Obstacle or Opportunity?
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (New International Version, NIV)
Jesus Himself said we would have trouble. It is a part of living in a fallen world. However, it is up to us as to how we view the challenges we face. Jesus clearly told us that He has already overcome the world and the trouble that goes along with it. Therefore, we must decide if we see each situation that confronts us as an obstacle or an opportunity. How we respond to a challenge determines the outcome.
For example, if you were to begin to feel achy and tired, with a stuffy nose, how would you react? Would you immediately jump to the conclusion that you are coming down with a cold or the flu? And what words would come out of your mouth? Would you blurt out something brilliant like, “It just figures that I would get a cold now. Everytime I get some time off work, I end up sick.” You just viewed the symptoms as an obstacle.
Instead, what if you decided to approach the same symptoms as an opportunity for Christ the Healer to be glorified? You could say, “Jesus, I know You paid the price for my healing and I refuse to stand for these symptoms. Right now, I draw upon the healing power in the blood of Jesus and I say to the fatigue, aches and runny nose that you have no place in my body. Devil, you have no legal right to put any sickness on me because I am protected by the blood of Jesus. Take your symptoms and go now, In Jesus’s Name! I praise God for my healing.”
And if you see the situation as an opportunity for the power of Jesus to be displayed, you will continue to speak words of faith about the circumstances until what you are speaking becomes a physical reality in your life. That is called the fight of faith. It’s a good fight because we know the battle has already been won and all we have to do is endure until we see it come to pass.
If finances are tight and bills are due, call upon the God who created this earth and all the diamonds, gold, silver and precious metals that are in it. Don’t panic and begin to picture yourself as homeless and destitute. Look at the situation as an opportunity. Jesus will never let us down if we show confidence in Him and what He has promised us. King David knew that God was a God of provision, and He said so in Psalm 37.
Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread. Psalm 37:25 (New Living Translation, NLT)
God’s desire is for you to succeed and prosper.
My little flock, don’t be afraid. God is your Father, and your Father’s great joy is to give you His kingdom. Luke 12:32 (The Voice, VOICE).
When we understand that, it won’t be hard to see every trouble as an opportunity for God to show Himself strong on our behalf.
