The third component in the process of change is the obstacles we face. My favorite example in the Bible of a man who had to face obstacles in his season of change in order to receive the promise of God is Abraham.
There are three main obstacles Abraham had to face during his season of change. The first obstacle was leaving everything that was comfortable and familiar to him. The Lord commanded Abraham to leave his country, his family and his people and go the land that he would show him. The difficult part of this journey is that Abraham did not know where he was going. Few things are more frustrating than traveling to a destination without proper directions.
Hebrews 11:8 says, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” Abraham made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country (Hebrews 11:9).
Quite often, when we begin our journey into our new season, we don’t really know where we are going. This makes sense, because we are going to a place where we have never been before. We have no frame of reference or experience to guide us into this part of our destiny. It is an awkward and uncomfortable time. We feel like strangers in a foreign land. Nothing stirs up our insecurities like the feeling of being a stranger in a new place.
The second obstacle Abraham had to face was the reality of his own physical limitations. The Lord appears to Abraham late in his life, around seventy-five, and promises him that he and his wife Sarah are going to conceive their first child. Abraham and his wife Sarah were well past the age of childbearing. In fact, Hebrews 11:12 says, “And from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” Like Abraham, we must face the facts that we are limited in our own ability to accomplish the purpose of God in our own lives.
The third obstacle Abraham had to face was the sacrifice of his son Isaac, the very promise of God. God used this obstacle to test Abraham to see if he really trusted in God. God will use the process of change to test our heart motives. Abraham believed God and obeyed, and got new revelation into the power and purpose of God.
Hebrews 11:17-19 says, “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, (18) even though God had said to him, “It is through your Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. (19) Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from the dead.”
Why do we face obstacles in our seasons of change? Because God wants to use them to build our faith. Abraham was the first person on the planet to realize that God could raise the dead. As the patriarch of God’s purpose and the father of our faith, Abraham became a pattern for all who would trust in the Lord. His pattern taught us that the righteous shall live by faith in God. I often wonder if God gave Abraham, his friend, a sneak preview of his redemptive plan for mankind…the death and resurrection of his son Jesus Christ.
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