Christians should be among the first to seek protection, dignity, security, and equality for the 0.3% of genuinely transgender students seeking to use the bathroom without bullying or embarrassment.   

On the other side of the issue, those who have highly valid concerns about bathroom safety. Men — with sinful and deviant understandings of their sexuality — have taken advantage of younger children even in public bathrooms; there are numerous examples of this happening, even while watchful parents waited for their children outside. To dismiss these concerns seems short-sighted, unsafe, and even dangerous; one can understand why some states are even attempting to pass laws in this regard to safeguard what they rightly understand to be the safety of all children.

Useful Verse

There’s a useful Bible verse I’ve been turning to more frequently whenever I’m challenged to grow in a new direction. It’s this one:

“Perfect love drives out fear.”   (1 John 4:18)

Looking back on my life, some of my worst decisions have been made in anxiety or fear… both of which seem very common today. As we become more aware of the needs and concerns of those around us, in Christ — who first loved us — our first reaction can also be love. This means a loving desire to understand those who have a different point of view… and loving and respectful opposition should we completely disagree. This is certainly not easy, but nothing is gained by demonizing and marginalizing others. Just like Jesus, we are invited to still show love with boundaries, having real, difficult, and messy conversations with everyone.

As I wrestle with these issues in a broken and fallen world, I’ve found myself, in moments of confusion, stress, or pain “editing” my words and actions more and more, asking the Holy Spirit, “Is this the most loving thing Christ wants me to do?” I’ve also found that more I reflect on Jesus’ love — a love that took God Himself to the cross and the empty tomb for you and for me — the less and less I tend to respond in anxiety and unhealthy fear to the things of this life. 

Compromise

Being wise people of peace in times of anxiety is one of the best ways that we can — by the Spirit’s power — demonstrate God’s gracious and generous love for all.  Thankfully, in this area there appears to be an area of unity and compromise, should both sides choose to take it. 

Single-use bathrooms with a lock easily secure privacy and security for all, regardless of their personal choices, gender, or age. Here at St. Philip Church & School we even have a single-use locking bathroom on our campus that we could voluntarily and easily adapt with proper signage, should anyone in our community or school request or require it. Perhaps that would even be the generous and loving thing to do, even if it is never requested.

Hopefully, mature leaders on both sides of this issue will work towards healthy compromises like this instead of seeking to stir up fear for political or religious gain.

Grant this love, Lord, unto us all.  

Why Bad Things Happen to Good People

Praying for Paris

Talking with Your Children About Sex

One of the things I didn't talk about on Sunday in our "Pure Sex" message (see below) was how to talk with your kids about this topic. My Dad tried - and failed disastrously - and I don't want to fail my kids in the same way. So, here's a little bit of what I've learned about how to address this with your children. Please also COMMENT below with your comments and best ideas, so that we can all learn together.




1) USE GOOD RESOURCES
Thankfully, our church body's publishing house has put together a great series of age-appropriate and gender-specific books, titled "Learning About Sex."  The boys have really enjoyed them, and we've really appreciated having this resource to discuss with them.

They also turned it into a mini-YouTube series which gives parents some really helpful ideas in specific areas.  Each video is only about 2 min. long, I think.





2) TALK FREQUENTLY AND OFTEN
One of the gravest mistakes parents make on this issue is making it "The Talk"... one, big, event. Instead, it should really be an ongoing conversation, when the kids themselves are ready and want to discuss a certain issue. They'll absorb more that way.

When to begin? At the beginning, when you are discussing body parts. Use real words, too, without shame... because God has made us, fearfully, and wonderfully, as we are. By the way... if you wait until age 12, you've waited too long. The average American child today sees porn at age 11 -- on their computer, while their doing their homework. Really.

3) TALK TO GOD NOW ABOUT YOUR ISSUES
We all have ways that we are broken in this area. I wrestled early in life with an interest in porn that I inherited from my Dad. But I also didn't want to pass that on to my sons, so I faced this spiritual issue head-on with a counselor, a good pastor, and my wife. 

Let's be honest... if God doesn't heal us and restore us in our own areas of personal brokenness in this area, we'll just likely pass that on to our kids. Instead, with the Holy Spirit's help, let's put an end to what has no place among God's children.  "Walk as children of light..." (Ephesians 5)

4) FILTER WHAT ENTERS YOUR HOME
As parents, we are the gatekeepers to what our children see and hear. Sure, they will eventually be exposed to many things... but just as we are careful with what they eat and affects their body physically, so we should screen and be careful what they consume spiritually. 

For our family, that means unplugging the cable and TV. Any stuff they see on the screen is filtered and approved by Denyse and myself. (Lately, the boys are enjoying "The Power Rangers" - 1980s, and "The Dick Van Dyke Show" -1960s).  

We also use a Kibosh wireless router in our home (Kibosh.net) to screen everything on every device. It was a little extra work to set up, but we are responsible for protecting our boys.  Denyse has all the control codes too; I don't.  


IN THE END...
We're all going to fail, in one area or another, as parents. We all, along with our children, continually need God's grace, healing, and forgiveness through Jesus. However, if we can avoid passing on bad habits, and help them to build healthy ones, we believe their future spouses and families will be richly blessed. We have been, too.

Please COMMENT below with other good suggestions. Or contact me directly if you want to talk more about this issue; it's important.  ~ Brady

Pure Sex

Man Up! God's Good Design for Men

God's Good Design for Women

Family Devotions

Why Lent?

I get questions from my non-Lutheran or non-Catholic friends about why we give something up for Lent. 

First off, it's a tradition, not a commandment.  I know, sometimes we act like we've got the two confused.  You'll never find the word Lent in the Bible, nor does our salvation depend on this or anything else we do or don't do.  But you will find over and over a call to repentance, self examination and cleansing.  Yes, we can do this at any time by ourselves.  But just like date night with a spouse, paying bills or checking the smoke detectors, without a set aside date, this important time gets put off eternally.

Our goal is not to clean ourselves up for God, but to allow God to show us where our spiritual blind spots are.  What character flaws, quirks and even sins are keeping us from fully glorifying God?  Sacrifice has a wonderful way of putting everything about us under a microscope.  It's not a pretty process as we spend time truly looking at what our sins have cost us.

For me, Lent goes something like this:  I give up all sweets, especially chocolate.  When I've got all my energy and attention wrapped around the imported French truffles I can't have, I suddenly realize how fragile and dependent I am.  Then some distressing family news comes along and suddenly I need comfort.  I feel angry that I can't have a caramel latte to soothe my nerves.  How long have I been depending on sugar rather than God?  In the midst of all this struggle, I become snarky with the electrician when he presents us with an unexpected repair bill.  Now to my list of shortcomings I can add rude and entitled.  And why is it so hard for me to ask God for help?  Hmm.  Add prideful to that list.  This spiritual house cleaning we call Lent is getting ugly.  This process happens every year. 

Then only two things can happen: either I will fail miserably and realize how devastating my sins are or I will succeed and realize that yes, all our good deeds are like filthy rags.  I can't win.  I find myself suffocating at the crossroads of both these realities and I can't hold myself up anymore.   I am at the end of my defiance, pride, willpower and determination.  All I have is myself, and I'm not much. 

Then the miracle of Lent kick starts.  At the end of me is the beginning of Jesus, the only one who can bring a healing balm to my sins and meaning to my sacrifices.  At the end of my failure is Jesus' resurrection.  I need to experience this truth every year.  When the resurrection finally arrives, I can fully embrace the joy of the empty tomb having stared in the face of every chain Jesus broke for me that first Easter morning. 

~ Denyse

Serving Him

What You Seek, You Find

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” ^{Matthew 5:6 NIV}

“Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find…”  ^{Matthew 7:7 NIV}

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is filled with some amazing promises. This one has to be one of the best:  If you are hungry and thirsty for the righteousness that God provides, you will be filled.

If you want righteousness, you can have it. Let me go out on a limb and make a bold statement. Whatever righteous thing you desire in the spiritual realm, you can have if you want it badly enough. I don’t think we appreciate the importance of that truth.

Most of us are about as close to God now as we want to be. We have about as much joy as we want, about as much peace as we want.

Abraham Lincoln said that “most people are about as happy as they want to be.” Totally true. We are the way we are because that’s the way we want to be. Either we’re happy that way or we’ve accepted that this is who we are and we’re not going to change. For the most part, you are where you are right now because that’s where you want to be. If you were hungry for something better from God, you could have it.

If you want it, you can have a close walk with God.

If you want it, you can have a better marriage.

If you want to, you can do God’s will.

If you want to, you can witness for Christ.

If you want to, you can learn to pray.

If you want to, you can grow spiritually.

If you want to, you can walk in the Spirit.

If you want to, you can become a man of God or a woman of God.

If you want to, you can change deeply ingrained habits.

If you want to, you can break destructive patterns of behavior.

What we seek, we find. This is true in every area and realm of life.

And what we seek, for good or for ill, we eventually find. 

And the reverse is also true:  unless we seek, we will not find.   ~pb

Portions from www.KeepBelieving.com

The Best Christian Financial Advice (in 300 words or less)

God’s wisdom transcends our present circumstances. It does not need to be changed when new tax laws are passed.  It can be relied upon by every generation, regardless of income or net worth.

At the core of all wise Christian financial advice are four principles. 

1)  Spend less than you earn.

“In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has” Proverbs 21:20

Financial success and peace require having a healthy financial margin, a positive difference between what we spend and what we earn.

2) Avoid the use of debt

“The rich rule over the poor and the borrow is servant to the lender” Proverbs 22:7

We can only serve one master.  If our servitude has been committed to a lender, we are not financially and spiritually free to serve Christ with all of our heart.

3) Build reserves

“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest” Proverbs 6:6-8

Financial reserves give us the flexibility to respond to the unknown.  They do not represent a lack of faith, but a prudent response to planning for an unknown future.

4) Set long term goals

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” Philippians 3:14

The first three principles are means to the end of accomplishing the goals that God in His wisdom has placed in our heart.  Applying these helps us to live more effectively for God in this life… using His blessings to accomplish powerful, long-term financial goals, as His Spirit leads us.

Lessons from Sea Turtles

My family and I got to spend all of July in an area of Texas along the Rio Grande Valley.  We served a mission church there and came back profoundly changed.  A month in a coastal town did wonders for my outlook on life, but not for the reasons you’d think.  It wasn’t lack of work.  My husband still preached every Sunday, led Bible study and prayer groups, elders and board meetings.  I still had laundry for five, a house to clean and three kids to keep one step ahead of.  To save money, we didn’t eat out until the family came to visit, so there were still dinners to make.  We still stuck to a reasonable, although not as strict, schedule.  So what was so different there?  How does the beach mindset translate to life in one of the biggest metropolitan in the country?  In the next few blog entries, I’ll be exploring the lessons we learned about work, family, nature and God. 

My first lesson came five days into the month:  setbacks do not mean you are not following God’s plan for your life. 

Although I grew up on the Gulf of Mexico, I never had the chance to watch newly hatched Ridley sea turtles crawl to the ocean.  One morning before dawn the entire family headed out to the beach to watch these two-inch creatures crawl to the vast ocean.  I was prepared to be in awe of God’s creation, but I thought it would be a simple, short event.  Let the creatures go.  Their instinct kicks in, they crawl to the ocean, and catch a wave into the rest of their lives.  Except that doesn’t nearly describe the battle these tiny creatures endure. 

Ridley sea turtles have to be released within hours of being hatched.  Since most hatches occur in the middle of the night, these tiny turtles must make their way to the sea around dawn, just as high tide is rolling in or just beginning to fade.  So the turtles crawl to sea, hit a wave, and get tossed right back to where they started, again and again. The process can take hours.  Eventually, they might actually make it out to sea, if they are not snatched up first by a natural predator.  Once in the sea, only a fraction of a percent will see adulthood.  Most will be eaten by sharks or fatally damaged by pollution. 

This truly surprised me.  Why is it so hard for them?  If God made sea turtles to hatch on land and make their way to sea to survive, why is the journey so difficult?  Even without human involvement, this is the classic uphill battle. 

Sound like modern life.  The more you try, the harder it gets.  Life is hard.  Marriage is hard.  Raising children who are anchored in Christ is hard.  No one doubts that.  But why does it get harder the more we try to follow God’s plan for our lives?  That’s a little more difficult. 

This is where the turtle cannot do something we as humans do.  The turtle cannot ask whether all these setbacks and obstacles mean God doesn’t want the turtle to crawl to the sea at all.  When it comes to the specific will of God, sometimes we misinterpret the setbacks and pitfalls for God’s warnings.  After all, if God truly wanted us to reach out to that family in need or start leading family devotions or spend some time helping others or lead a Bible study, wouldn’t He get rid of the roadblocks?  Stop the car from breaking down, make sure the money to do it is there, make a blank spot appear in our calendar?  Just part the obstacles like He did for Moses and the Red Sea?  Maybe this is God’s way of telling us we are going down the wrong path.

Yes, sometimes God immediately, decisively sweeps away every roadblock in the way so that we can fulfill His will.  Yet the Bible also gives us plenty of other stories where things get harder before they get better.  Think about all the years David spent running from Saul.  Samuel had clearly pronounced God’s will that David lead Israel as rightful king.  So why didn’t God make it easy for David to take the throne?  Why did he have to spend so many years running, and shed so much blood when a simple well-timed heart attack sent from God would have prevented so much destruction?  Or think about Gideon.  He finally finds the courage to follow God and strike down altars to idols and free his people from oppressive Midian bullies and what does he get for his efforts?  Criticism from just about everyone he knows. (Judges 7-9) For most of our Biblical heroes, the decision to obey God brought more hardship and setbacks than miraculously delivered moments. 

On the beach that morning I learned something.  God designed Ridley sea turtles to crawl to the ocean in their tiniest, most fragile state.  Yet He chooses not to make the journey easy for them, not to remove the fierce waves and predators all around.  Same for you and I.  God made us to do certain things to glorify Him.  The roadblocks and set backs are not signs that God wants us to stop what we’re doing.  Sometimes they are signs that we just need to swim harder and expect a few more waves.