Obstacles into Blessings

“Linda Rooks!”

Hearing my name, I turned towards the voice behind me to see a smiling face among the throngs of people who had come to hear the Christmas concert in the park. It was the face of a friend I hadn’t seen in years, but who had racked up a lot of close memories from times in the past. After a big hug, words of mutual joy at our reunion, and a couple of introductions, she went on to join the party she’d come with and I went on to meet up with mine.

When I woke up the next morning, a smile spread across my face as I recalled seeing her happy demeanor.  She looked so good! My mind traveled back to earlier times when I wouldn’t have been able to say that. She’d gone through some rough times, but she’d persevered, always leaning on God and looking to Him for answers, however challenging those answers might be to the general comfort and direction of her life.

But God had been good to her and turned “those lemons into lemonade”, as my evangelist friend Jimmy Sowder would have said. She had used the obstacles and turned them into blessings.

The memories brought joy to my morning as I began to thank God for the blessings He had brought to my life as well as the lives of others, resulting in a morning of thanksgiving as I recounted the various lives I’d seen that were touched by God in turning obstacles into blessings.

It’s a theme so dominant in life—and even in nature—that we often miss it as we trudge through the difficulties of life.

At Christmas, the celebration of the birth of the Christ child brings joy because of the salvation He brings to all people, but it originated amidst troubling times in a smelly stable for a woman whose pregnancy brought hard questions and grave concern.  God didn’t make His greatest blessing something that arrived easily and majestically.  He shone His glory through humble circumstances, simple people, and difficult obstacles.

It’s a theme to grab hold of and hold close to our hearts when we journey through the ups and downs of life. I hate it when the toilet is leaking, the refrigerator goes on the blink, and the roof needs repairs. Even worse is the discouragement and desperation we may feel when debts begin to mount, money in our bank account seems to dwindle, miscommunications careen into our marriage, or a relationship is on the brink of collapse. But along the way, God uses those challenges to bring new people into our lives, speak to us about changes we need to make, and open our eyes to new directions to take, while calling us to turn to him for answers and comfort.

“Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live,” God says to us through the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 55:3).

All through the book of Isaiah, God calls us to come to him, listen to him and trust him. And throughout the ages and all of scripture, his clarion call is the same. When troubles spike, we need to first of all go to God, listen to him and trust him to take us through the difficulties. Instead of choosing the world’s answers, we need to trust God’s answers.

When I was only a teenager, struggling through my first serious heartache, I happened upon Matthew 6:33. The words spoke truth and hope to me then and has been a guiding light to me ever since. Matthew 6:33, says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

God has the answers for us when we are willing to go to him first, answers that “through his mighty power at work within us, is able to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”Ephesians 2:20

We may not see the answers immediately. We may have to wait for the fullness of God’s timing to bring them about. But when the answers come, they will bring joy to us and smiles to the faces of those who’ve watched us persevere to win the battle and turn obstacles into blessings.

“Why do you complain, O Jacob? Why do you say, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”?  Do you not know? Have you not heard? the Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom” (Isaiah 40:27-28).

“I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs” (Isaiah 41:18).

If you are praying that God will turn the obstacles in your marriage into blessings, you might want to let my book, Broken Heart on Hold, accompany you on your journey.