What
“obstacles” (v .14 [below]) are hindering God's work in your
life? What areas of your spiritual walk are in need of repair?
(Serendipity Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, page 1041).
And
it will be said:
“Build
up, build up, prepare the road!
Remove
the obstacles out of the way of my people.”
(Isaiah
57:14 NIV).
I
don't consider myself "handy" to do many chores about the
house that I know some others are willing to tackle in their own
homes. I always call a contractor. This is because early on in my
life I got the idea that I was not "handy". Consequently, I
have not accumulated the tools nor the skills necessary to do such
chores. In other words, in many ways the child was the father of the
man. My feelings of inadequacy have only served to compound them.
Just so, I think the biggest obstacle hindering God's work in my life
is the restricted perceptual field that I have in many ways
self-inflicted.
The
obstacles that I can readily name in my doing God's work are probably
not the biggest ones. These big ones include all those potential
areas of service that I have precluded from being even options open
to me. The basis for all of this probably arises from feelings of
inadequacy and fear. I simply "don't go there" in thought
or action. Some things are inconceivable to me because of my
self-inflicted and unduly limited perceptual vision.
Here,
the encouragement of others can be decisive. Some years ago I would
never have even considered taking up the almost daily task of writing
a blog. But a friend of mine encouraged me to do so. I thought to
myself, if he thinks I can write maybe I will be able to do it. Now
after several years I have gained much confidence in my ability to
daily contribute to a blog. Being an encourager is something that all
of us can do. The fundamental task of an encourager is to expand the
perceptual field of a friend—to open up to them heretofore
inconceivable possibilities. The encourager serves to allay fears and
help remove blinders. Self-talk and self-encouragement can never
equal in importance nor impact the wider vision made possible by the
helpful contribution of others.
The
Ugly Duckling - Disney Story
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