Guest Writer: Mary from The Square Owl
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13
Have you ever had one of those days where things just keep getting in your way? No matter what it is you are trying to get done, things just keep popping up to distract you, aggravate you, or to delay you from doing what you want to do. Today was one of those days for me and it had four major roadblocks.
Days like today made me sit there and think, “Why is this happening?” Why did a customer call in angry to yell at me and make me upset? Why is it that there was construction on a road I always took that delayed me 20 minutes? Why is it that the weather turned bad around the same time I wanted to run on my break? Why is it that there was an accident on my way home and took me 45 minutes to get back? Why?
As I sat in my car today, I pondered each of these situations and came up with a common fact. Each roadblock was placed there to make me unhappy and to distract me from doing things that would make me happy. My morning was going fine until that customer called. I was going to go running with my office crew until they decided not to go due to weather (I went anyways). On my way back from my run, I was refreshed until I learned there was a construction detour that took me 20 minutes out of the way to get back to work. And lastly, on my drive home, I was excited to get home to write this post, and there was a 45 minute backup on the highway due to an accident.
Who wants to make me unhappy? Who wants to delay me from sharing Christ’s word? The evil one, satan. Now, you may be thinking that I am crazy for thinking satan was behind most of these roadblocks, but I kid you not, he was. Most people chalk it up to being just a bad day with a series of unfortunate events, but the truth is, satan thrives on making your life miserable and he will do anything to cut you down mentally and emotionally.
1 John 5:19-20: We know that we are of God, and the whole world is in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, to know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
How do you dodge life’s roadblocks?
The first thing to do is to learn to recognize roadblocks as attempts to tear you down. Once you know how these feel and look, you can choose to dodge them in full power. In the past, before I knew they were deliberate, I used to let them upset me and get to me. The anger from situations like these would stick with me and bring me down for hours or even days after, delaying what God really wanted me to do with my life. Lately, I have been trying hard to focus on what God wants, which gives satan a motive for wanting to distract me even more than normal.
The second thing to do is to pray. Say a quick prayer that God let’s you have patience and compassion in that moment. Pray that your anger does not overtake you, pray that God takes control of the situation, and pray that God gives you the strength to continue in your focus. This may seem impossible for you at first, but trust that God knows how to manage any situation that comes your way.
Luke 22:40: And when he came to the place he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
Lastly, look at these as learning situations for the future. Take note of how these issues come into play and prepare yourself for future distractions from the evil one. If he sees you happy, sees your family doing well, and sees your life is full of bliss, he will try hard to ruin that for you. Remember that he is trying to distract you from being happy in Christ’s love and trying to frustrate you to the point of disbelief. Once you let him influence your thoughts and heart, it will be hard to pull away without God’s hand.
Mark 4:19: But the cares of the world, and the delight in riches, and the desire for other things, enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
Romans 12:2: Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Have you ever had a day like I had today? Have you ever sat down and wondered how you can let these issues not affect you in the way satan wants them to? If so, how do you go about avoiding these roadblocks? What are your favorite verses or prayers that help you get through these? Please share your comments below.
Did this devotional speak to you? For more inspiration like this one, visit Mary over at The Square Owl. You can also connect with her on social media at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest!
Mary says
Thank you for posting this 🙂
Kay says
Thank you for posting this! Thankful that God is with us, even during these tough times!