Day 24 How Will We Ever Get Over This Hurdle?

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” Ephesians 1:17-21

When I was in college I lived with my grandma Harriet. She was a woman of God who spent a lot of time in prayer and in the Word. Though she had many struggles in life she had an incredible faith in God and she loved Him with her whole heart. She put her trust and hope in Him whenever she faced hurdles that seemed impossible to get over. Whenever she faced one of those hurdles she would say, “Now how will we ever get over this hurdle?” Then she would pray, laugh and say something like, “Hasn’t that devil seen my Jesus? He’s way bigger than this hurdle!” During those times God never failed her as she stood in faith and waited for the obstacle to be removed. She would claim His promises and tell the devil to be quiet whenever he tried to get her focused on the obstacle, or tried to make her fearful.

I learned a lot from her during those times. She taught me to remember that God is bigger than any trial or tribulation I face in life. I also learned that life is about perspective and it is my responsibility to align my perspective with the truth of God’s Word. Sometimes it is very difficult to do this because at times, my hurdles seem so big! But she taught me to pray and to trust God to perform His word in the trials I face in life. And she taught me to laugh in the midst of my struggles and not to give in to worry or fear.

When I study the Bible I see many examples of God performing His word on behalf of His people and delivering them from impossible situations. A great example of this is found in 2 Kings 6. Elisha was facing a major hurdle! An enemy army had completely surrounded the city with horses and chariots. One of his servants was afraid and said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” (Verse 15) In the natural Elisha saw what the young servant saw, but Elisha also saw something greater!

“So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, and said, “LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (Verses 16 & 17)

God was in the midst of that situation the entire time but the servant couldn’t see it, because he was gripped with fear and only looking with his natural eyes. To him this was a hurdle they couldn’t possibly get over and from his perspective, they were defeated. This is how I used to react when I faced hurdles that seemed insurmountable in life. But after learning those lessons from my grandma and studying God’s word, my spiritual eyes of my understanding were opened, just like the servant’s were.

Paul reminds us of this in Ephesians 1:17 - 21. The greatest truth in the believer’s life today is this: When Jesus died and rose again He completed the work of taking the enemy’s power to defeat us away! His only power now is the power of deception! He knows that if he can get us to focus our minds in the natural realm, and only see the hurdles in front of us, he can instill fear and doubt in our minds. The last thing he wants us to do is to have the eyes of our understanding opened to see God at work in the midst of our trials.

In order to defeat him, and keep him from deceiving us, it is important to fix our eyes on the truth of God’s Word, and to meditate on it day and night. We must battle the thoughts of fear and worry that bombard our minds through prayer. We also must stand in faith trusting God to perform His word in our situation. The victory over the enemy already belongs to us through what Christ did at the Cross! I want to encourage you to ask God to reveal any areas of your life where you may be focusing in the natural, and not seeing His supernatural work taking place. Ask Him to give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him so you can be strengthened in your understanding. And write down Scriptures that will remind you of the victory you have over the enemy because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Prayer: I believe by faith that as I meditate on Your word and spend time with You, the eyes of my understanding will be opened. I believe by faith that Jesus overcame the enemy at the Cross and that victory over his deception is mine! I choose today to believe You are working in the midst of my trials and I will remind myself to look at it with spiritual eyes. When I am afraid I will call on You and allow the Spirit of peace to envelop me. I believe Your word and I trust in You wholeheartedly. Amen