Daily Devotional for Sunday October 2, 2011

Major Life-Changing Obstacles in Life

(Matthew 17:20)

We all face major life-changing obstacles throughout the course of our life. The loss of our job, financial difficulties, the break-up of our marriage or an important relationship, a problem with our health, the death of a family member or close friend, the battle with some sort of addiction, are just some of the major life-changing obstacles most everyone deals with over the course of their journey through this life.

HOW WE RESPOND TO THESE LIFE-CHANGING OBSTACLES IS THE CRITICAL ISSUE I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT TODAY. These are sentinel moments in a person's life that can shape and determine the balance of your days on this earth. You can either allow the obstacle in your life to keep you from fulfilling your purpose of serving and glorifying God with your life, robbing you of the peace, joy and abundance this life can offer, or you can move forward in HIS strength past that obstacle and live in victory.

***THIS IS A CHOICE THAT YOU AND YOU ALONE HAVE TO MAKE!!!

I remember several years ago the story of 13 year old surfing sensation Bethany Hamilton of Hawaii. This was an incredibly gifted young lady who was already competing in international surfing competitions with the goal of one day going professional. One day while practicing, Bethany was attacked by a shark that ripped her left arm off just below the shoulder. Now here is a young woman just into her teenage years, her whole life in front of her, dealing with a major life-changing event. Just 10 weeks after that horrible accident, Bethany was back in a surfing competition!

That is what I am talking about when I say that when you face a major life-changing event, it is YOUR CHOICE to either allow that event to destroy the rest of your life or to move past it and on with your life. Bethany made the choice that she was not going to let losing her left arm stop her from living her life, or even from doing what she loved and was so gifted at. It should also be noted that Bethany had a strong faith in Christ prior to this incident and is committed to using her tragedy to share the hope we have in Christ with others.

I love you and care about you so much. I want to give you this word of exhortation and encouragement today. No matter what the mountain is that you are facing in your life today, through your faith and God's strength you can make that mountain disappear!!! If you are a child of God, you have the authority to say to that mountain "be gone" and it will BE GONE! Jesus said that if you have only as much faith as the size of a mustard seed you can cast that mountain into the sea. I tell you today that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, you do not have to let the mountain in your life crush you, but through your faith you can cast it into the sea and keep moving forward with your life.

I will be praying for you today. Praying that you will not allow the life-changing obstacles we all face in this life keep you from God's blessings and fulfilling your purpose to serve and glorify Him with your life. God has a perfect plan and purpose for your life. Why did He allow cancer to cause Alyson to lose her leg? Why did he allow a shark to take Bethany's arm? Why did God allow what has happened in your life? I wish I had those answers but I don't. But I can tell you that God will give us the strength to overcome whatever obstacles life can throw at us, and still know His joy and peace in the midst of the storms of life.

In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ,

Bill Keller