Encountering Obstacles in Teaching

Moving forward in God's will

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Encountering obstacles

Help in Encountering Obstacles

Encountering obstacles? Last week I talked about when we were driving in the mountains and the car in front of us stopped on the curve going up the hill. We had to stop and consequently we began to slide backwards and stopped on the gravel just a few feet from the cliff! When we stopped moving forward, we began to slide backwards!I mentioned several things that cause us to stop moving forward. One of them was encountering obstacles.
Do you need help with encountering obstacles? We need to be moving forward or we risk sliding backwards. Moving forward in our own strength is useless at best. And it usually eventually messes things up more than they were to begin with. We want to move forward in God’s will and strength.
Those of us who are believers all say that we want God’s will for our lives. We say we want to seek and fulfill God’s purpose in our lives. But when we study Scripture and we see what God asks us to do, eventually we all find there are obstacles in doing God’s will. I have come up with nine obstacles and I know you can probably find more.
Here are  nine obstacles to doing God’s will and their corresponding Scriptures.

What gets in our way of doing God’s will?

1.  I think I don’t have the ability.

  • 2 Corinthians 1:21

2.  I don’t want to do it because it is too hard.

  • Philippians 4:13

3.  I don’t know how to do it?

  • James 1:5

4.  I am lazy.

  • Proverbs 15:19
  • Proverbs 18:9

5.  Others will make fun of me if I do it.

  • Matthew 4:10

6.  I am afraid to do it.

  • Jeremiah 17:8

7.  I’d rather serve myself.

  • Luke 8:14

8.  There are other things more important to me than serving God.

  • Psalm 19:8-10
  • Psalm 119:10

9.  I try do do His will in my own strength instead of His strength and I fail.

  • Philippians 4:13
  • John 14:26

It is not too early to begin to teach this to kids, very simply. You might spend a week on each obstacle talking about what this might look like in their lives and then read and talk about the Scripture that goes with it. Talk to them about how God can help in each of the situations.

Some of you might be thinking, But I want to know God’s will for me on a day to day basis. I want to know God’s will on major decisions. He doesn’t tell us those in Scripture. But He does tell us plenty of things that he does want us to do. We need to start with those. If we are trusting Him, and following Him in the small things, then the grand picture will be obvious. And if it isn’t, then we can make any number of correct choices as long as we are following those things He does tell us to do.

If we look at the list above, we might find that most of the encountering obstacles are self-induced. Identifying the reason/excuse for our not doing what is right is a great start. Then we can pray for God’s help and find others to hold us accountable. Now, let’s all go and do God’s will for us!

I have written a picture books about Ephesians 2:10. It is about living in God’s purpose. It is called Mr. Blue- a Job for You. Mr. Blue finds all kinds of reasons not to step up to the plate. This would be an excellent way to show kids they can serve God by being available.

Please leave a comment about other obstacles you have encountered and how you have dealt with them.

Laurie Donahue is an author and speaker who lives in Southern California. She has written or co-written 6 books for children and teens, including the bestseller, "God Should I Be Baptized?" She holds a California Community College Teaching Credential. Laurie's website is www.lauriedonahue.com.

Leave comments or questions below. Laurie and others reading would love to hear what you think. Thanks!

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Categories: Growing in Maturity, Tips for Teaching
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