Running Down your Thoughts: Obstacles

Last week I was at work and I was organizing my ideas for the 5 Days of Intentional Living Series. One of the girls I work with was sitting next to me. "Kelli" is a newer Believer and actively pursues God. I leaned into her and asked her "Kelli, what are some topics you would like to read about?"
She replied "The mind...How to fight the thoughts that run in your mind."

"We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ."   2 Corinthians 10:5

Obstacles.. are those things that get in our way. The new craze in running now is obstacle races. As you set out to run your desired distance there are obstacles along the course you have to overcome to complete the race. 

I have ran a couple of them, the Warrior Dash and the Merrel Down and Dirty. Some of the obstacles took all my strength and stamina to overcome. And some of the obstacles required letting some things go to conquer.

It seems like our life is an obstacle course. As we go through this life we are often just running on Autopilot. Things are running pretty smooth and BAM! We hit a road block, a pot hole, turbulence or we find ourselves against the wind. 

4 Points to Overcoming Obstacles:

 1. " For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear Not, I will help thee." Isaiah 41:13

In the Obstacles of life we see that mountain and try to prepare for it but there is just no warning and we feel unequipped to get through that obstacle.
 I am not a good swimmer. As I was running one of these courses I stumbled out of a trail that opened up into a large pond. Fear instantly grabbed me. I felt my heart pounding out of my chest. It was a mess with all these runners kicking each other to the other side. I did not look like Mike Phelps diving into the frigid water but I did not allow my fear to hold me hostage.

2. "And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Galatians 5:24

In the obstacles of life often times the biggest challenge is NOT Overcoming the Obstacle it is Overcoming Ourselves. We can be the biggest challenge. We can make a mountain out of a mole hill. We put ourselves around people we should not be with, we go to places we should not be at, or entertain conversations that should not be talked about and create our own challenges. We can sabotage our course faster than we can get through it. 

3. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your path." Proverbs 3:5-6
Some of the challenge of running our course is to know when to conquer and when to go around those obstacles and continue moving forward.  We must allow God to direct us and give us understanding on how to move ahead.

 4. "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.." Hebrews 12:1
The obstacles of life can require us to shed the the weights that hold us down. Have you ever noticed most long distance runners barely have any clothes on? Because they chafe, blister, get hot and often times the more we wear the more we feel weighed down. I ran the warrior dash with my husband and my 13 year old son, Austin. Austin and I had matching green Tutus! At the time the idea seemed great but what I didn't take into account was how much that little mesh skirt was going to hinder me. See Austin was smart enough when diving into the water to let that skirt sink to the bottom. Me, I wanted that skirt, I liked my skirt, I payed for that skirt... and that skirt almost DROWNED me. I can not swim real well anyhow and I was focusing so hard on trying to hold onto that soaking wet skirt that I was taking in water and out of breath.
That is what we do. "But I WANT it..." We hold onto things that we should let go. These things hold us back and weigh us down.

What Obstacles are you facing right now?
Are you carrying weights that are holding you back? Weights of pride, selfishness, forgiveness, anger...?
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Remember to check out the other Bloggers in this series on 5 days of Living Life Intentional.

Anita