YES!!!ნიმუში

Day 4: Obstacles Are Opportunities:

​​What if the thing standing in your way isn’t a roadblock—but a doorway?

That’s the surprising truth of walking with Jesus: obstacles are rarely what they seem. What looks like resistance might actually be preparation. What feels like pain might be producing power. And the things we wish God would remove may be the very things He’s using to make us into someone stronger, wiser, and more like Him.

Saying yes to God isn’t a guarantee of comfort. It’s a call to carry a cross.

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
—Matthew 16:24-25 (NKJV)

Somewhere along the way, we may have believed that faith should protect us from hardship. But Jesus didn’t offer His disciples a life free from difficulty—He offered them a life full of purpose. And that purpose often passes straight through trials.

Just ask Paul.

He suffered beatings, stonings, shipwrecks, betrayal, danger, hunger, and sleepless nights—not because he was disobedient, but because he was so faithful. And still, his greatest concern wasn’t the hardship. It was the people. The mission. The churches. He wasn’t looking for a way out—he was looking for a way through.

"From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one . . . in perils of waters, in perils of robbers . . . in weariness and toil . . . besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches."
—2 Corinthians 11:24-29 (NKJV)

Paul’s life is proof: obstacles don’t mean God has abandoned you—they may mean you're on the right path. When you're walking with Jesus, resistance is normal. Suffering isn’t a sign of failure. And hardship doesn’t disqualify your calling. It refines it.

But God doesn’t just leave you to figure it out on your own. His presence goes with you. His strength sustains you. His hands uphold you.

"You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away: Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
—Isaiah 41:9-10 (NKJV)

When lions roar—whether they’re the fears in your head, the attacks from others, or the weight of disappointment—you’re not defenseless. Like Daniel in the den, you’re not alone in the dark. The God who shut the mouths of lions is the same God who walks with you through your fire, your wilderness, your diagnosis, and your heartbreak. And He doesn’t just get you through it—He teaches you to thrive in the middle of it.

The enemy will tempt, deceive, and accuse—but God uses every tactic of the enemy as a backdrop for redemption. Even your pain becomes a platform. Even your weakness can reveal His glory.

So keep going. Don’t give in to the lie that comfort equals calling. Don’t mistake difficulty for divine absence. Instead, follow the example of Paul, who modeled this truth with grit and grace:

"The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you."
—Philippians 4:9 (NKJV)

God doesn’t waste anything—not even the hardest parts of your story. Your “yes” might lead you through valleys, setbacks, or rejection, but it will also lead you to transformation. To intimacy with Jesus. To impact you never could have predicted.

So when obstacles rise up, don’t panic. Don’t retreat.

This is your opportunity.