The Discipline Of PlanningSample

Overcoming Obstacles

Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it. - Num 13:30

When the people of Israel were in the desert of Paran, the Lord commanded Moses to select one man from each tribe to go and spy out the Promised Land. The twelve spies went all over the land of Canaan and returned to the camp after 40 days. They saw the descendants of Anak, strong men, and large and fortified cities. Ten men identified the obstacles but were afraid to overcome them, while the other two also identified the same obstacles but they knew they could overcome them. But this was not just wishful thinking. They had a plan.

Proper goal setting not only helps to identify the obstacles, but also finds ways to overcome them. Philosopher Alexander Kaplan makes a distinction between problems and predicaments. A problem is something you can do something about. If you cannot do anything about it, then it is not a problem, it is a predicament. That means it is something that must be endured. The ten spies of Israel confused the problem with predicament and so they never entered the Promised Land again. They never achieved their goal.

Once a youth asked a lonely old man, “What is life’s heaviest burden?” The old man answered, “Having nothing to carry”. Do you make it a point to identify problems to overcome? If you fail to do so, you will fail to achieve your goal because obstacles are inevitable. God never promised Canaan without obstacles. So we will do good to identify every obstacle as we plan.

Father, help me to identify and list every possible obstacle that I anticipate on the route to achieve my goals. Help me not to confuse problems with predicaments, but to deal with them appropriately. Amen