GO THROUGH IT – 06/02/2020

GO THROUGH IT
June 2, 2020

Prayer: We are going through these last days looking to You, Dear Lord, for strength to walk in peace and joy and give our students the last instructions of the year. Please bring to each heart the saving knowledge of Jesus. Thank You. Amen.

Scripture: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 NAS

As a child, we used to sing a song called, “Going on a Bear Hunt.” Maybe you are familiar with the song although I have not heard it sung in too many classrooms recently. In the song the hunter encounters several obstacles on his way to hunt a bear. He comes upon a corn field, a tree, a river, a cave and a few other challenges. At each obstacle the song says, “Came to a ____, a BIG, WIDE ____, Can’t go over it, can’t go around it, guess I’ll have to go through it, (swim through it, climb through it…)” – Remember that song?

At the end of the song he runs into a bear and runs back through all the obstacles as fast as he can to get home – just wanted to let you know that no bears were harmed in the writing of this devotion.

I have been pondering how our lives can be like this song. We are journeying through – hunting for something. Whether it’s success, satisfaction, to make a difference, a spouse, or whatever is important to you, we come upon obstacles. Not just any obstacles, BIG, WIDE obstacles that we can’t go over, or around. The only way to continue our journey is to go through them.

We would like to take a different path. It would be easier to avoid the whole uncomfortable situation or skirt around the struggle and move along towards our goal. But no, the only way to proceed is “Go through it!”

Can you picture a time when you stood and measured up your “obstacle?” Did you look for a way around it? Did you calculate your next steps pressing on like the song, motivated by your goal or did you sit and ponder the obstacle for way too long, even questioning your desire to reach your goal? Perhaps you were like the hunter when he found the bear while walking through the BIG, WIDE, cave and turned and ran all the way home.

Can you think of a time when you did each of these? Which one was the most rewarding? Which one was the most difficult? If you ran, did you ever go back and go through it? What lessons did you learn? Have you ever climbed, and fought your way through many “Obstacles” only to be more terrified when you reached your goal just like this bear hunter when he found a bear? Does remembering this experience make you laugh or shutter? You are never alone, you do not journey alone and you certainly do not face your obstacles alone. Did you think about this assurance when you faced the challenge? How does knowing this help you face your current obstacles?

My prayer for you is that you would know God is with you no matter what you are going through.

Copyright Kathy Branzell. Email [email protected]